Masquerade (2012 film)

Masquerade
Hangul	광해: 왕이 된 남자
Hanja	光海: 王이 된 男子
Revised Romanization	Gwanghae: Wang-i Doen Namja
McCune–Reischauer	Kwanghae: Wangi Toen Namja
Directed by	Choo Chang-min
Produced by	Im Sang-jin Won Dong-yeon Kim Ho-seong Mikey Lee
Written by	Hwang Jo-yoon
Starring	Lee Byung-hun Ryu Seung-ryong Han Hyo-joo
Music by	Mowg Kim Jun-seong
Cinematography	Lee Tae-yoon
Edited by	Nam Na-yeong
Distributed by	CJ Entertainment
Release dates	September 13, 2012[1]
Running time	131 minutes
Country	South Korea
Language	Korean
Budget	₩9.5 billion
Box office	US$80,751,692[2]

Masquerade (Hangul: 광해: 왕이 된 남자; hanja: 光海: 王이 된 男子; RR: Gwanghae: Wang-i Doen Namja; lit. Gwanghae: The Man Who Became King) is a 2012 South Korean historical film starring Lee Byung-hun in dual roles as the bizarre King Gwanghae and the humble acrobat Ha-sun, who stands in for the monarch when he faces the threat of being poisoned.^[3][4]

With 12.3 million tickets sold, this historical movie is currently the sixth highest grossing movie in Korean film history. Also, it swept the 49th Grand Bell Awards, winning in 15 categories, including Best Film, Director, Screenplay and Actor.^[5][6][7][8]

Background

Historically, Gwanghae, the 15th Joseon king from 1608-1623, attempted diplomacy through neutrality as China's Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and Qing Dynasty (1636-1912) set their sights on the country. He also tried his hand at other reforms and reconstruction to try and make the nation prosperous, including an emphasis on the restoration of documents, but met with opposition and was later deposed and exiled to Jeju Island.^[9] Since he was deposed in a coup by the Westerners faction, historians did not give him a temple name like Taejo or Sejong.^[10]

The film is an interpretation of the missing 15 days in the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty during Gwanghae's reign—designated by his 1616 journal entry, "One must not record that which he wishes to hide."^[11]

Plot

The confusing and conspiratorial 15th ruler of Korea's Joseon Dynasty King Gwang-hae (Lee Byung-hun) orders his secretary of defense, Heo Gyun (Ryu Seung-ryong), to find him a double in order to avoid the constant threat of assassination. Heo Gyun finds Ha-sun, a lowly acrobat and bawdy joker who looks remarkably like the king, and just as feared, Gwang-hae is poisoned. Heo Gyun proposes Ha-sun fill the role as the king until Gwang-hae recovers fully and grooms Ha-sun to look and act every bit the king. While assuming the role of the king at his first official appearance, Ha-sun begins to ponder the intricacies of the problems debated in his court. Being fundamentally more humanitarian than Gwang-hae, Ha-sun’s affection and appreciation of even the most minor servants slowly changes morale in the palace for the better. Over time he finds his voice and takes control of governing the country with real insight and fair judgments. Even Heo Gyun is moved by Ha-sun’s genuine concern for the people, and realizes he is an infinitely better ruler than Gwang-hae. However, his chief opposition, Park Chung-seo (Kim Myung-gon), notices the sudden shift in the king’s behavior and starts to ask questions. The queen (Han Hyo-joo) is also conflicted between the real king and the fake king’s secret.^[12]

Cast

• Lee Byung-hun as King Gwanghae/Ha-sun^{[13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24]}

• Ryu Seung-ryong as Chief Secretary Heo Gyun^[25]

• Han Hyo-joo as Queen Consort^[26][27]
• Jang Gwang as Chief Eunuch
• Kim In-kwon as Captain Do, king's personal bodyguard
• Shim Eun-kyung as Sa-wol, food taster
• Kim Myung-gon as Interior Minister Park Chung-seo
• Park Ji-a as Lady Han, chief court lady
• Shin Jung-geun as Lee Jeong-rang
• Jeon Guk-hyang as Lady Jeong
• Yang Jun-mo as Kim
• Mun Chang-gil as prime minister
• Jeon Bae-su as Hyeong-pan
• Do Yong-gu as Byeong-pan
• Yu Sun-ung as Ho-pan
• Lee Yang-hui as Gong-pan
• Park Gyeong-geun as musician
• Shin Un-seop as Ye-pan
• Kim Jong-gu as royal physician
• Lee El as Lady Ahn
• Lee Jun-hyeok as Hyeon-gam
• Seo Jin-weon as General Overseer Do
• Kim Hye-weon as Pearl, courtesan
• Kim Hak-jun as Yu Jeong-ho
• Kim Hye-hwa as Plum Blossom Pot servant
• Kim Seung-hun as Yi-bang
• Lee Bong-ryeon as court woman
• Ju Yeong-ho as Gwanghae's astrologist

Production

Announced in early 2011 and initially titled I am the King of Joseon, the The Prince and the Pauper-inspired historical film was to be directed by Kang Woo-suk and star Jung Jae-young as Gwanghae/Ha-sun and Yoo Jun-sang as Heo Gyun,^[28][29][30] but Kang left the project over differences of opinion with production firm CJ E&M.^[31]

In November 2011, they were replaced by director Choo Chang-min and actor Lee Byung-hun in his first ever historical film.^{[32][33][34][35][36]} A month later, Han Hyo-joo was cast as Lee's co-star.^[37]

The film was shot at the Namyangju Studio Complex in Gyeonggi Province.^[38][39][40]

Reception

Called by one review as one of the best South Korean costume dramas in years,^[41] the film drew praise for being beautifully written and emotionally involving, as well as for its accomplished acting, sure-handed direction, ambitious scale and commercial appeal.^[42] It became the second biggest hit film at the 2012 South Korean box office, attracting 8.2 million admissions in 25 days of release,^{[43][44][45][46]} then 9,091,633 after 31 days.^[47] On its 38th day, it became the 7th film in Korean cinema history to surpass the 10 million-milestone attendance.^{[48][49][50][51][52][53][54]} At the end of its theatrical run it was listed as Korea's all-time third highest grossing film with 12,319,542 tickets sold nationwide (as of April 2015, it is currently sixth).^[55]

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Recipient	Result
2012	49th Grand Bell Awards	Best Film	Masquerade	Won
		Best Director	Choo Chang-min	Won
		Best Actor	Lee Byung-hun	Won
		Best Supporting Actor	Ryu Seung-ryong	Won
		Best Screenplay	Hwang Jo-yoon	Won
		Best Cinematography	Lee Tae-yoon	Won
		Best Editing	Nam Na-yeong	Won
		Best Art Direction	Oh Heung-seok	Won
		Best Lighting	Oh Seung-chul	Won
		Best Costume Design	Kwon Yu-jin, Im Seung-hee	Won
		Best Music	Mowg, Kim Jun-seong	Won
		Best Production	Im Sang-jin	Won
		Best Visual Effects	Jung Jae-hoon	Won
		Best Sound Effects	Lee Sang-joon	Won
		Popularity Award	Lee Byung-hun	Won
	32nd Korean Association of Film Critics Awards	Best Technical Achievement	Oh Heung-seok	Won
	33rd Blue Dragon Film Awards	Best Film	Masquerade	Nominated
		Best Director	Choo Chang-min	Nominated
		Best Actor	Lee Byung-hun	Nominated
		Best Supporting Actor	Jang Gwang	Nominated
		Best Screenplay	Hwang Jo-yoon	Nominated
		Best Cinematography	Lee Tae-yoon	Nominated
		Best Art Direction	Oh Heung-seok	Won
		Best Lighting	Oh Seung-chul	Nominated
		Best Music	Mowg, Kim Jun-seong	Nominated
		Technical Award	Kwon Yu-jin, Im Seung-hee (costume design)	Nominated
			Nam Na-yeong (editing)	Nominated
	13th Busan Film Critics Awards	Best Actor	Lee Byung-hun	Won
2013	49th Baeksang Arts Awards	Best Film	Masquerade	Won
		Best Director	Choo Chang-min	Won
		Best Actor	Lee Byung-hun	Nominated
	22nd Buil Film Awards	Best Film	Masquerade	Nominated
		Best Director	Choo Chang-min	Nominated
		Best Actor	Lee Byung-hun	Nominated
		Best Supporting Actor	Ryu Seung-ryong	Won
		Best Art Direction	Kwak Jae-sik, Oh Heung-seok	Nominated
		Best Music	Mowg, Kim Jun-seong	Nominated
		Buil Readers' Jury Award	Masquerade	Won
	7th Asia Pacific Screen Awards[56]	Best Actor	Lee Byung-hun	Won

Theater adaptation

The film was adapted into a stage play which ran at Seoul's Dongsoong Art Center from February 23 to April 21, 2013. It was produced by Lee Byung-hun's agency BH Entertainment. Bae Soo-bin and musical theatre actor Kim Do-hyun alternated in the lead role of Gwanghae.^[57] As part of the promotion for the play, Lee, Bae and Kim were featured in a photo spread in the inaugural issue of Grazia Korea, published on February 20, 2013.^[58]

See also

• I Am a King

References

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2. "Masquerade (2012)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2014-05-30.
3. Kwaak, Je-yup (14 August 2012). "Prince-pauper tale gets election-year twist in Gwanghae". The Korea Times. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
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7. "Masquerade Sweeps Daejong Film Awards". The Chosun Ilbo. 31 October 2012. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
8. Lee, Claire (30 October 2012). "Gwanghae sweeps Daejong Film Awards". The Korea Herald. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
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10. Hong, Lucia (13 August 2012). "Masquerade main stars Lee Byung-hun, Han Hyo-joo speak at presser". 10Asia. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
11. Aquino, Rowena (24 September 2012). "A Royal Performance by Lee Byung-hun: Review of Masquerade". Asia Pacific Arts. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
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26. Lee, Jin-ho (3 October 2012). "Interview: Han Hyo Joo Says Lee Byung Hun was the Best Actor She's Met". enewsWorld. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
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29. "강우석 감독, 첫 사극 ‘나는 조선의 왕이다’ 연출". The Dong-a Ilbo. 14 March 2011. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
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External links

• Official website
• Masquerade at the Korean Movie Database
• Masquerade at the Internet Movie Database
• Masquerade at Rotten Tomatoes
• Masquerade at HanCinema
• Masquerade at Naver (Korean)