Day 23 - Masquerade (South Korea)

"King Gwanghae (Lee Byung-Hun) has been the King for the past 8 years. He now suspects that someone within the royal court is attempting to poison him. In response, King Gwanghae orders his councilor Heo Gyun (Ryoo Seung-Ryong) to find someone that looks like him to sit in his throne. Heo Gyun then comes across a clown named Ha-Sun (Lee Byung-Hun), who performs lewd shows in front of drunken noblemen. Ha-Sun indeed strongly resembles King Gwanghae and is even able to imitate the way King Gwanghae speaks. Heo Gyun takes Ha-Sun to the royal palace without giving any explanations. At night, Ha-Sun takes the King's seat, while the King slips away to his mistress's home. "-AW

A truly remarkable film that doesn't seem much in the beginning but becomes something great. The acting is there and the delivery of line was excellent. Truly it is tied with A Moment to Remember as my favorite Korean film. It really makes the history behind the film actually interesting to learn. The characters grow so much through the film that characters you might have disliked, are now likeable. You truly start to care about Ha-Sun as do most of the other characters.
I have seen Lee Byung-Hun in American films and his acting isn't on par to his role in this film. I'm big fan of Han Hyo-Joo (She is so beautiful!)

3.5/5

Cast

Lee Byung-Hun as King Gwanghae & Lee Byung-Hun (Also starred in Red 2, Hero)

Han Hyo Joo as the queen (Also starred in Love 911)