[Discussion] A Frozen Flower - Korean Movie 18+

SPOILERS AHEAD

I found the kings character the most fascinating - part of me thought he was a a bit of paedo because he took the young Hong Lim under his wing when he was just a kid & perhaps manipulated him with his loyalty to the King to become his lover (we don’t see this because the story jumps forward to when Hong Lim is all grown up so we don’t see what happens in the intervening years & exactly when it is that they become lovers) BUT I believe the King truly loved him, at every point he tries to give HL a way out if only he comes back to him. Even in the final scene he is trying to give him a chance to surrender & he will spare his life I think everything the King did in retaliation was out of jealousy because he lost HL’s (perceived) affections to the Queen.

Also when poor HL has his *cough* chopped off the King says something to him like “now we are both the same” so this made me think that the King is not just gay but has some sort of impediment which means that he is physically unable to get the Queen pregnant & that’s why he sent HL in his stead because if he wasn’t physically impotent surely he could have gritted his teeth & done it with the Queen just for the sake of begetting an heir & keeping his kingdom intact.

The Queen – was she genuinely in love with HL or was it also a payback to her husband the King for neglecting her all these years & the final humiliation of getting his bodyguard to have sex with her? Hmmm I’m a little unsure but would like to give her the benefit of the doubt as I am a hopeless romantic.

HL – did he love the King? I think his bond with the King was more out of duty & loyalty, engendered (manipulated even) from a very young age.

I loved the look of the film the cinematography, costumes & attention to detail was exemplary. The music & the swordplay were magnificent. I especially loved the first fight between the King & HL you can see the repressed feelings & emotions just bubbling under the surface throughout the whole exchange.

Ok there are the explicit sex scenes but I still wouldn’t refer to this as pornography as I believe that’s denigrating a beautiful film that’s acted really well by the main protagnists especially, in my opinion, the King.

I noted that the writer/director is Hu Yu & I checked out his back catalogue & I noticed that he also wrote/directed Once Upon A Time in High School and I can see his fingerprint on that earlier work.

cityhunter83 wrote: i've been meaning to watch this one just havent gotten around to it yet

It's a very good movie.

I liked it too and I haven't got anything to comment about, since I agree on everything RF said regarding the dynamic of the characters' interaction.
I thought the "naughty bits" where just a little too long for my taste. Mind you, this has nothing to do with morality and everything with the pace and balance of the movie.

Jeaniessi wrote: Yes it is and I actually liked the naughty bits...ahem...and the costumes and cinematography too.

lol

amrita828 wrote: I liked it too and I haven't got anything to comment about, since I agree on everything RF said regarding the dynamic of the characters' interaction.
I thought the "naughty bits" where just a little too long for my taste. Mind you, this has nothing to do with morality and everything with the pace and balance of the movie.

i agree less is more :p

Yeona wrote: I liked more The Servant than this movie but both are good movies. I liked Jo In Sung's character. :D

I havent heard of this one i will check it out.

I will definitely be watching this one. ;)

Jeaniessi wrote: Yes it is and I actually liked the naughty bits...ahem...and the costumes and cinematography too.

why am i not surprised? :P