The Face Reader

The film narrates, in an enjoyable way, a crucial point in 15th Century Korean History and although the main character (the face reader) and his friends are fictional, most of the others are real historical figures, from King Sejo himself to his legendary adviser, Han Myung-hoe

It's a good movie, spiced with funny characters and beautiful women, well acted, edited and directed. The script has a classical breath that reminds of Shakespearian works but could be perceived somehow naive or slow paced by a Western audience.

Therefore I would not recommend it to someone who is not interested in the Asian way of describing human feelings or is not willing to experience something alien. The idea that face reading could reveal the human soul or that someone's destiny is carved in his own outlines is catching and very well developed.