tien-7
I did'nt wanna see this movie when it first relised coz I though that it may be some kind of odd style. I was totally wrong! This movie is not about gay, homosexual etc as many people might think of it, it's all about human's natural feeling, emotion... I like everyone from this film, all the actors played perfectly. Also I have to add that Lee Jun Ki was born to play GongGi, some people might not like his look, but I believe that nobody could ignore his talent. Adter seeing this movie, I spent quite a lot of time to search all the relevant info of it. I was obsessed in a beautiful way from this movie. It is definitely one of the great Korean movies!
bluenooky007
King Young San was perhaps the most infamous tyrant in Korean history (or perhaps the most well known). He showed sociopath tendencies even as a child(hurting animals and such)but what drove him over the age and started his tyrannical reign was his discovery of the circumstances under his mother died.His mother Yoon, was the King's favorite concubine. She was falsely accused of plotting to kill her rivals and ordered to drink poison by the king. The circumstances of her death were kept a secret until King Young San found out by accident. Upon his discovery, he was seized with sorrow and rage, and put to death or exiled anyone who was responsible of his mother's death. Even those those who didn't strongly oppose her execution were put to death.Although he is portrayed as a terrible dictator, his love for his mother and the terrible pain her death caused adds an extra dimension to his tyrannical reign.It is interesting to note (according to the movie) his bringing the clowns into the palace and having them perform those skits was what drove his ministers into a rebellion.
polsixe
I thought it was all very contrived and elements of the movie are a blend of others done before all meant to push forward a modern tolerant society alternative lifestyle movement.Tony Curtis/Laurence Olivier had a similar dynamic in Spartacus. The version we saw had English subtitles so the characters appeared to be speaking an Elizibethan Shakespearean form "thou art a knave" , but the spouse said the spoken Korean was current colloquial. That was the initial thought, oh yeah, this is a lift from Shakespeare's Europe, the court jesters, men playing women's roles (wouldn't they at least shave??), the palace court and consort scheming away, a play within a play. "The Play's the thing wherein I'll catch the conscience of the King". The costumes and roles we saw before in the episodic Dae Jang Geum series - (did they re-use the sets and clothes??), everything looked very familiar. I was looking for the palace cooks and maids in the background...That being said, the "Captain" of the minstrels, Jang Saeng, comes off as an interesting, athletic, strong moral character, against any possible stereotyping as a limp wristed homosexual.So, nice try, but too much "sampling" of previous arts.
stract
Trust South Korea to produce nice tragedies again and again. First it was "Friend", then "Joint Security Area", and now "The King and the Clown", which is about two male clowns being arrested for staging a comedy which mocks the King, and would be spared the death sentence if they could humor the King as much as they did to the civilians. This sounds a little like "Brokeback Mountain" taking place in Korea, but the speech and behavior the two clowns have towards each other is carefully crafted that they make it look more like a case of brotherhood amongst them. However, that does not in any way dilutes the affections we see between the two male friends, which are incredibly genuine. It is this genuine affection that makes this such a touching show to watch. Also, this is not just romance; this has elements of a thriller and social commentary interwoven within the plot. And all these roll out just nicely and rightly paced. No wonder it becomes one of the biggest selling movies in Korea, despite its modest production cost.
AD
