Ssang-hwa-jeom (2008)

A historical drama set in the Koryo dynasty and focused on the relationship between a king and his bodyguard.

Director:

Ha Yoo (as Ha Yu)

Writer:

Ha Yoo (screenplay) (as Ha Yu)

Stars:

In-sung Jo, Jin-mo Ju, Ji-Hyo Song

4 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
In-sung Jo	...	Hong-rim (as In-seong Jo)
Jin-mo Ju	...	King
Ji-Hyo Song	...	Queen
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Yong-gu Do
Jong-hyeon Hong	...	King's man #1
In-beom Ko	...	Yeon Ki-mok
Tae-won Kwon	...	Jo Il-moon
Se-Rang Lee
Ju-hwan Lim	...	Han-baek
Ji-hyeok Min
Ji-hyeon Min	...	Concubine
Min-woo No	...	Min-wu (as Min-wu Noh)
Lee Poong-Yoon	...	King (young)
Yeong-ju Seo	...	Han-baek (young) (as Young-ju Seo)
Ji-ho Shim	...	Seung-gi

Storyline

The King (Joo Jin-mo) of Goryeo is married to a Yuan Dynasty princess (Song Ji-hyo), but they do not have any children. There is constant pressure on the king both from the Yuan emperor and his own counselors to produce a crown prince and ensure the continuity of the royal dynasty. The king's palace guard is composed of thirty six young soldiers, led by military commander Hong-rim (Jo In-sung), who is also the king's lover. The king finally decides to charge him with a strange commission: copulate the queen and beget a child. Hong-rim and the queen are uncomfortable accepting the royal order first, but they finally comply. However, their relationship does not stop at procreation, but genuinely true and intense romance soon blossoms between the two, and in this strong and close intimate relationship there is no place for the king.

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Plot Keywords:

bodyguard | nudity | gay | royal court | castration | 

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Genres:

Drama | History | Romance

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Details

Country:

South Korea

Language:

Korean

Release Date:

30 December 2008 (South Korea)

Also Known As:

A Frozen Flower

Filming Locations:

South Korea

Box Office

Budget:

$10,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Opus Pictures, Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

143 min (director's cut)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

King's minister 1: [from subtitle]
[During the feast in order to praying for Queen's pregnancy]
King's minister 1: Perhaps we shouldn't held this feast. what if the queen really bears a child?
King's minister 2: If such feasts have worked, there would been already an heir. Look at those concubines.
[He points towards three King's concubines who sat far away]
King's minister 2: even Buddha's grace won't get them an heir.

User Reviews

The Frozen Flower Shop

One would be puzzled with the title of the movie: Frozen Flower, or better known as Frozen Flower Shop in Korean. While the title was related to a song performed in the movie, the plot is far stretched from what it seems to be.

Set in the Koryo Dynasty, the King (Ju Jin-Mo) and Hong Lim (Jo In-Seong), the chief of guards, are two best friends growing up together. Hong Lim devoted his life to the King, while the King sees him as a close friend he can trust, including the physical intimacy they shared with each other.

Under the pressure from the Yuan Kingdom of China for unable to have a son as a heir, the King comes with a solution: to allow the Queen (Song Ji-Hyo) conceived by Hong Lim. After sharing the intimacy with Hong Lim, the Queen began to meet Hong Lim in private, so as to fulfill her desire. It ends up in a tragedy which no one would have foreseen in the first place.

Directed by Ha Yu (Marriage is a Crazy Thing), Frozen Flower dealt with the modern day issues in a ancient Koryo Dynasty background. Homosexuality and adultery are the two topics which is a hush-hush in South Korea today, has been fully exploited and utilized in the palace. Issues such as conspiracy on overthrowing the King and control of power, which were commonly seen in a Korean drama, did not get a chance to see the daylight. It ends up as a supporting agenda to tell the story.

The movie revolves around the King, the Queen and Hong Lim, on exploring their desires for each other, betrayal and lust. Apart from that, there is nothing much left to see on the remaining characters, since they are dispensable, and their existence in the story do not give much support to the presentation of the story.

The affection between the King and Hong Lim were displayed through their daily conversations and actions to each other, such as feeding each other when sick, exchange of sword fighting skills and pillow talks. On the other hand, you will get more than what you see for the relationship between Hong Lim and the Queen, where both were seen having sex most of the time.

Frozen Flower can be easily related to any modern day love triangle relationship drama, or some modern day Korean drama sharing the similar plot. However, the movie is greatly similar to Intimate Confessions of a Chinese Courtesan (1972) from HK's Shaw Brothers Studios. The 1972 production discussed similar issues, in the view of 2 women and a inspector.

If sword fighting and love triangle relationship is your cup of tea,Frozen Flower will be a good choice.