Two clowns living in Korea's Chosun Dynasty get arrested for staging a play that satirizes the king. They are dragged to the palace and threatened with execution but are given a chance to save their lives if they can make the king laugh.
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Title: Wang-ui namja (2005)
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11 wins & 14 nominations.
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Cast
| Credited cast: | |||
| Woo-seong Kam | ... | Jang-sang | |
| Jin-young Jung | ... | King Yeonsan (as Jin-yeong Jeong) | |
 |
Seong-Yeon Kang | ... | Nok-su Jang (as Sung-Yeon Kang) |
| Joon-Gi Lee | ... | Gong-gil (as Jun-ki Lee) | |
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Hang-Seon Jang | ... | Cheo-sun |
| Hae-jin Yoo | ... | Yuk-gab | |
|
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Seok-yong Jeong | ... | Chil-duk |
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Seung-Hun Lee | ... | Pal-bok |
| Rest of cast listed alphabetically: | |||
|
|
Hyeon Woo | ... | Hong |
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Plot Summary
|
Plot Synopsis
Storyline
Soul mate minstrels Jang-sang and Gong-gil eke out a living in 14th century Korea through bawdy stories presented in a tightrope act; however, sexual interests of the rich over Gong-gil's androgynous looks impair their basic desire to entertain once too often. A line is crossed, an authority figure dies, and the pair must flee to Seoul. They soon take up with a trio of fellow minstrels and, lead by Jang-sang, present riskier shows that prove more lucrative; but, a scathing exhibition satirizing the king and his concubine puts them under arrest with a set date for execution. Forced to present themselves to the king for final judgment, they surprisingly wind up becoming his court performers, but the tyrannical king, though sensitive and intelligent, is also excessive and psychologically scarred, with the minstrel shows putting him uncomfortably in touch with buried issues over his dead mother (long ago forced to commit suicide by the court). This makes him dangerously unstable. The ... Written by statmanjeff
Taglines:
Forbidden desire, sumptuous tragedyParents Guide:
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Details
Country:
South KoreaLanguage:
KoreanRelease Date:
29 December 2005 (South Korea) See more »Also Known As:
The King and the Clown See more »Filming Locations:
South KoreaCompany Credits
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IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Color:
Color
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Did You Know?
Trivia
This film was selected as the official Korean entry for the Best Foreign Language Film award at the 79th Academy Awards. The runners-up were Kim Ki-duk's Time, and the horror comedy The Host. See more »Goofs
In the on-screen translation, opening titles call out Korea's 500-years-plus Chosun Dynasty as being unmatched in the annals of "word" history, rather than "world" history. See more »Quotes
Jang-sang: [From subtitles] From up here, even the palace looks no better than a hovel! In a world full of scoundrels, only here did I meet the nastiest of them all. Ho! And the foul things he would do! Will you hear this tale then? As the gods kill us for their sport, so would he. He killed more souls than there are tiles on these roofs. His lust insatiable, even 2000 virgins were not enough. Why, his pecker was this big. No, THIS big! With it he skewered clam after virgin clam. And when he got tired of ...See more »
Trust South Korea to produce nice tragedies again and again. First it was "Friend", then "Joint Security Area", and now "The King and the Clown", which is about two male clowns being arrested for staging a comedy which mocks the King, and would be spared the death sentence if they could humor the King as much as they did to the civilians. This sounds a little like "Brokeback Mountain" taking place in Korea, but the speech and behavior the two clowns have towards each other is carefully crafted that they make it look more like a case of brotherhood amongst them. However, that does not in any way dilutes the affections we see between the two male friends, which are incredibly genuine. It is this genuine affection that makes this such a touching show to watch. Also, this is not just romance; this has elements of a thriller and social commentary interwoven within the plot. And all these roll out just nicely and rightly paced. No wonder it becomes one of the biggest selling movies in Korea, despite its modest production cost.