Auckland - 30 May
Wellington - 7 June
M - (contains violence,
sexual references and offensive language)
The King and The Clown
Dir: Lee Jun-ik, South Korea, 2005, 35mm,
119 mins
Korean with English subtitles
This sumptuous costume drama about two gay actors who mock a King in 1500s
Korea became the highest-grossing film in that country’s history. Bawdy
and boisterous, the story follows the tough life of a troupe of actors,
clowns and acrobats who perform in town squares across the country.
Self-confident Jang-seng and androgynous Gong-gil share a loving relationship.
They earn only a meagre living, but find their performances increasingly
popular when they start satirising King Yonsan and his chief concubine,
Nok-Su.
The actor’s wretched poverty combines with their free spirits and unquestionable
skills as performers to form the exuberance of their shows – eventually
they go to Seoul to seek fame and riches. But here their show is brought
to the attention of King Yonsan himself. Instead of being sentenced to
death, the two jesters make the moody tyrant laugh with their earthy wit
and are admitted into his court.
The King finds himself curiously attracted to the beautiful Gong-gil and
he soon casts aside the favours of his concubine and invites the young
man to his royal bedchamber for wine and flirtation, much to the chagrin
of the protective and loving Jang-seng.
Inspired by the diaries of a 16th-century king, this epic film blends
comedy with almost Shakespearean tragedy – all served over a taboo-breaking
gay subtext. Its central theme – that art and love prevail in the face
of tyranny – has made it a festival favourite around the world, and it
was Korea’s submission to the Oscars in the Best Foreign Film category.
