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Cast: Byung-hun Lee, Seung-Ryong Ryu
Political intrigue, betrayal, peril and forbidden romance play out in this lavish, critically acclaimed, historical epic set in the royal palace of Korea’s ancient Joseon Dynasty.
Amid national chaos and fear for his life, tyrannical King Gwanghae orders his trusted counselor to find a royal body double. He recruits a crude, working-class peasant, Ha-seon, a village performer who bears a startling resemblance to the ruler.
When the king falls into a coma from poisoning, he is secreted away to recover and Ha-seon reluctantly assumes the throne, forced to pull off history’s biggest masquerade. Narrowly evading exposure or yet another assassination attempt by his power-hungry court, he stumbles through his daily rituals and onerous royal duties … covertly coached by the king’s stoic chief advisor and chief eunuch.
Soon, however, Ha-seon finds he must follow his own heart – no matter what the price – to save his country from collapse and its oppressed people from despair.
"Masquerade" is one of Korea's biggest films of all time. The basic story line is about the king who is afraid because of a plan to assassinate him so he decides to put someone on the Throne to replace him for 15 days. Ha-seon, a layman is chosen to sit in during that time.
This is a terrific film with a great plot and wonderful acting. Lee Byung Hun is amazing as both the King and Ha-seon. This is easily his best performance to date and one that most people will surely remember. The rest of the cast all did a great job in the film as well.
"Masquerade" was released on DVD back on June 11, 2013 but it is available now on Blu-ray for the first time and it is worth owning. Available in Korean with English Subtitles and with a English audio track as well which makes the film that much more accessible. You can order the Blu-ray HERE and the DVD HERE if that is what you want.
I highly recommend checking this out, it is filled with drama and it packs an emotional punch as well as a good bit of humor that fits in nicely with the story. What more can I say, this is a brilliant film that is worth adding to your home video collection.
Released by CJ Entertainment
***** Out Of *****