Korean smash KING AND THE CLOWN is based on the Royal Records of the Chosun Dynasty
EPIC ROMANCE: KING AND THE CLOWN (WANG-UI NAMJA) (Lee Jun-ik, 2009)
Tribeca Cinemas
54 Varick St. at Laight St.
Tuesday, May 15, free, 7:00
Series runs every other Tuesday through June 19
212-759-9550
www.koreanculture.org
www.tribecacinemas.com
Adapted from Kim Tae-woong’s award-winning play Yi (You) and inspired by the Royal Records of the Chosun Dynasty, Lee Jun-ik’s historical epic, King and the Clown, was a critical and popular smash in Korea despite its homosexual subtext. In the early sixteenth century, a troupe of traveling minstrels is making its way across the country when Jang-saeng (Kam Wu-seong) decides that he no longer wants Gong-gil (Lee Jun-ki), an androgynous member of the group who plays all the sexy female characters, to be pimped out to towns’ local leaders. After a deadly fight, the two clowns are on the run, soon taking up with another small troupe and getting arrested for mocking King Yeonsan (Jeong Jin-yeong) and his mistress, Jang Noksu (Kang Seong-yeon). Facing execution, they are saved when the king takes a liking to them, and especially to Gong-gil. But as they continue to stage routines criticizing important ministers and other VIPs, they make high-ranking enemies and once again find their lives in danger. While the first half of King and the Clown tends to be a bit goofy, it sets up the masterfully told second half, an intense, compelling combination of love, fear, politics, and power. Jeong is excellent as Yeonsan, capturing the yin-yang of a leader trying to break free of his late father’s far-reaching grasp, laughing at the clowns one moment, brutally killing someone the next. Lee is alluring as Gong-gil, a beautiful boy uncomfortable with his role but willing to do whatever is asked of him. But the film’s centerpiece is Kam as Jang-saeng, a confident, forward-thinking, risk-taking performer who believes in justice, honor, and creative and personal freedom. King and the Clown is screening for free May 15 at Tribeca Cinemas as part of the Korean Cultural Service film series “Epic Romance,” which continues June 5 with Kim Dae-woo’s Forbidden Quest and June 19 with Kim Yong-gyun’s The Sword with No Name.