The King's Warden
Director: Jang Hang-jun
Year: 2026
Rating: 7.0
Country: Korea
This historical drama is the second biggest box
office hit in Korean history, but I suspect that it will not resonate as
strongly with Western audiences. The same is true I expect of any film that
depicts national history. It means more to the home team than others. There
is a collective memory and inbred sentiment about the events that elude people
not familiar with them. This story though is well-known to Koreans, if not
through teaching than in the many TV shows that have depicted the tragedy
of the boy King. Even though they took place some 600 years ago. Much of
the film has to be fictional, but at a high level it is true and this film
really touched the Korean audiences. Not as much for me. Though it is clearly
a well made film, the quick turn from quaint class comedy to thickly laid
on melodrama left skid marks on my heart.
In the mid fifteenth century during the
Joseon rule, the teenage King Danjong was overthrown by his uncle Sejong
and forced into exile. Sejong was not really a family guy and executed much
of his own family. This is where the film kicks in. Eom Heung-do (Yoo Hae-jin)
is the leader of a small isolated remote village in the middle of nowhere.
Impoverished and powerless. But Eom cleverly or so he thinks persuades the
new rulers to send an exiled high official to live in his village. Expecting
that this will bring good things. Maybe even rice.
Eom was hoping for a high level person whose
family would supply him with good food that the entire village could share
in. But when they find out it is the former King, they know they are fucked.
If he escapes, they all die. If he dies, they all die. If he conspires, they
all die. And on top of that he has no servants - they were all executed -
and no food. It is up to the village to feed him and serve him. But there
isn't mich doubt that the class barriers will break down and Danjong (Park
Ji-hoon) will turn into a swell guy. He loves their cooking and teaches the
children. The makings of a sweet gentle Korean comedy. If you don't know
the history. But of course all Koreans do and when history raises its ugly
head, they tearfully follow it to the end. I didn't know the history and
was all set for a happy ending. But this being Korean, I should have known
better. It didn't really work for me; the comedy felt forced and the melodrama
excessive. But good acting especially by Yoo Ha-jin who turns his rascally
lower class character into a complex person. And as with all Korean films,
the production values are top notch. And at the end of the day, it is a fascinating
story.
