Watched South Korea's 2005_The King and the Clown_ (2:00:35), a real gem of a movie and a far cry from all modern K-dramas. Set in 1504, the equivalent of the Medieval Age in Asia, it is about two male minstrels who perform bawdy, acrobatic skits in marketplaces: Jaeng-Saen and Gong-Gil, his younger associate who plays female roles. While it has been classified as an LGBTQ+ film, there is nothing explicit between these two men other than that they care for each other. The dialogue and the skits are earthy and vulgar; other than that there is no nudity and no sex except for one, brief kiss planted by the king on Gong-Gil's lips.
The conflict begins when the minstrels travel to Seoul and perform a parody featuring the king and his courtesan Nok-Su. They are invited by head minister Cheo-Seon to perform at the palace and eventually perform skits exposing the corruption of the palace ministers. The king takes a liking to the troupe, encourages them to stage more parodies, and then uses them to wield power against his enemies,
He also falls in love with Gong-Gil. .
This is a serious, tragic, and disturbing film that is nonetheless exquisitely written and performed. It showcases a slice of South Korea that we don't see in other movies. The scenes with the band of minstrels are strangely reminiscent of the company kept by Michelangelo Merisi di Carvaggio, (1572 -1610), the Italian painter who lived in Rome with equally bawdy associates. It is also a strange film in that it pits homosexual relations against heterosexual relations, something which I believe has never been attempted before. Sadly, it is scheduled to be pulled out of the Netflix repertoire December 16, 2023.
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