The King And The Clown (2005) - Wang-ui namja

The King And The Clown (2005) Country: South Korea Release Year: 2005 Aka: Wang-ui namja Director: Lee Jun Ik Writer: Choi Seok Hwan, Kim Tae Wung Language: Korean Genre: Drama, History, Thriller Runtime: 121 min Cast: Lee Jun Ki, Gam Woo Seong Jeong Jin Yeong, Kang Seong Yeon Yu Hae Jin, Jeong Seok Yong  Studio: Eagle Pictures, Cinema Service Imdb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0492835/ Available on:

South Korean director Lee Joon-ik's feature The King and the Clown has the double distinction of being the highest-grossing film in Korean history at the time of its release and one of the first Korean commercial films to deal openly and unabashedly with gay themes; it is regarded in many quarters as "the Korean Brokeback Mountain." Adapted from Kim Tae-Woong's play Yi, this period drama concerns two 16th century, Chosun Era clowns: the supremely self-assured Jang-seng (Kam Woo-seong) and transsexual Gong-gil (Lee Jun-gi), who earn a meager living as street performers in Hanyang. Miraculously, their excruciating poverty comes to an end when the tyrannical King Yon-san (Jeong Jin-yeong) catches their act and, delighted, invites them to serve as resident court jesters at his palace. But matters grow increasingly complex and tricky when Yon-san feels a torrent of lust for Gong-gil and attempts to possess the androgynous performer. This elicits unbridled jealousy from Jang-seng and not only sets him on a head-to-head collision course with the king, but threatens to propel Yon-san into full insanity.