![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Review: The King and the Clown (왕의 남자) (2005)
I'd heard about this movie for a long time but only got to watching it now. I can see why it would have been well-received. It's a sympathetic and tragic tale about a not so sympathetic person. I would recommend this as a drama film.
Spoilers.
Story
At the beginning of the movie, we got some background information of the king of this movie, King Yeonsan. He'd undergone trauma as a child, his mother being forced to commit suicide due to what we are to believe were court machinations (i.e. she was likely framed).
We meet two minstrels, Gonggil and Jangsaeng. Gonggil had effeminate features, so he was often prostituted by their managers for extra money. This angered Jangsaeng to the point that he decided to take Gonggil away to the capital.
There, they joined another group of minstrels, Yukgab, Childuk, and Palbok. They made money with a skit that mocked the king. Of course, they were caught by officials who punished them, but Jangsaeng struck a deal, saying that if they could make the king laugh, then they should have been let go.
The skit they showed to the king was a bit disastrous because Yukgab, Childuk, and Palbok were too scared to say anything too vulgar. However, Gonggil and Jangsaeng saved the skit and managed to make the king laugh, earning a place in the palace.
Upon suggestion by Cheoseon, the King's assistant (not sure if he's a eunuch), the minstrels performed a skit that mocked ministers' greed. This too pleased the king and afterwards, when he realized that there was truth in the skit, he had a minister severely punished.
The King started calling for Gonggil in his private quarters. On screen, Gonggil would play puppet shows for the King, but I think it's implied that the King slept with him as well, which was we know, Jangsaeng was not fond of. Over time, the King became more obsessed with Gonggil to the point that he was neglecting his previous favourite consort, Noksu. Many in the court also felt that the minstrels needed to leave as the King was so obsessed.
Noksu framed Gonggil for writing defamatory and insulting things about the King. Jangsaeng took the blame as they had the same handwriting. Jangsaeng was imprisoned to be executed, but Cheoseon let him go. However, Jangsaeng returned to give one last show, mocking the King, which landed him back in jail, this time with his eyes blinded.
The movie ended with Jangsaeng and Gonggil walking on a tightrope once again, professing to each other that they would be minstrels again in their next lives. In the background was an uprising against the King. However, the King and Noksu sat calmly watching the tightrope show.
There was a brief sequence at the very end with Gonggil, Jangsaeng, and the rest of their minstrel squad having fun, but I think that that was meant to be a dream sequence.
Based on what I read on Wikipedia, this movie was based on a play that was based around Gonggil, who was mentioned offhandedly in the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty.
I started this movie not knowing anything about the historical figures, but the impression that I got was that clearly the King was a broken man who needed an emotional connection in his life that he was not afforded. And because he was not getting that emotional connection, he was throwing the entire country in disarray. From what I read on Wikipedia, he did a lot of other insane stuff too that you couldn't just chalk up to personal trauma, but you could chalk up to just a wildly unstable personality and general disregard.
I did feel that the end of the movie got a bit convoluted with hoe many times Jangsaeng was punished. The sequence of events was just kind of muddled because they were all kind of similar, and I felt like maybe they could have combined some of the events just to make the story cleaner.
Anyway, I thought this movie did a good job of showing how Gonggil's relationship with the King was one that was going nowhere good, but was still one that was hard to put down. Gonggil clearly sympathized a lot with the King, and that was why he was a bit reluctant to leave. It was when he realized how much he was hurting Jangsaeng that he realized he needed to go, but at the time, he was already in too deep with the King, and was reluctant to do anything that would anger him too much. It was just an all around messy situation but it was definitely very touching.
Production
I think the production quality of the movie was pretty good. The costumes, the sets, etc. It felt realistic, in the sense that I was right there. Nothing really stuck out as ahistorical.
Normally, I have a pet peeve for sad music in a movie trying to artificially make the story even more sad, but I felt that the sad music in this movie did enhance the emotions of the scene instead of injecting them where they weren't.
The acting was alright, though I think that the actor for the King and Consort Noksu were better than the acting for Jangsaeng and Gonggil. Just something about the character chemistry maybe.
Characters
Gonggil
At the beginning of the movie, I think Gonggil felt that being prostituted out was his duty, something he could do to make things better for everyone. And that was why he did it. He didn't like it, but it was a necessary evil.
I'm sure that Gonggil and Jangsaeng's relationship was meant to be ambiguous. So we could interpret them as being in a romantic and sexual relationship, and Jangsaeng not liking that his lover has to be prostituted out like that. It could be a platonic relationship, where Jangsaeng is very protective of Gonggil. Or, it could be kind of an in-between relationship, where Jangsaeng is in love with Gonggil and is jealous that other people are touching him because he wants to. In my opinion, it doesn't really matter, it's clear that Gonggil and Jangsaeng are special to each other.
In the capital, things were looking up because the crew were very successful after their risky move with the King. However, things didn't look so good again after the King called for Gonggil. We see that Gonggil was trying to be a respectful subject at first. Then, the King asked him to entertain him, and so Gonggil brought out his puppets. In the montages we saw, Gonggil was mostly entertaining the King with his sewn and paper puppets, but like with Jangsaeng and Gonggil, I think we were meant to assume that he was being bedded by the King, though in one scene we do eventually see the King kissing Gonggil.
While I don't think Gonggil loved the King like he loved Jangsaeng, he definitely sympathized with a lot. The King had a very childlike innocence about him, obviously being subject to a very rigid upbringing. He wanted to entertain Gonggil in the way that he was being entertained, he wanted to play with him, and so he told Gonggil the only stories he knew, the stories from his own life. And through those, Gonggil learned of the tough childhood that the King had, being separated from his mother. And because of that, Gonggil wanted to comfort the King, in the only ways he could, which was to perform.
Gonggil agreed to leave with Jangsaeng, only after performing the skit that would show the King's mother's death. However, after that performance, he was forbidden from leaving, which put strain on Gonggil's relationship with Jangsaeng. As well, when Gonggil was given position of a minister, that put him on the radar of all the other ministers, as Gonggil was only a minstrel. After the attempt on Gonggil's life during the hunt, that was kind of the breaking point, where all the other minstrels needed to leave and Gonggil felt trapped. His beloved Jangsaeng wouldn't stay for him, and he couldn't leave with Jangsaeng.
At that time, Gonggil was framed, for which Jangsaeng took the blame. After that, Jangsaeng continued to ridicule the King, doing what he did best. For that, he was blinded. Sensing that this could not go on, Gonggil attempted suicide after putting on one last show for the King, but was successful. And because Jangsaeng had taken the blame, the King didn't punish Gonggil at all. However, we saw that he returned to the arms of Noksu, sensing that maybe there was too much baggage from Gonggil as Gonggil wanted to be with Jangsaeng.
At the end of the movie, Gonggil and Jangsaeng reaffirmed their love as they performed their last tightrope show for the King.
Gonggil was overall a empathetic man because he tended to see men at times of vulnerability. Though his empathy conflicted with his personal life, however, we saw that his true love was Jangsaeng, for Jangsaeng always liked him for him, and not what he could do.
At the end of the movie, Gonggil said that he would want to be reborn as a minstrel again (presumably with Jangsaeng). I'll talk more below about minstrels.
Jangsaeng
Jangsaeng was Gonggil's performance partner, possibly a lover, and his protector. Right from the beginning we saw him give his life to protect Gonggil. As timid as Gonggil was, he returned that love, doing something he never would do (killing a man) to protect Jangsaeng.
Jangsaeng was always the more headstrong of th two, the leader. It was him that established dominance among the performers in town, and it was him who came up with the ideas that would gather the most viewership. It was also him who came up with the gamble to perform in front of the King. So overall, Jangsaeng was relatively sharp.
However, Jangsaeng did not understand the court, and he did not realize that once he was under the King's roof, he would not be as free as he once was. The idea to mock the ministers had come from Cheoseon, though Jangsaeng had come up with the actual story. Then, Jangsaeng was given the whole script for the story about the King's mother. At that point, Jangsaeng realized he was a puppet, and was going to leave, though Gonggil convinced him to do that one last show.
Jangsaeng was very upset with how the King was always calling on and doting on Gonggil. Part of it might be for Gonggil's protection, as it would be reasonable for him to assume that Gonggil was being forced against his wishes. Part of it could also be plain old jealousy. Again, it would depend on what their actual relationship was, which isn't super important here.
Clearly, being a performer was very important to Jangsaeng. He went so far as to plan to leave the paalce without Gonggil. At that time, I think he was sure that Gonggil would be taken care of. However, when Gonggil was framed, Jangsaeng's protector instinct kicked back in, and he took the blame. Maybe he realized that things were not going to be pretty for Gonggil, and he might as well fall together with him.
After that, Jangsaeng just continued to mock the King again and again. Death was already ahead for him, he had nothing to fear, so he might as well just say all that he wanted to say.
The ending was a happy one for him. He said all that he wanted to say to the King. And he went the way he wanted to, performing with Gonggil by his side. Like Gonggil, he would once again want to be reborn as a minstrel.
King Yeonsan
When we first heard of the King, he was ridiculed for being all wrapped up with his consort Noksu. Even though the performers' show mocked their overly sexual relationship, it made him and Noksu laugh, which it probably shouldn't have, given how vulgar it all was.
But this goes back to the King's past. We learned in the beginning of the movie that the King underwent trauma. In this movie, we were given the angle that his mother was framed by the other concubines and forced to commit suicide by his father. So of course, that would mess with anyone. Presumably he was deprived of a childhood and that was why he was so obsessed with playing, being entertained, etc. He didn't have a proper childhood nor a proper early education. He probably couldn't if he had those traumatic feelings towards his father.
In a scene we saw between the King and Noksu, he seemed to have kind of a mommy kink, which would make sense for him. But even despite them having a sexual relationship, it seemed that Noksu understood that sometimes he just wanted to be held and protected, as a son would be by his mother.
The King was drawn to Gonggil early on. For what reason, we can't say, but it's generally chalked up to his good looks. The private show that Gonggil gave the King was something that his consorts couldn't give him. Presumably, the King had never met a consort who could give him a puppet show, who was well versed in the art of story telling. And through these puppet shows, Gonggil almost gave the King a sort of therapy, to explore his trauma. While Gonggil told the King stories he'd heard of the King, the King told him actual stories of the King, starting with how he'd missed his mother. To the outside, it looked like the King was now lusting after boys. Which may be true, but again, it ignored the part where it never is just sex that charms a man, just like how it isn't just sex that Noksu attracted the King with.
I think the height of Gonggil's influence on the King was when he portrayed the King's mother in their skit. I'm not sure where the script was coming from (if it was Cheoseon's own idea), but clearly it was meant to appeal directly to him, and the result was that he got revenge on the concubines as well as his father's mother. The play was fictional, but that didn't matter to the King. It was an affirmation to him that his mother was wronged.
The entertainment spurred the King to be more tyrannical in his ways. He already wasn't good at running the country. Early on, Yukgab told Gonggil and Jangsaeng that the King had sectioned off half the land for hunting and so a lot of people had to leave the Capital. Cheoseon's goal of introducing the minstrels was just so that they could open the King's eyes to corruption, and they did, but it also gave him a misplaced sense of power, which compelled him to shower Gonggil with gifts.
Now, that drew the ire of Noksu. She didn't have a problem with the King's ruling style before, she just wanted a monopoly on him, and Gonggil threatened that. She framed Gonggil, which the King fell for, but Jangsaeng came to the rescue. Things seemed to be fine until Gonggil attempted suicide while giving him a last puppet show.
After that, we saw the King creeping back to Noksu as if nothing had ever happened, showing us that his love for Gonggil was never anything deep, just another fixation for him to forget the hurt.
As for the Jangsaeng, it wasn't that deep either. The King just didn't like being insulted. That's pretty standard.
At the end of the movie, the King was focused on Jangsaeng and Gonggil's show, seemingly ignoring the uprising just outside the doors. The King was never concerned with ruling, nor was he ever properly prepared for it. He just wanted to live his life. So for him to meet his end, that was probably for the best for both him and the country.
I did find the King appropriately portrayed as a tragic character. He was a terrible ruler, but he had undergone bad trauma. Those things can coexist.
Jang Noksu
Noksu was the "evil consort" in this situation. As we know, in Asian history, women are often portrayed as the downfalls of entire countries. I don't think that was necessarily the case here though. While Noksu was responsible for part of the King's bad ruling, I think it was clear that most of it was the King's own instability.
At the beginning of the movie, Noksu and the King seemed to have a good relationship (just from a romantic/sexual perspective). After the first skit that mocked their sexual relationship, they were overhead reenacting it in their bedroom because they had been so amused by it.
The first time Noksu felt threatened was during the second show, when the minstrels were mocking the ministers. At the end of the show, the King and Noksu had gone down to dance with the performers, but the King focused all of his attention on Gonggil instead of her.
As mentioned, Noksu seemed to understand the King's complication relationship with mothers, and she fulfilled that part of him that wanted that mother's love. She understood and indulged him, which was probably how she had him wrapped around her finger.
When the King was spending all of his time with Gonggil, that's why Noksu started getting angry. She bullied Gonggil and was dragged out, which humiliated her, and that's when she plotted to frame Gonggil. She would have been successful, if not for the weird caveat that Jangsaeng and Gonggil had the same handwriting. However, her plan still sort of worked, as the framing caused Gonggil and Jangsaeng to reaffirm their love for each other (and thus Gonggil no longer able to be the King's plaything). And we saw the King sneak his way back to Noksu as if nothing had happened.
At the end of the movie, as the uprising burst through the doors, Noksu sat calmly with the King, observing the show.
It seemed to me that Noksu wasn't necessarily concerned with power, but just with monopolizing this King. If she had cared about political power, I think she would have done more to influence politics, but she never did. I also didn't feel that she was actually in love with the King. If she was, she'd be more heartbroken than angry about the King not loving her anymore. So I think for her, she just liked being the King's favourite. Maybe she understood that once she was tied to this King, that was it for her. So she focused her all on being this King's favourite, and that was why she was not all worked up about him being deposed of.
Cheoseon
Cheoseon was the King's advisor, though I wonder if he was a eunuch. He was the man who brought the minstrels in to perform for the King. He later stated that his goal in doing so was to show the King the corruption in their court. Though the minstrels did do that, it did not change the King's behaviour in the long term as he continued to be obsessed with entertainment and not with running the country.
When things got really messy, he felt guilty about the minstrels who were just doing what they were told, so he let Jangsaeng go, though Jangsaeng returned.
Later, the uprising wanted to ask Cheoseon to be part of their contingent. He'd served three Kings including the current one and they wanted him to serve a fourth. Cheoseon declined, though for what reason, I'm still wrapping my head around. I think for him, he was wary about backing a King who was not yet King, and also one who would have gotten the throne through forceful means. There have been officials in history who are very particular about these technicalities.
And we saw that Cheoseon later committed suicide, perhaps realizing that there would be no legitimate King after this one, as the King probably had no heirs.
Themes
Theatre
Theatre was a comfort to Jangsaeng and Gonggil for a number of reasons. First of all, it seemed to be their love language. When things were kind of tense after they escaped from their original troupe, it was through theatre that they reconnected. Jangsaeng began the skit of them each being a blind man. And I think through that, he wanted to show Gonggil that yes, he didn't know what he was doing, but his intentions were only ever to protect and provide for him.
We see this at the end of the movie, when through theatre, they reaffirmed that they were each other's most important person, that they would want to be reborn as minstrels, which would imply that they'd want to be minstrels together.
Which leads to my next point about why they want to be minstrels. This really reminded me of Farewell My Concubine, where one of the main characters sought comfort in a script. It isn't quite the same here, as Jangsaeng and Gonggil were more improv performers and commonly veered off script. Instead, I think that being performers gave them a mask with a sense of predictability. They didn't know how things would necessarily end, but having a character guided the somewhat.
Maybe having a stage helped them coped with being puppets in this world. Before, Jangsaeng and Gonggil were at the hands of their troupe manager. And later, they were at the hands of the King himself. Under the pretense of being a character, they were afforded some freedom in what they could do. And that included loving whomever you wanted to love.
Cycle of trauma
The King's mother was showed to be framed by her rival concubines, and force to commit suicide by the King's father, the late King. I was reminded of this when Noksu framed Gonggil. However, the King didn't see the pattern, and he had believed Noksu, since she had done a relatively good job of putting the frame job together.
Not that this goes anywhere, I'm just a sucker for themes of history repeating itself.
Overall
I liked this movie. It had a compelling drama story, that was filled with meaning and complex characters.
Spoilers.
Story
At the beginning of the movie, we got some background information of the king of this movie, King Yeonsan. He'd undergone trauma as a child, his mother being forced to commit suicide due to what we are to believe were court machinations (i.e. she was likely framed).
We meet two minstrels, Gonggil and Jangsaeng. Gonggil had effeminate features, so he was often prostituted by their managers for extra money. This angered Jangsaeng to the point that he decided to take Gonggil away to the capital.
There, they joined another group of minstrels, Yukgab, Childuk, and Palbok. They made money with a skit that mocked the king. Of course, they were caught by officials who punished them, but Jangsaeng struck a deal, saying that if they could make the king laugh, then they should have been let go.
The skit they showed to the king was a bit disastrous because Yukgab, Childuk, and Palbok were too scared to say anything too vulgar. However, Gonggil and Jangsaeng saved the skit and managed to make the king laugh, earning a place in the palace.
Upon suggestion by Cheoseon, the King's assistant (not sure if he's a eunuch), the minstrels performed a skit that mocked ministers' greed. This too pleased the king and afterwards, when he realized that there was truth in the skit, he had a minister severely punished.
The King started calling for Gonggil in his private quarters. On screen, Gonggil would play puppet shows for the King, but I think it's implied that the King slept with him as well, which was we know, Jangsaeng was not fond of. Over time, the King became more obsessed with Gonggil to the point that he was neglecting his previous favourite consort, Noksu. Many in the court also felt that the minstrels needed to leave as the King was so obsessed.
Noksu framed Gonggil for writing defamatory and insulting things about the King. Jangsaeng took the blame as they had the same handwriting. Jangsaeng was imprisoned to be executed, but Cheoseon let him go. However, Jangsaeng returned to give one last show, mocking the King, which landed him back in jail, this time with his eyes blinded.
The movie ended with Jangsaeng and Gonggil walking on a tightrope once again, professing to each other that they would be minstrels again in their next lives. In the background was an uprising against the King. However, the King and Noksu sat calmly watching the tightrope show.
There was a brief sequence at the very end with Gonggil, Jangsaeng, and the rest of their minstrel squad having fun, but I think that that was meant to be a dream sequence.
Based on what I read on Wikipedia, this movie was based on a play that was based around Gonggil, who was mentioned offhandedly in the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty.
I started this movie not knowing anything about the historical figures, but the impression that I got was that clearly the King was a broken man who needed an emotional connection in his life that he was not afforded. And because he was not getting that emotional connection, he was throwing the entire country in disarray. From what I read on Wikipedia, he did a lot of other insane stuff too that you couldn't just chalk up to personal trauma, but you could chalk up to just a wildly unstable personality and general disregard.
I did feel that the end of the movie got a bit convoluted with hoe many times Jangsaeng was punished. The sequence of events was just kind of muddled because they were all kind of similar, and I felt like maybe they could have combined some of the events just to make the story cleaner.
Anyway, I thought this movie did a good job of showing how Gonggil's relationship with the King was one that was going nowhere good, but was still one that was hard to put down. Gonggil clearly sympathized a lot with the King, and that was why he was a bit reluctant to leave. It was when he realized how much he was hurting Jangsaeng that he realized he needed to go, but at the time, he was already in too deep with the King, and was reluctant to do anything that would anger him too much. It was just an all around messy situation but it was definitely very touching.
Production
I think the production quality of the movie was pretty good. The costumes, the sets, etc. It felt realistic, in the sense that I was right there. Nothing really stuck out as ahistorical.
Normally, I have a pet peeve for sad music in a movie trying to artificially make the story even more sad, but I felt that the sad music in this movie did enhance the emotions of the scene instead of injecting them where they weren't.
The acting was alright, though I think that the actor for the King and Consort Noksu were better than the acting for Jangsaeng and Gonggil. Just something about the character chemistry maybe.
Characters
Gonggil
At the beginning of the movie, I think Gonggil felt that being prostituted out was his duty, something he could do to make things better for everyone. And that was why he did it. He didn't like it, but it was a necessary evil.
I'm sure that Gonggil and Jangsaeng's relationship was meant to be ambiguous. So we could interpret them as being in a romantic and sexual relationship, and Jangsaeng not liking that his lover has to be prostituted out like that. It could be a platonic relationship, where Jangsaeng is very protective of Gonggil. Or, it could be kind of an in-between relationship, where Jangsaeng is in love with Gonggil and is jealous that other people are touching him because he wants to. In my opinion, it doesn't really matter, it's clear that Gonggil and Jangsaeng are special to each other.
In the capital, things were looking up because the crew were very successful after their risky move with the King. However, things didn't look so good again after the King called for Gonggil. We see that Gonggil was trying to be a respectful subject at first. Then, the King asked him to entertain him, and so Gonggil brought out his puppets. In the montages we saw, Gonggil was mostly entertaining the King with his sewn and paper puppets, but like with Jangsaeng and Gonggil, I think we were meant to assume that he was being bedded by the King, though in one scene we do eventually see the King kissing Gonggil.
While I don't think Gonggil loved the King like he loved Jangsaeng, he definitely sympathized with a lot. The King had a very childlike innocence about him, obviously being subject to a very rigid upbringing. He wanted to entertain Gonggil in the way that he was being entertained, he wanted to play with him, and so he told Gonggil the only stories he knew, the stories from his own life. And through those, Gonggil learned of the tough childhood that the King had, being separated from his mother. And because of that, Gonggil wanted to comfort the King, in the only ways he could, which was to perform.
Gonggil agreed to leave with Jangsaeng, only after performing the skit that would show the King's mother's death. However, after that performance, he was forbidden from leaving, which put strain on Gonggil's relationship with Jangsaeng. As well, when Gonggil was given position of a minister, that put him on the radar of all the other ministers, as Gonggil was only a minstrel. After the attempt on Gonggil's life during the hunt, that was kind of the breaking point, where all the other minstrels needed to leave and Gonggil felt trapped. His beloved Jangsaeng wouldn't stay for him, and he couldn't leave with Jangsaeng.
At that time, Gonggil was framed, for which Jangsaeng took the blame. After that, Jangsaeng continued to ridicule the King, doing what he did best. For that, he was blinded. Sensing that this could not go on, Gonggil attempted suicide after putting on one last show for the King, but was successful. And because Jangsaeng had taken the blame, the King didn't punish Gonggil at all. However, we saw that he returned to the arms of Noksu, sensing that maybe there was too much baggage from Gonggil as Gonggil wanted to be with Jangsaeng.
At the end of the movie, Gonggil and Jangsaeng reaffirmed their love as they performed their last tightrope show for the King.
Gonggil was overall a empathetic man because he tended to see men at times of vulnerability. Though his empathy conflicted with his personal life, however, we saw that his true love was Jangsaeng, for Jangsaeng always liked him for him, and not what he could do.
At the end of the movie, Gonggil said that he would want to be reborn as a minstrel again (presumably with Jangsaeng). I'll talk more below about minstrels.
Jangsaeng
Jangsaeng was Gonggil's performance partner, possibly a lover, and his protector. Right from the beginning we saw him give his life to protect Gonggil. As timid as Gonggil was, he returned that love, doing something he never would do (killing a man) to protect Jangsaeng.
Jangsaeng was always the more headstrong of th two, the leader. It was him that established dominance among the performers in town, and it was him who came up with the ideas that would gather the most viewership. It was also him who came up with the gamble to perform in front of the King. So overall, Jangsaeng was relatively sharp.
However, Jangsaeng did not understand the court, and he did not realize that once he was under the King's roof, he would not be as free as he once was. The idea to mock the ministers had come from Cheoseon, though Jangsaeng had come up with the actual story. Then, Jangsaeng was given the whole script for the story about the King's mother. At that point, Jangsaeng realized he was a puppet, and was going to leave, though Gonggil convinced him to do that one last show.
Jangsaeng was very upset with how the King was always calling on and doting on Gonggil. Part of it might be for Gonggil's protection, as it would be reasonable for him to assume that Gonggil was being forced against his wishes. Part of it could also be plain old jealousy. Again, it would depend on what their actual relationship was, which isn't super important here.
Clearly, being a performer was very important to Jangsaeng. He went so far as to plan to leave the paalce without Gonggil. At that time, I think he was sure that Gonggil would be taken care of. However, when Gonggil was framed, Jangsaeng's protector instinct kicked back in, and he took the blame. Maybe he realized that things were not going to be pretty for Gonggil, and he might as well fall together with him.
After that, Jangsaeng just continued to mock the King again and again. Death was already ahead for him, he had nothing to fear, so he might as well just say all that he wanted to say.
The ending was a happy one for him. He said all that he wanted to say to the King. And he went the way he wanted to, performing with Gonggil by his side. Like Gonggil, he would once again want to be reborn as a minstrel.
King Yeonsan
When we first heard of the King, he was ridiculed for being all wrapped up with his consort Noksu. Even though the performers' show mocked their overly sexual relationship, it made him and Noksu laugh, which it probably shouldn't have, given how vulgar it all was.
But this goes back to the King's past. We learned in the beginning of the movie that the King underwent trauma. In this movie, we were given the angle that his mother was framed by the other concubines and forced to commit suicide by his father. So of course, that would mess with anyone. Presumably he was deprived of a childhood and that was why he was so obsessed with playing, being entertained, etc. He didn't have a proper childhood nor a proper early education. He probably couldn't if he had those traumatic feelings towards his father.
In a scene we saw between the King and Noksu, he seemed to have kind of a mommy kink, which would make sense for him. But even despite them having a sexual relationship, it seemed that Noksu understood that sometimes he just wanted to be held and protected, as a son would be by his mother.
The King was drawn to Gonggil early on. For what reason, we can't say, but it's generally chalked up to his good looks. The private show that Gonggil gave the King was something that his consorts couldn't give him. Presumably, the King had never met a consort who could give him a puppet show, who was well versed in the art of story telling. And through these puppet shows, Gonggil almost gave the King a sort of therapy, to explore his trauma. While Gonggil told the King stories he'd heard of the King, the King told him actual stories of the King, starting with how he'd missed his mother. To the outside, it looked like the King was now lusting after boys. Which may be true, but again, it ignored the part where it never is just sex that charms a man, just like how it isn't just sex that Noksu attracted the King with.
I think the height of Gonggil's influence on the King was when he portrayed the King's mother in their skit. I'm not sure where the script was coming from (if it was Cheoseon's own idea), but clearly it was meant to appeal directly to him, and the result was that he got revenge on the concubines as well as his father's mother. The play was fictional, but that didn't matter to the King. It was an affirmation to him that his mother was wronged.
The entertainment spurred the King to be more tyrannical in his ways. He already wasn't good at running the country. Early on, Yukgab told Gonggil and Jangsaeng that the King had sectioned off half the land for hunting and so a lot of people had to leave the Capital. Cheoseon's goal of introducing the minstrels was just so that they could open the King's eyes to corruption, and they did, but it also gave him a misplaced sense of power, which compelled him to shower Gonggil with gifts.
Now, that drew the ire of Noksu. She didn't have a problem with the King's ruling style before, she just wanted a monopoly on him, and Gonggil threatened that. She framed Gonggil, which the King fell for, but Jangsaeng came to the rescue. Things seemed to be fine until Gonggil attempted suicide while giving him a last puppet show.
After that, we saw the King creeping back to Noksu as if nothing had ever happened, showing us that his love for Gonggil was never anything deep, just another fixation for him to forget the hurt.
As for the Jangsaeng, it wasn't that deep either. The King just didn't like being insulted. That's pretty standard.
At the end of the movie, the King was focused on Jangsaeng and Gonggil's show, seemingly ignoring the uprising just outside the doors. The King was never concerned with ruling, nor was he ever properly prepared for it. He just wanted to live his life. So for him to meet his end, that was probably for the best for both him and the country.
I did find the King appropriately portrayed as a tragic character. He was a terrible ruler, but he had undergone bad trauma. Those things can coexist.
Jang Noksu
Noksu was the "evil consort" in this situation. As we know, in Asian history, women are often portrayed as the downfalls of entire countries. I don't think that was necessarily the case here though. While Noksu was responsible for part of the King's bad ruling, I think it was clear that most of it was the King's own instability.
At the beginning of the movie, Noksu and the King seemed to have a good relationship (just from a romantic/sexual perspective). After the first skit that mocked their sexual relationship, they were overhead reenacting it in their bedroom because they had been so amused by it.
The first time Noksu felt threatened was during the second show, when the minstrels were mocking the ministers. At the end of the show, the King and Noksu had gone down to dance with the performers, but the King focused all of his attention on Gonggil instead of her.
As mentioned, Noksu seemed to understand the King's complication relationship with mothers, and she fulfilled that part of him that wanted that mother's love. She understood and indulged him, which was probably how she had him wrapped around her finger.
When the King was spending all of his time with Gonggil, that's why Noksu started getting angry. She bullied Gonggil and was dragged out, which humiliated her, and that's when she plotted to frame Gonggil. She would have been successful, if not for the weird caveat that Jangsaeng and Gonggil had the same handwriting. However, her plan still sort of worked, as the framing caused Gonggil and Jangsaeng to reaffirm their love for each other (and thus Gonggil no longer able to be the King's plaything). And we saw the King sneak his way back to Noksu as if nothing had happened.
At the end of the movie, as the uprising burst through the doors, Noksu sat calmly with the King, observing the show.
It seemed to me that Noksu wasn't necessarily concerned with power, but just with monopolizing this King. If she had cared about political power, I think she would have done more to influence politics, but she never did. I also didn't feel that she was actually in love with the King. If she was, she'd be more heartbroken than angry about the King not loving her anymore. So I think for her, she just liked being the King's favourite. Maybe she understood that once she was tied to this King, that was it for her. So she focused her all on being this King's favourite, and that was why she was not all worked up about him being deposed of.
Cheoseon
Cheoseon was the King's advisor, though I wonder if he was a eunuch. He was the man who brought the minstrels in to perform for the King. He later stated that his goal in doing so was to show the King the corruption in their court. Though the minstrels did do that, it did not change the King's behaviour in the long term as he continued to be obsessed with entertainment and not with running the country.
When things got really messy, he felt guilty about the minstrels who were just doing what they were told, so he let Jangsaeng go, though Jangsaeng returned.
Later, the uprising wanted to ask Cheoseon to be part of their contingent. He'd served three Kings including the current one and they wanted him to serve a fourth. Cheoseon declined, though for what reason, I'm still wrapping my head around. I think for him, he was wary about backing a King who was not yet King, and also one who would have gotten the throne through forceful means. There have been officials in history who are very particular about these technicalities.
And we saw that Cheoseon later committed suicide, perhaps realizing that there would be no legitimate King after this one, as the King probably had no heirs.
Themes
Theatre
Theatre was a comfort to Jangsaeng and Gonggil for a number of reasons. First of all, it seemed to be their love language. When things were kind of tense after they escaped from their original troupe, it was through theatre that they reconnected. Jangsaeng began the skit of them each being a blind man. And I think through that, he wanted to show Gonggil that yes, he didn't know what he was doing, but his intentions were only ever to protect and provide for him.
We see this at the end of the movie, when through theatre, they reaffirmed that they were each other's most important person, that they would want to be reborn as minstrels, which would imply that they'd want to be minstrels together.
Which leads to my next point about why they want to be minstrels. This really reminded me of Farewell My Concubine, where one of the main characters sought comfort in a script. It isn't quite the same here, as Jangsaeng and Gonggil were more improv performers and commonly veered off script. Instead, I think that being performers gave them a mask with a sense of predictability. They didn't know how things would necessarily end, but having a character guided the somewhat.
Maybe having a stage helped them coped with being puppets in this world. Before, Jangsaeng and Gonggil were at the hands of their troupe manager. And later, they were at the hands of the King himself. Under the pretense of being a character, they were afforded some freedom in what they could do. And that included loving whomever you wanted to love.
Cycle of trauma
The King's mother was showed to be framed by her rival concubines, and force to commit suicide by the King's father, the late King. I was reminded of this when Noksu framed Gonggil. However, the King didn't see the pattern, and he had believed Noksu, since she had done a relatively good job of putting the frame job together.
Not that this goes anywhere, I'm just a sucker for themes of history repeating itself.
Overall
I liked this movie. It had a compelling drama story, that was filled with meaning and complex characters.