Gwanghae, The Man Who Became King, distributed internationally as Masquerade, is billed by its distributors as a "2012 Korean Historical Movie version of Mark Twain's 'The Prince & Pauper'". I saw it on 22 September 2012 at CGV Cinemas in Los Angeles' Koreatown, a reliable local venue for the latest Korean film releases.
Last seen two years ago as a secret agent opposite Choi Min-sik's superhuman sociopath in Kim Jee-woon's superb neo-Elizabethan revenge tragedy I Saw the Devil, Lee Byung-hun plays both titular characters: Prince Gwanghae, the ill-fated fifteenth king of the Joseon Dynasty, and Ha-sun, the lowly comedian pressed into service as a stand-in for the monarch who faces the threat of assassination. This speculative fiction draws upon an episode in the eighth year of Gwanghaegun's reign, when the court chronicles recorded his saying, "Do not put on record what is meant to be hidden", followed by two weeks' worth of missing entries. The central conceit of the plot is that the king's loyal and able adviser Heo Gyun (Ryoo Seung-Ryong) forced Ha-sun to impersonate Gwanghaegun while he recovered a coma after an apparent poisoning attempt. While this contemptuous potentate starts out by micromanaging his puppet through his official court functions, he soon develops an appreciation of Ha-sun's patriotic and humanitarian concerns for the kingdom and its subjects. Meanwhile, the head of an opposing Greater Northerner faction, Park Chung-seo (Kim Myung-gon), the Queen Consort Lady Ryu (Han Hyo-joo), and the king's bodyguard Captain Do (Kim In Kwon), all become suspicious of the sudden shift in the king's behavior.
Said to have been filmed in the real historical palaces in Seoul, the movie combines lavish mise en scène with competent direction of fine actors playing strong characters in a familiar story. While not quite Kagemusha caliber, being far more affected than Kurosawa's masterwork, it makes for a compelling spectacle in its own right, marred slightly by Ha-sun's tendency to emote by shedding tears on demand. The climactic confrontation between Captain Do and a band of assassins dispatched by the recovered king to retire his stand-in with extreme prejudice, is especially notable as a vivid illustration of the vital difference between slashes and cuts in a sword-fight. I recommend it to all fans of international costume drama.
Last seen two years ago as a secret agent opposite Choi Min-sik's superhuman sociopath in Kim Jee-woon's superb neo-Elizabethan revenge tragedy I Saw the Devil, Lee Byung-hun plays both titular characters: Prince Gwanghae, the ill-fated fifteenth king of the Joseon Dynasty, and Ha-sun, the lowly comedian pressed into service as a stand-in for the monarch who faces the threat of assassination. This speculative fiction draws upon an episode in the eighth year of Gwanghaegun's reign, when the court chronicles recorded his saying, "Do not put on record what is meant to be hidden", followed by two weeks' worth of missing entries. The central conceit of the plot is that the king's loyal and able adviser Heo Gyun (Ryoo Seung-Ryong) forced Ha-sun to impersonate Gwanghaegun while he recovered a coma after an apparent poisoning attempt. While this contemptuous potentate starts out by micromanaging his puppet through his official court functions, he soon develops an appreciation of Ha-sun's patriotic and humanitarian concerns for the kingdom and its subjects. Meanwhile, the head of an opposing Greater Northerner faction, Park Chung-seo (Kim Myung-gon), the Queen Consort Lady Ryu (Han Hyo-joo), and the king's bodyguard Captain Do (Kim In Kwon), all become suspicious of the sudden shift in the king's behavior.
Said to have been filmed in the real historical palaces in Seoul, the movie combines lavish mise en scène with competent direction of fine actors playing strong characters in a familiar story. While not quite Kagemusha caliber, being far more affected than Kurosawa's masterwork, it makes for a compelling spectacle in its own right, marred slightly by Ha-sun's tendency to emote by shedding tears on demand. The climactic confrontation between Captain Do and a band of assassins dispatched by the recovered king to retire his stand-in with extreme prejudice, is especially notable as a vivid illustration of the vital difference between slashes and cuts in a sword-fight. I recommend it to all fans of international costume drama.