The King and the Clown

Masterpiece with underlying desperation

This movie is a masterpiece. It talks about really deep issues in a "fun" way with lots of great costuming, stellar acting and engaging story. The only bad part is that the show is so vivid but the underlying message is depressing - "it is not possible to fight oppression if you are too low on the totem pole." Yes that is true and also it is not :) That is a whole new review LOL In just a few words: each one of us has karma, and we gotta resolve it. Looking into this movie, there were other possible options for the two characters to live a happier life, but they PERSISTED in going in the wrong direction. That is their karma. Personally, I think it would be better to sneak into King's palace and get the fem Clown out and then go hide in the mountains :) Or leave the fem Clown there but go out and organize an uprising to get him out. Or get out and start meditating and become a saint in honor of the fem Clown .... etc etc etc But that's my solution. The Clowns did not think of it. So .. their karma... I just dislike thinking that the only solution is to feel bad and bear it. I think even when we bear it, we are supposed to feel peace and it SHOULD FEEL LIKE THE RIGHT THING. I think the two Clowns just egged each other down the deep end. The fem Clown had to follow the macho Clown suicidal attempt, and macho Clown did not think of better solutions to bail out the fem Clown. For example macho Clown should have written in front of king to prove that ANYONE can copy fem Clown writing. If macho Clown could do it then someone else could do it and King certainly was aware of nasty people who frame others.... It was worth trying. But macho Clown did not want to risk it.

The movie is about so many deep issues... at this point in time, I see these issues:
how artists are poor and limited and at the mercy of those who pay them, to the point of abuse, exploitation and even sexual abuse,
the DESPERATION it produces, as fem Clown was forced into prostitution and he willingly went for it to not cause trouble
how it is easy to make a popular, great performance by putting in sex and poop jokes... everyone finds that funny ... so it is used in so much "art"
how art can be used for healing trauma, for telling stories, for communicating, for political and social change, as ART IS POWERFUL CATALYST
how that is forbidden as the society does not care for change, so it supresses art (the nobleman and courtesans and grandma did not like the shows LOL)
How the potent messages have to be hidden in the art to avoid retaliation, so you hide profound messages behind sex and poop jokes etc
how artists will decide to risk their life to do creative pieces which "they cannot do anywhere else" as fem Clown decided to stay in the dangerous palace to do one new art show,
how mistakes cannot be taken back - later the fem Clown could not leave the palace anymore and it was certain death AND he pulled his soulmate Clown into torture and death, he is directly responsible. And instead of fixing it somehow in a productive way, he just committed suicide with him. And the macho Clown, instead of somehow breaking in to free the fem Clown, he boldly went in to get killed. DUMB FOOLS. LOSERS,
OVERALL, the issue of exploited and abused poor and their desperation at their condition and their lack of effort to get out of it. ===>>>THIS IS THE WORST AND VERY EVIL TEACHING OF THIS KMOVIE. I really dislike this. The filmmaker makes only such movies, of great calamities that have no solution.
OVERALL the issue of the entitled and nasty rich, who do WHATEVER they want and retaliate if exposed. and are nasty to the point of murder, rape, prostitution and pervesion
the trauma of abused children who then grow up crazy
the trap of rich and famous and being catered to and thus becoming weak and losing one's mind - the king was a porn abuser and mentally off to the point of being a murderer
the nasty politics and as$ kissing and murders as ppl compete to be rich and famous - the prostitute swindling the king with pervert porn tricks
and yeah love between males and how that is not socially accepted - the two Clowns were definitely "married" and the king felt lust and some trace of love for the fem Clown who was a rather "pure soul"
the weakness of characters who have too much protection - the fem Clown was so meek and "pure" bc the macho Clown just took care of him, so fem Clown never grew and was basically a child in adult body

And personally, I think the costuming, the dances, the performances are STELLAR, sex and poop jokes and all, this was so creative and educational!!!!! And the acting of every single actor is 1000% STELLAR.

Lee Joon Gi's best acting imo is in this movie. He is a PERFECT woman. The manerism, the hips, the voice, ... and he is pretty :) Such a beautiful round full soft face. I kept analyzing WHY. Because I saw him first in Flower of Evil and Lawless Layer kdramas and honestly, I thought he was really ugly!!!! he looks like an elf!!!! with big floppy ears and a triangular chin that made him look like an alien, and very stiff "macho man" body and movement and yeah all those fights.
He is a little better looking in Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo bc he has long hair that hides his floppy ears and triangular face, and some pretty bows in long hair that distract attention.
In King and Clown, his face looked very full and round and soft, with a square jaw!!!! and ... thick meat on his face... I cannot explain it... he looks skinny faced in his later dramas... .... and I was wondering if he got plastic surgery after to get rid of strong jaw he shows here???? And his dancing here was stellar, he is very flexible. Also, all his roles after this movie are all thrillers, where he is a macho he man who fights and kills and is cold faced and cruel and has women, and even there are moments where he shoos away any guys who say they like him, like the son of the father he got out of prison in Again my Life. So seems like LJG worked really hard to get rid of the fem image.... ??

This is surely a gay drama, it is a triangle between two clowns and the king. The macho Clown is surely in love with the fem Clown and vice versa, otherwise they would not be doing such great things for each other to the point of individual suicide and joint suicide! and daily hugging and sleeping so close next to each other. The gay romance is hidden from the audience, just hinted at, for example the two of them sleeping so close in the corner next to each other and He puttinig a blanket on She, we did not need to see any more details than that... since it would be distracting from the movie's main topics.

The movie focused on what a **loving relationship** is. But I think the movie does not really show it. There is not enough communication and growth between the two Clowns. They are very ordinary people who feel deeply for each other but do not know WHAT TO DO WITH IT.
The king felt lust and some immature "affection" but as soon as it wasnt to his liking, he was going to kill his "love". So from his example we know what love is NOT.
The relationship between the two Clowns teaches us more about love, but not everything. It was very soulmate-like deep and solid relationship and definitely beyond just friendship, but it was not a totally functional relationship. The movie just did not want to focus on the fact that it was two MEN in love (and all the details of bed time etc that goes with it) and distract the audience from the bigger issues that are addressed in the movie.

The only way that these two were not lovers is if they were somehow relatives etc, or if they feared to look gay, or if the macho Clown did not want to evoke memories in fem Clown of being raped for money. But I doubt these were the reasons. In any case, their relationship was waaay beyond "good friendship". They were dedicated to each other to literally death.

But the movie DID make sure to emphasize and "prove" that two men can be in very deep life-long love. So in some ways the movie is promoting lgbt+ or at least gay males love.

And the movie shows the exploitation of gay males is the same as the exploitation of straight women, the "rape" and "prostitution" is a common concept for both, just like it is for anyone who doesnt have the skills and desire to FIGHT.

King surely mounted the fem Clown. The king's clothes were all dishelved. The fem Clown had nowhere to go, his life was at stake AND his troupe and lover's life were at stake. He had to say yes, and he was used to being prostituted. He had to do it so many times before, that's how the movie started. We never saw the fem Clown tell the macho Clown though. Bc that part was not important for the message of the movie. We know that the Macho Clown KNEW.

Also, the macho Clown is not put down as a "lesser man" bc he loves another man. THe macho Clown is a very confident and strong and smart person and we get to like him. And the fem Clown is very gentle and meek and obedient so we get to sympathize with him two. And the two of them communicate. How they agreed to leave after the Fem said they just do one more show and then leave. How they stood for each other. How they fought, how they won the fights. The fem Clown got violent when he was going to be left. They were a great example of a successfully married couple.

So yeah this movie advocates for gay people as "humans" like everyone else.

Also, the movie made sure not to alienate us and kept it "fun" and did not show the very end, only hinted by the fan flying away. Both Clowns must have died on that rope, as nobles hated them and surely killed them on that day. Hopefully. Hopefully they didnt torture them. But at least we know Clowns got happy in Heaven and will come back as Clowns.

And also we are SURE that the two Clowns loved each other so deeply to the point that they could not live one without the other. So the scene of fem Clown getting up on the rope knowing he will be killed and asking the macho Clown how they shall reincarnate .... was a planted scene to show deep deep love and also to advocate gay love as deep and to gain "good points" socially for gay love.

The bigger issues addressed in this movie are REALLY BIG ISSUES about what art is, society, politics, identity, free speech, corruption, rich vs poor, love, dedication, communication, integrity, fight for freedom, social injusctice and class system, hatred towards gay, corruption, entitlement, etc. TONS OF REALLY HEAVY STUFF. And as a real jester, all that was couched in sex and poop jokes and great costuming and dancing :) so it was easier to take in :)

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Excelente película

Tenía muchas ganas de ver esta película por tratarse del primer trabajo de Lee Joon Gi, quien interpreta al hermoso y delicado Gong-gil, y tal y como esperaba, trabaja espectacularmente, haciendo notar que desde sus inicios ha sido un excelente actor (me parece maravilloso que Joon Gi esté a día de hoy tan orgulloso de haber trabajado en este film). El cast en general, igualmente, me pareció muy bueno. Kam Woo Sung, quien interpreta a Jang-seng, era un completo desconocido para mí pero me encantó tanto su personaje como la interpretación que hizo del mismo. Ambos protagonistas despliegan un abanico de emociones muy amplias y profundas que logran ganarse al espectador.

La producción es buenísima: los vestuarios son hermosos y las puestas en escena de las obras de teatro son increíbles, y encima con cada obra nueva todo este aspecto mejora más y más. La última obra es impresionante visualmente. Si bien esta película es todo un drama, maneja un humor muy particular que me encantó, y que está muy bien aprovechado con los juglares y las obras, creando un buen balance entre lo trágico y lo cómico.

La trama es sencilla pero cuesta muchísimo imaginar a dónde va a parar todo, qué les va a pasar a los juglares, de qué es capaz el rey y cuáles son sus objetivos. Esta intriga constante y la tensión que había en muchos momentos, hicieron que las dos horas que la peli dura se me pasaran volando. Me encantó la forma en que se revelaron diferentes cuestiones del pasado de cada personaje principal, y la escena final es tremenda y súper emotiva. En fin, una película buenísima, me encantó.

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¡Muchísimo mejor de lo que esperaba!

La historia, de forma muy resumida, va de dos payasos callejeros que son arrestados (junto a algunos de sus colaboradores) por burlarse del rey y de su nueva concubina en uno de sus actos. Atrapados en una situación límite, uno de ellos le propone un trato a sus captores: si logran que el rey se ría con su performance, evitarán la muerte. Lo que pasa es que el rey termina poniendo los ojos en Gong Gil, que por su aspecto andrógino siempre interpreta papeles femeninos.

Quiero empezar diciendo que no sé qué esperaba de esta historia, pero realmente no era esto. O sea, esperaba que me gustara, pero no tanto como lo hizo, la disfruté de principio a fin. Entre más iba avanzando la trama, más me encariñaba con Gong Gil (personaje interpretado por Lee Joon Gi) y más sufría con las situaciones que, tanto él como sus compañeros, tenían que atravesar.

A pesar de que en sí no pasa mucho a lo largo de las 2hs que dura, es una película que te mantiene atento todo el tiempo. Por lo menos yo genuinamente quería saber qué iba a pasar a continuación, sobre todo porque no se me hizo para nada predecible, no podía adivinar cómo terminaría. También hay ciertos momentos en los que no podía evitar apretar fuerte una almohada porque la tensión, la importancia, la bronca y la turbiedad eran tan grandes que no me salía hacer otra cosa.

Otro aspecto a resaltar son los actores. Todos son excelentes, pero Jung Jin Young (el rey) y Lee Joon Gi son para sacarse el sombrero. El nivel de interpretación es impresionante, qué decirles. Y la ambientación general está muy bien para ser una película del 2000, la puesta en escena de las obras que van interpretando los dos protagonistas cada vez son más hermosas.

Ah, otra cosa que tienen que saber es que el humor que maneja el guion es bastante particular, muy irreverente. Puede que les choque un poco si no están acostumbrados (sobre todo al principio). Pero bueno, va muy bien con la historia, que por momentos se pone hasta incómoda de ver.

¿Se las recomiendo? ¡Obvio que sí!

IG de reseñas cortas: @altoplottwist

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Inusuale, "antico" ma godibile

Tenuto conto che si tratta di un film che ha quasi vent'anni, girato in Corea, tanto di cappello. E' ovvio che non può essere paragonato ad un'opera dei giorni nostri.
Un Lee Joon Gi ancora in boccio, ma che già prometteva quel che ha poi mantenuto, e anche tutto il resto del cast ha funzionato alla grande. E' normale che nella lunghezza di un film si perdano molte sfumature, la storia si sarebbe forse potuta migliorare con un breve drama, ma anche così è stata soddisfacente.
Forse un po' oscuro e sospeso il finale, in linea con le ultime inquadrature che vedono i protagonisti sospesi per aria.
Un'ottima visione, per me.

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Obra-prima do cenário cinematográfico coreano

"Um BL em Joseon" foi o que eu pensei. "Um BL em Joseon produzido em 2005. Será?".

The King And The Clown conta a história de dois bobos da corte, Jangseng e Gonggil, que resolvem atacar o rei Yeonsan através de suas apresentações, em ordem de protestar contra as ordens reais de não haver mais eventos de teatro. Uma vez que suas apresentações ficam populares na cidade, os bobos da corte são desafiados a passarem pela aprovação do próprio rei, então acabam tendo que apresentar sua sátira no palácio. Diferente do que todos imaginavam, o rei acaba gostando até demais da dupla de palhaços, então os convida para serem os bobos da corte reais. O quesito BL é apontado quando o rei começa a demonstrar um interesse muito específico em Gonggil, o palhaço de feições femininas que comumente faz os papéis crossdresser nas apresentações.

Confesso que não estava muito animada com a ideia desse filme, principalmente por se tratar de uma produção do início dos anos 2000 e eu ter um pouquinho de pré conceito com filmes em que a qualidade audio-visual não é tão boa, mas o conjunto drama histórico + boys love + Lee Joongi me convenceram a finalmente dar uma chance a essa história.

No ínico a trama parece ser simples, os dois palhaços são apresentados, o conceito de suas peças é apresentado, o cuidado que eles tem um com o outro é apresentado e tudo é muito curioso, muito bonito de ver, muito diferente do que normalmente os dramas históricos coreanos mostram. As cenas da apresentação no palácio me deixaram realmente angustiada, eu conseguia sentir o pavor dos personagens quando o rei começou a interagir, eu sentia que estava ali com eles quase a beira da morte.

Conforme o filme ia se desenrolando, eu sentia uma luzinha crescendo dentro de mim. Eu queria poder mostrar esse filme para todas as pessoas possíveis, queria que todo o cenário artístico brasileiro pudesse desgrutar dessa obra-prima, queria não ter tanto receio de falar mais desse filme por conta do preconceito que as pessoas tem com a arte coreana.

Porque esse filme merece todo destaque do mundo, eu sinto que ele foi feito com um carinho descomunal, cada detalhe, cada cenário, cada figurino, cara expressão dos atores, tudo. Esse é o tipo de filme que vai te fazer suspirar de contentamento toda vez que você lembrar que teve a oportunidade de assistir a ele nessa vida.

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