(4.5 STARS) The Man Who Wanted to Be King
"Masquerade" (original title "Gwanghae, Wangyidoen namja") is a 2012 Korean historical drama that became one of the country's biggest hits of all time. Lee Byung Hun ("The Good, the Bad, the Weird" "I Saw the Devil") plays the double role of the 17th century Korean King Gwanghae of the Joseon Dynasty, who is afraid of being assassinated, and a clown named Ha-sun, who resembles the monarch. When the King is drugged and in coma, Ha-sun is secretly whisked to the court, where he is forced to live as the King.
Only a few know the truth, which must be kept from the ministers vying for power. Even the Queen (Hyo-ju Han) devoted to the King must be kept in ignorance of what had happened. Ha-sun at first bumbles through official duties as the "King," but as he comes to notice the corruption in the court, Ha-sun begins to think maybe he can change the country and life of the people.
Some understandably compare the "Prince and the Pauper" premise of the film with that of...
A Fun to Watch Historical Drama
As far as I know the movie was shown at two theatres in my area (SF Bay) for a week, and then it was gone, and I've
been trolling Amazon and other sites since then attempting to buy it so that I can share it with others. Its a fun historial drama, in which an irreverant noncourt jester is forced to masquerade as the king of Joseon when the real king is nonfatally poisoned. He has humorous problems adjusting to life at court, which I don't want to give away, and problems dealing with politics, and in the end, with what will happen when his reign is ended with the return of the real king. Humor, compassion, rightous anger, political intrigue, betrayal, and a beautiful girl make a good mixture.
You'll Never Quite Look At A King And His "Throne" The Same Way
The rags-to-royalty story has been done to death. Still, every now and then, an aspiring actor or actress comes along with the right script and voila! The past is made new again. That's the case with MASQUERADE: THE KING OF FA
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