Review on Korean Movie: A Frozen Flower (2008)

Title: Frozen Flower (2008)

Genre: Period Drama, Romance

Duration: 133 mins

Directed by Yu Ha

Cast:

In Seong Jo as Hong Lim

Jin Mo Ju as King of Goryeo

Ji-hyo Song as Queen of Goryeo

Synopsis:

Under the virtual rule of China's Yuan Dynasty, the King of Georyo has to produce an heir to keep his position.  Unfortunately, he cannot bear to sleep with a woman and only has eyes for his loyal general, Hong Lim, who is his real lover.

Thinking that all his political problems will go away once he produces an heir, he unexpectedly asks his lover to sleep with the queen.  He assumed that Hong Lim, who has never slept with a woman before, would stay true and loyal to him even after sleeping with a woman.  He miscalculated on his assumption though and failed to consider that bonds may be formed after mating. 

Hong Lim, who had always placed the king above all else, was hesitant to perform the king's orders at first but after the king urged him to perform his order, he does so and soon, his emotions were stirred in the process of mating with the queen. 

Soon after, all three were enmeshed in a complicated love triangle which led to deep-seated rage, uncontrollable anger, betrayal, and numerous deaths. 

Complicating the situation further is the political stability of the kingdom with threats of killing the king and establishing the Yuan Dynasty as the ruler of the kingdom.

Review:

I was shocked by the graphic sex scenes between the king and his chief guard and the scenes between the queen and the chief guard as well.  What was even more shocking to me is that the sexual orientation of the king seemed to be an open-book secret.  The scenes were very graphic and steamy and at times too revealing but was never offensive.  The cast were beautiful though which probably helped maintain balance in the film.

I was deeply impressed with the performance of Jin Mo Ju and his portrayal of the conflicting emotions, feeling his deep hurt which eventually leads him to abandon his sanity in pursuit of his love for Hong Lim.  In Seong Jo also gave good performance but somehow, I felt his performance was more inclined with the steamy sex scenes rather than the scenes outside of the bedroom (and the library).

I almost felt sorry for the queen in the end but somehow, I never got there.  Although the king did atrocious acts in his jealous rage, I somehow connected to his character more and felt his pain and regrets.  He only had his eyes set on Hong Lim and has never wavered on his emotions towards the chief guard. 

However, it became apparent though that Hong Lim's emotions were not at the same levels as the king's as he wavered after he mated with the queen and fell in love with her, leading him to abandon the king and ultimately seek his death. 

I am not convinced however that he never felt anything for the king besides loyalty due probably perhaps to his hesitation to initially sleep with the queen and his undying devotion before then.  The king might not have been his one great love but I felt, there was an emotional connection between them though.  When he knew he was dying, he chose to look at the king, shed a tear and somehow, I'm not sure if it was regret he felt for denying he ever loved the king, that being his last words or was it he was confused with his emotions until the end?  There was also the scene of them hunting together which was the king's dream which leads me to doubt if he never truly loved the king at all.

The worst scene was when the king wanted to give him the stallion and waited for him until the next day and he told the king he was at the library "reading military strategies" when in fact he went after the queen and slept with her the whole night.  I felt he was asking for death then and was brave enough to stare death on the face.  At that moment, when he lied, I felt as if my heart was being gripped with the knowledge that the king knows he's being lied to and still maintaining a straight face when deep inside, he must have felt like dying.

I found the movie very interesting, moving and stimulating.  We would never truly know Hong Lim's heart and could only stipulate on the scenes on the movie.  I give this movie 8.5 out of 10 stars.

Review on Korean Movie: PORTRAIT OF BEAUTY (2008)

Title: Portrait of Beauty (2005)

Genre: Period Drama, Romance

Duration: 1hr 48mins

Directed by Jeon Yoon Soo

Cast:

Kim Min Su as Shin Yun Bok

Kim Nam Gil as Kang Mu

Kim Yeong Ho as Kim Hong Do

Choo Ja Hyeon as Seol Hwa

Synopsis:

Shin Yun Bok(Kim Min Su)keeps a tricky charade of posing as a man to maintain her status as a royal court painter under the tutelage of the master painter Kim Hong Do.  Although it was never explained why the father held a deep grudge against the master painter, he urged Shin Yun Bok to ensure that she learn everything from him and to later on surpass the master painter and utterly destroy him in the process. 

Kim Hong Do (Kim Yeong Ho) is a master painter who was greatly favoured by the king and was the envy of the other ministers.  He was so impressed by Shin Yun Bok's talent that he took her in as his apprentice even with the knowledge that her father might have planned to use her to ultimately destroy him.  Shin Yung Bok was so talented she becomes a royal painter after a year and is shown preference by the master painter which led the other painting students to hold a grudge against her and pick on her for being too effeminate and accuse her of sleeping with the master. 

Urged by her master to find her own style in painting, she started painting controversial scenes, including naked women, mating, dogs in heat, and other questionable paintings and stirred controversy in court.  In the process, she also begins her sexual awakening as she gradually falls in love with a street hustler, Kang Mu(Kim Nam Gil).  In his arms, she realized that she could give up everything just to be with him. 

Their love was bound to fail though as Kim Hong Do realized that he needed to posses Shin Yun Bok and needed more than her art.  He forced the two lovers to separate and forces Shin Yun Bok to stay at his side to save Kang Mu.  This led Seol Hwa, his courtesan lover, to be jealous of Shin Yun Bok and strived to make sure the two lovers would not be parted.  She the taunted Kim Hong Do, telling him where the two lovers are and his lack of knowledge of women and of love.  Kim Hong Do rushes to find his student, urging her to stay by his side but failing.  He then decided to force Kang Mu to abandon Shin Yun Bok.  Kim Hong Do shoots him with an arrow dipped in poison, promising to give the antidote if he would erase her from his memory, to leave and never return. Kang Mu however refuses the antidote, replying "I never loved her half-heartedly..." choosing death than abandoning Shin Yun Bok. 

It's a story of moving art, love, sexual awakening, obsessive jealousy, betrayal, sacrifice and regrets.

Review:

I found it hard to relate to the film due probably to high expectation set by the reviews I've read online as well as my connection to the drama series which led me to so much tears. Compared to the tv drama, I found the film trying too hard to show depth and failed to stir any deep connection with me as an audience.  I believe the movie was trying to do too much and failed to do an effective characterization and balancing of plots.  Perhaps, I also found the acting lacklustre compared to the excellent performance given by the cast of the tv series.  I found it hard to relate to the tragedy that befalls the main actors although I clearly understood their pains.  It even showed a scene when the young Shin Yun Bok first met the great master and was given her first brush which led a deep impression to the great master.  Later on, when she was presented by his father, the great painter showed that he recognized her but chose to keep her secret as well. 

Perhaps, I was expecting a deeper connection between the master and his pupil that goes beyond the usual but was bound for disappointment as it only showed master's lust for his student.  His emotions eventually became deep-seated jealousy and led him to kill someone.  It would have been a moving plot if only there was more care given to the character development.

The beginning of the film held so much promise but fell flat in the end.  I believe the movie tried to incorporate everything featured in the drama series which was a major flaw and led to the disappointing ending as it felt dry and lifeless.

I give this movie 4 out of 10 stars for the beautiful paintings, sceneries and steamy sex scenes which the film might be remembered by.