Director Kim Yong-gyoon's tale played out as a fascinating driven journey blending swordplay, high romance, and politics with nice action sequences and mind-boggling scenery! An excellent biopic of the beautiful & strong-willed 15 yr old consort of King Kojong from the Yi period, played by the Korea's enchanting Jae-woong Choi. It revolves around a 15 yr old girl named Ja-young, who later is crowned Queen Myeongseong, considered a national heroine in South Korea today, and her bodyguard, Moo-myoung. Moo-myoung starts off as a Joseon dynasty headhunter who tracks down fugitives and lives off their rewards. One day, he encounters a beautiful noble girl, Ja-young, and falls in love with her. A few years later, Ja-young enters the royal palace as the next queen of Joseon, Empress Myeongseong. Lovesick Moo-myoung becomes the personal guard to the Empress in order to be closer to her.
Empress Myeongseong (19 October 1851 – 8 October 1895), is arguably one of the most controversial figures of the entire Joseon Dynasty back in the Yi period. Her parents passed away when she was 9, leaving her a poor orphan who had to live with the Mins of Yju, the place of her birth. She was made the royal consort in 1866 at the urging of Lady Min, consort of Hungsn Taewngun and mother of her future husband, King Kojong. At barely 16, she married the 15 yr old boy king at the Joseon Dynasty. She's portrayed as pure, innocent (but not naïve), devoted, and defiant. This movie is about her rise to power and bloody assassination (at the hands of the Japanese), which all seems to fall in line w/ historians. After Japan's victory in the First Sino-Japanese War, she advocated stronger ties between Korea and Russia in an attempt to block Japanese influence in Korea, which was represented by the Daewongun, her father-in-law. She is an assertive and ambitious woman, unlike other queens that came before her, and later becomes quite interested in politics and the western world via a French friend (Sophie Broustal); the arrival of electricity in the country; and international power politics. Miura Gorō, the Japanese Minister to Korea at the time and a retired army lieutenant-general, backed the faction headed by her father-in-law, whom he considered to be more sympathetic to Japanese interests. She tries to modernize the dynasty by allying with foreign nations but becomes turmoiled into a political power struggle. Moo-myoung must fend off devastating threats from her father-in-law and the foreign army(Japanese) in order to protect Ja-young from harm.
A powerful & moving biopic. The Koreans have in recent years produced some pretty decent swordplay movies Bichunmoo, The Restless, The Duelist and Shadowless Sword being some of the more memorable movies. 9 out of 10 from me!
Empress Myeongseong (19 October 1851 – 8 October 1895), is arguably one of the most controversial figures of the entire Joseon Dynasty back in the Yi period. Her parents passed away when she was 9, leaving her a poor orphan who had to live with the Mins of Yju, the place of her birth. She was made the royal consort in 1866 at the urging of Lady Min, consort of Hungsn Taewngun and mother of her future husband, King Kojong. At barely 16, she married the 15 yr old boy king at the Joseon Dynasty. She's portrayed as pure, innocent (but not naïve), devoted, and defiant. This movie is about her rise to power and bloody assassination (at the hands of the Japanese), which all seems to fall in line w/ historians. After Japan's victory in the First Sino-Japanese War, she advocated stronger ties between Korea and Russia in an attempt to block Japanese influence in Korea, which was represented by the Daewongun, her father-in-law. She is an assertive and ambitious woman, unlike other queens that came before her, and later becomes quite interested in politics and the western world via a French friend (Sophie Broustal); the arrival of electricity in the country; and international power politics. Miura Gorō, the Japanese Minister to Korea at the time and a retired army lieutenant-general, backed the faction headed by her father-in-law, whom he considered to be more sympathetic to Japanese interests. She tries to modernize the dynasty by allying with foreign nations but becomes turmoiled into a political power struggle. Moo-myoung must fend off devastating threats from her father-in-law and the foreign army(Japanese) in order to protect Ja-young from harm.
A powerful & moving biopic. The Koreans have in recent years produced some pretty decent swordplay movies Bichunmoo, The Restless, The Duelist and Shadowless Sword being some of the more memorable movies. 9 out of 10 from me!