Movie Review) A tale of love, sex and jealousy in an ancient kingdom under siege

(By Shin Hae-in
SEOUL, Jan. 5 (Yonhap) -- A boy lives his whole life believing he is merely a
boy. He knows no other than to love, cherish and respect an older male, his
highness the king. The boy is perfectly happy in his little world inside the
palace until one day, he realizes that he is no longer a boy, but a fully grown
man with desire for a woman.

Although sexuality and nudity are no longer a hush-hush issue in this
traditionally Confucian country, the South Korean movie "Ssanghwajeom (A Frozen
Flower)" made headlines long before it was released here on Dec. 30 for its blunt
depictions of homo- and bi-sexuality.
The sex scenes in this historical drama, the fifth film by South Korea's only
poet-turned-director Yoo Ha, certainly live up to their reputation.
But these scenes are not simply meant to titillate. They are critical in showing
how the boy in the palace slowly turns into a man and fights to come to terms
with his sexual identity. And growing up is far harsher and more brutal for him,
as it is the queen to whom he is inexorably drawn.
Near the end of the Goryeo Dynasty (918-1392), politically ruled by Mongolia's
Yuan Kingdom, King Gongmin organizes a team of pretty-looking male bodyguards to
look after him. The commander of the team, Hong Lim, has long been the king's
lover.
The king, a gentleman by nature, is always kind to his queen, an enchanting Yuan
princess, but is unable to love her.
Pressed by Yuan to produce a son immediately, or else crown a Yuanese prince as
the next king of Goryeo, King Gongmin makes the reluctant decision to have his
beloved Hong Lim sleep with his wife.
What first starts out as a relationship born of political need turns into the
"real thing" between the two young lovers: a handsome guard who touches a woman
for the first time and a lonesome queen from a foreign land who has been longing
for a shoulder to cry on.
By the time the king realizes his mistake, it is too late. Overcome with the
desire to see and touch each other, the queen and the guard escape the king's
watchful eyes for brief yet passionate meetings that drive the whole kingdom into
a bloody catastrophe.
A fragile yet fully grown "boy" has often been the persona in movies by director
Yoo who drew many film buffs to his past works "A Dirty Carnival (2005)" and
"Spirit of Jeet Keun Do (2004)."
"The essence is still all there," the soft-spoken director said in a recent
interview with a local movie magazine. "But this movie was a new and a
frightening challenge for me because I was to talk about two very difficult
things: historical drama and sexuality."
The two factors that agonized Yoo so much appear to be mere tools used to
complete the director's long-struggling persona. Unlike the two male characters
in Yoo's past works, Hong Lim musters up "enough guts" to put up a real fight
with the king, who was the creator of his first world, a benevolent father and a
protective lover all in one.
"Ssanghwajeom," currently showing at 546 theaters across the country, drew more
than 1 million audiences as of Jan. 2, the film's fourth day of screening,
setting a new record for domestic movies.
hayney@yna.co.kr
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