King and the Clown (2005)

Surprisingly incoherent and boring

Some things I liked some I did not.

Purely Joyful Movie!

everything you have heard about this movie is true.

Often when I think about writing a preview, I wait until I ramble through my adjectives and stumble upon a gem of a phrase to set the tone of my treatment. The King and the Clown (Wang-ui Namja) directed by Lee Jun-ik gets this phrase: "the pageantry of life." The movie, initially released in South Korea in December 2005, is adapted from the 2000 highly acclaimed Korean play entitled "Yi" (You). Whereas the play is about Yeonsan-gun, a Joseon dynasty king who falls in love with a court clown, the movie uses the love interest of the King to weave a tale of human activity at its most base level of political and social upheaval.What is indeed so amazing is it manages to intertwine this American's imagination (subtitles aside) into its allegorical webs, even while one sits thousands of miles away from its Korean audiences. Such universal appeal is rivaled only by one's love of music.The movie carries its own clout. Indeed, The King and the Clown was the highest grossing (over $85 million in US dollars) in South Korean history. That is, until it was out done by the horror film The Host.Weather the movie was intended to operate as historically accurate film is soon lost on the magnificent delivery of the characters portrayed. The director elicits from his fine cast of actors performances that that further Asian film from the heavy handed fight scenes and bold colors that often connect westerners to Asian film.Among them, Jang-Saeng (Karm Woo-sung) and Gong-gil (Lee Joon-ki) play off each other so well that one begins to wonder if Jang-Saeng does not secretly lust after his partner himself. It takes fine foreign actors to take the American viewer's mind away from the subtitles and feel comfortably lost in the characters.You'll feel comfortable lost and found in The King and the Clown.

The King and The Clown left me speechless at the end. All I could think was, 'What a movie'. Nearly everyone whom I have recommended this movie to shared more or less the same reaction. Such is the beauty of The King and The Clown.This film tells the story of two minstrels who break away from their troupe and seek to make a living for themselves in Seoul. Jang-sang, the more masculine and brash one, and Gong-gil, the weaker and emotionally fragile one, soon get into trouble with the higher authorities for mocking the king. Jang-sang makes a deal that their lives should be spared if their play makes the king laugh. Fortunately for them, the king does, and they are thus installed as court jesters. Everything seems to be going swimmingly until the king takes a fancy to the beautiful, effeminate Gong-gil, and the minstrels' politically satirical plays begin to strike various chords with the government.First of all, the acting is brilliant. The main trio of Kam Woo Seong, Jeong Jin Yeong and Lee Joon Ki own their roles completely, especially Lee Joon Ki, who is really an eye-opener. I think majority of the viewers, male and female alike, were smitten with him during the show. Jeong Jin Yeong plays his psychotic, warped king to the hilt, and Kam Woo Seong is convincing as the streetsmart, daring Jang-sang. The three of them play off each other beautifully.The script is equally good. The characters are all real and multi-dimensional, and the story pans out in a very emotional and intelligent way. The minstrels' 'meaning-within-meaning' plays, the friendship between them, the confused relationship between the king and Gong-gil, the hypocrisy of the government, and the politics are fascinating. Other aspects such as the wardrobe and soundtrack compliment the movie perfectly.I highly recommend this movie. I watched it with high expectations, and it exceeded them. It is heartrending, touching, profound, and comedic in parts. Do not miss out on this beautiful piece of film-making!

When I first heard that the movie King and the Clown was being made, I thought that it wouldn't be very interesting. But it was so good. Directed by Lee Joon Ik(a quite well known director in our country,though not in overseas),King and the Clown tells about a love story between two courters and the triangular relationship between them and the king.(of course,unlike what many foreign audiences might think,although the king,his concubine and Kong Gil are real people,the story itself is 100% made up)What was most astonishing about this movie was that,it showed the passionate love between the two male jesters without showing any sexual scenes.(I liked Brokeback Mountain,but not it was too explicit)And the choreography,costumes etc were so beautifully made with a low budget(around 4.5million dollars). Finally I see a well made Korean movie that was very interesting even without any star actors.

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.