The Concubine

2012 [KOREAN]

Action / Drama / History / Romance

20
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Rotten 38% · 2 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Spilled 38%
IMDb Rating 6.0/10 10 2956 3K

palace eunuch concubine period drama political intrigue  15th century

Plot summary

Living a torturous life of poverty and barely able to survive, Hwa-yeon decides to offer herself as one of the king’s concubines. Once inside the royal palace, two men are immediately seized by the woman - the Grand Prince Seong-won, a megalomaniacal ruler drunk with power and lust, and Kwon-yoo, who has everything to lose if his desire for Hwa-yeon is exposed.

Director

Dae-seung Kim Photo
Dae-seung Kim

Top cast

Ahn Suk-hwan Photo
Ahn Suk-hwan as Officer Shin Ik-Chul - Hwa-Yeon's Father
Yeo-jeong Jo Photo
Yeo-jeong Jo as Hwa-Yeon
Hong Kyeong-Yeon Photo
Hong Kyeong-Yeon as Court Lady Kim
Ki-Wang Jo Photo
Ki-Wang Jo as Yoon Jong-ho
720p.BluRay 1080p.BluRay
1.1 GB
1280*682
Korean 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
2 hr 2 min
Seeds 9
2.25 GB
1920*1024
Korean 5.1
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
2 hr 2 min
Seeds 16

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by samsblood

This is not an erotic film

The previous reviewer dwelled on the penis thing and the erotic aspect of this film, but I think he, along with many others, missed the point. It's partly the fault of the advertising campaign, which I understand emphasized Jo YeoJung's (as well as other actors') nude scenes -- but I don't know how anyone can still retain the impression that this movie is an erotic bodice-ripper after actually watching it. This is a dark, perilous journey through the obsessions and grudges of people who cannot stop running lest they fall behind, and the sweat is all of the cold kind.The said scenes involving nudity and sexuality are not in the least erotic, nor did I find Kim DongWook's reaction to the coitus-by-the-book(literally) as the hapless young king at all comedic, intentionally or otherwise; rather he did a fine job of assaying a pathetic and desperate character trapped in an intolerable situation, and his mental near-collapse was almost palpable. And the supporting characters' stories did not interfere with the unfolding of the main plot for me -- they were not subplots so much as back stories for the characters' motivations, and served to flesh out, not complicate, the plot.Aside from the mostly fine direction and the acting -- which latter ranged from decent (in a few cases) to very good (mostly) -- for me the art direction and cinematography were particular standouts. While most historical epics tend to emphasize sumptuous costumes and the splendor of the architecture and ornamentation, this movie did the opposite; while it is visually rich in its own, gloom-laden way, everything in it is in dark, muted colors as if it were dyed with tea, the ladies wear little jewelry and the sets are kept very lean, to sometimes very striking, almost expressionistic, effect, as when HwaYeon's maid is assigned new, better quarters of her own after catching the King's eye, but the room is entirely empty, and the woman is shown laughing in semi-hysterical self-congratulation on a tiny mat on an otherwise bare floor.There are many, many scenes shot at very close range, often lit by simulated candlelight at night, creating an overall claustrophobic feel that visually replicates the suffocating atmosphere of the intrigue-riddled court these people endured. Fittingly, the scenes of violence are presented suddenly and starkly, with minimal cues in the soundtrack, which makes them all the more shocking yet realistic.While not exactly a masterpiece, this movie is a well-thought out and well-executed production, much superior to the kind of titillating fluff it is made out to be by some. It definitely deserves a thoughtful watch.
Reviewed by j-a-julian 1 / 10

Very Good Film Destroyed by Technical Issue

This is probably a good, or maybe even great, movie. I struggled through the entire thing. I am a native English speaker with a Masters degree ... I CAN read English. The sub titles appear on the screen and are gone too fast for anyone to completely read. Countless times I had to stop the film and skip back to read the subtitle. It was IMPOSSIBLE to take in the subtitle content and to appreciate the beautiful photography. The subtitle appeared on the screen as the actor began to speak and then immediately disappeared as their line was finished. Leaving the subtitle up for perhaps another 5 seconds, as in other subtitled movies (and I watch a lot of them), would have solved the problem. Such a shame to ruin a beautiful film with such a stupid technical error.
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