The King and the Clown
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | The King and the Clown |
| Original title | Wang-ui Namja ( 왕 의 남자 ) |
| Country of production | South Korea |
| original language | Korean |
| Publishing year | 2005 |
| length | 119 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Lee Jun-ik |
| script | Choi Seok-hwan |
| production |
Jeong Jin-wan , Lee Jun-ik |
| music | Lee Byeong-wu |
| camera | Ji Gil-wung |
| cut | Kim Sang-beom, Kim Jae-beom |
| occupation | |
| |
The King and the Clown is a historical film by South Korean director Lee Jun-ik from 2005. With over 12.3 million admissions, it was the most successful film of the year in South Korea . The film is based on the play Yi ( 이 / 爾 ) from 2000.
action
The King and the Clown is set in late 15th century Korea under King Yeonsangun . Jang-saeng and Gong-gil earn their living by entertaining people as fools. Gong-gil mainly plays female roles in her pieces. Your manager takes advantage of this to prostitute Gong-gil and offer it to wealthy customers. But Jang-saeng and Gong-gil contradict this practice. Gong-gil kills the manager and they both flee to Hanyang , where they join a new force.
On one play they joke at the royal court's expense, including the king and his new concubine, Jang Nok-su. Therefore, the group is arrested and flogged for libel of majesty. Jang-saeng suggests being given the opportunity to make the king laugh. Should this not succeed, they would be executed. In the end it succeeds, the king laughs and makes both his court jesters.
During a play at court, they joke about the ministers who receive expensive gifts for donations. The king thinks it's funny, but notices that the ministers are upset. So the king asks the ministers whether they are guilty of what the court jesters have said. He exposes the corrupt minister and has his fingers cut off as a warning to the other ministers.
Over time, the king developed affection for Gong-gil and invited him to his chambers for private demonstrations. Jang-saeng is envious because he has feelings for Gong-gil himself. He suggests leaving the palace. But Gong-gil still wants to stay. Meanwhile, the king becomes increasingly unstable mentally. He has the fools perform a play in which the king's mother is poisoned by the other concubines. The king then kills these concubines. Now Gong-gil wants to leave the yard too. Both fear that they too could be killed by the king. Gong-gil asks the king to be released, but the king refuses.
Jang No-ksu also gets angry when she realizes the attention the King is paying to Gong-gil. The ministers want to kill Gong-gil in a hunt, but another street performer is killed instead. Days later, the king kisses Gong-gil. The king's anger escalates and the ministers feel it. The fools now all leave the court, but Gong-gil asks Jang-saeng not to leave him alone, as he is the only one who cannot go. As if he stays. Meanwhile, Jang Nok-su tries to circulate an insult to the king in Gong-gil's handwriting. But Jang-saeng, who has the same script, takes the blame and is supposed to be executed the next morning.
However, one eunuch secretly releases Jang-saeng during the night. He should forget Gong-gil and leave the palace. But Jang-saeng stays instead and makes fun of the king with an appearance. Gong-gil asks the king not to do anything. But as a punishment, the king has Jang-saeng's eyes burned with liquid iron. Gong-gil attempts suicide, but the royal doctors can save him. The king then loses interest in Gong-gil and turns back to Nok-su.
The king makes Jang-saeng dance blindly on a rope. Gong-gil then joined in to support him. He asks Jang-saeng what he would like to be in his next one. He replies that he wants to be a fool again. Gong-gil agrees. At the end of the film, the palace is stormed by the angry people. In the final scene, Jang-saeng and Gong-gil are happily reunited with their old troop, including their friend who was killed during the hunt.
background
The film adapts the play Yi , which was written by Kim Tae-woong. This was inspired by a small passage in the annals of the Joseon Dynasty in which the king's favorite court jester , Gong-gil, is mentioned. Jang-saeng, on the other hand, is an imaginary figure. The film and the play tell a homosexual love story between Jang-saeng, Gong-gil and King Yeongsan.
reception
With more than twelve million viewers in South Korea ( grossing over 85 billion won , around 85 million euros), the film was the most successful Korean film of all time in March 2006. The King and the Clown hit the ten million visitor mark just 45 days after its premiere. This means that one in four Koreans and almost half of all adults have seen the film. It replaced the film Brotherhood - When Brothers Have to Shoot Each Other . This recorded 11.5 million moviegoers. In 2006 the film The Host was released , which replaced The King and the Clown as the most successful South Korean film to date . Ultimately, the film would win South Korea's Oscars for Best Foreign Language Film when it was awarded in 2007 , but was ultimately not nominated.
With a budget of just under 4.4 billion won (about $ 4.4 million), The King and the Clown was a comparably inexpensive production. The film starred both director and actor. Lee Jun-gi achieved great fame as a youth crush all over Asia.
The film received mostly positive reviews. For Darcy Paquet, the film is a surprise success. While Jeong Jin-yeong fills the role of the infamous King Yeonsangun in an interesting way, who was power-hungry but not sane enough to use it. The real highlight of the film, however, are the two clowns and their appearances. According to Paquet, the film would have the potential for global success if it were visually and cineastically more mature. According to Lee Seung-jae from Dong-a Ilbo , The King and the Clown is a film for everyone. The film plays between the hunger for power and the hunger for love. Ultimately, it's not just about homosexual love, but about the universal concept of sad love. The film shows how joy and sorrow have the same origin.
Awards
The awards listed for the film come from the cinemasie.com website .
Baeksang Arts Awards 2006
- Grand Prize in the Film category
- Awards in the Best New Actor category for Lee Joon-gi
- Awards in the Best Actor category for Kam Woo-sung
- Awards in the Best Supporting Actor category for Jang Hang-seon
Daejong Film Award 2006
- Awards in the Best Film category
- Awards in the Best Director category Lee Joon-ik
- Awards in the Best Actor category for Kam Woo-sung
- Awards in the Best Supporting Actor category for Yoo Hae-jin
- Awards in the Best New Actor category for Lee Joon-gi
- Awards in the Best Screenplay Category for Choi Seok-hwan
- Awards in the Best Cinematography category for Ji Gil-wung
Blue Dragon Awards 2006
- Awards in the Best Music category for Lee Byung-woo
Korean Film Awards 2006
- Awards in the Best New Actor category for Lee Joon-gi
Deauville American Film Festival 2007
- Jury Prize
Web links
- King and the Clown in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- King and the Clown in the Korean Movie Database (English)
- The King and the Clown at HanCinema
Individual evidence
- ^ Paul Kerry: 'The Clowns' explores the contortions of an outsider coming in. In: The Korea Herald . June 24, 2015, accessed May 27, 2020 .
- ^ King and the Clown (2005). In: CJ Entertainment. Archived from the original on February 21, 2013 ; accessed on May 27, 2020 (English).
- ↑ a b Lee Seung-jae: The King and the Clown Is Story of Everyman. In: Dong-a Ilbo . December 22, 2005, accessed May 29, 2020 .
- ↑ Darcy Paquet: King and the Clown. In: koreanfilm.org. Retrieved on May 29, 2020 (English).
- ^ The King and The Clown. In: cinemasie.com. Retrieved May 27, 2020 (English).