왕의 남자 The King and The Clown

Film yg dirilis Desember 2005 arahan sutradara Lee Joon Ik terbukti menarik tuk ditonton..Buktinya film ini meraih film terbaik tahun ini dalam Daesang Award ke-43 yg diselenggarakan di Korea beberapa waktu lalu. Ga hanya menang film terbaik, film ini jg meraih the best cinematografi and also the best screenplay, dan tentu saja sang sutradara jg berhasil membawa pulang piala..Ga berhenti sampai di situ aja, aktor2nya pun ga kalah hebat, berkat film ini mrk jg berhasil meraih penghargaan, Kam So Wung sbg aktor terbaik, Yoo Hae Jin sbg aktor pembantu terbaik, dan Lee Joon Ki menyabet 3 penghargaan sekaligus, pendatang baru terbaik, penghargaan popularitas dalam and luar negeri..Wahh melihat prestasi-nya yg segudang kayaknya film ini emang patut untuk ditonton nih...

Film ini memasang latar belakang kolosal, yaitu saat di mana Korea masih dalam bentuk dinasti2, tepatnya Dinasti Chosun yg dikuasai raja Yeonsan. Cerita dimulai saat kedua orang pemain drama keliling, Kong-gil (Lee Joon Ki) dan Jangsaeng (Kam Wo Sung) tengah memainkan drama di depan seorg gubernur..Maennya hebat banget deh, mrk bisa bermain drama di atas seutas tali trus mempertunjukkan kebolehan mrk.. Dlm drama itu, Kong-gil memerankan tokoh seorang wanita..Dya memakai topeng + pakaian cewek utk menunjang perannya itu.. gerak-gerik plus badannya yg ramping, sangat menunjukkan kalo dya seorg wanita..Wah pokoke ga bakal nyangka d, kalo dya seorg cowok..Nah trus gubernur yg liat Kong-gil pentas suka gitu, malem2 dipanggillah si Kong-gil..Tapi Jangsaeng ga mau Kong-gil nemuin si gubernur, dya benar2 ga rela krn sayang sama Kong-gil, bahkan sampai dipukulin abis2an aja gitu..Akhirnya pas Kong-gil lagi beduaan ama gubernur (dasar gila nih Kong-gil..wong dya cowok!), menerobos masuk ke kamar, trus kaburlah mrk berdua..Bahkan Kong-gil ga sengaja ngebunuh pimpinan rombongan yg mau matahin kakinya Jangsaeng akibatnya mrk jd buronan...Mulailah perjalanan mrk berdua melarikan diri..Akhirnya mrk memutuskan pergi ke Seoul dgn tekad tuk menjadi pemain drama yg paling hebat!! Mrk berdua ini emang dekeett bangett layaknya saudara..

Di Seoul,mrk bergabung dgn rombongan pemain drama lainnya, ada 3 org gitu.. Jangsaeng punya ide untuk memainkan drama yg isinya menceritakan raja+permasuiri Noksu..Drama pun dimainkan dan penonton suka ampe tertwa terbahak2..Kocak banget sih..Krn isi drama yg melecehkan raja, mrk pun ditangkap pengwal istana. mrk disuruh berakting di depan raja Yeonsan (Jeong Jin Young).. Kalau mrk bisa membuat raja tertawa, maka mrk akan menjadi penghibur resmi raja di istana, tapi kalau ga..mrk hrs mati!! Pas tampil di depan raja, mrk berlima tentu saja sangat deg-degan..Saking deg-degan, sampai2 ga mampu berakting..Untung Jangsaeng dan Goong-il tetap bisa menguasai keadaan and tentu saja memuat raja tertawa..Resmilah mrk menjadi penghibur alias “badut” di dalam istana..

Satu demi satu drama pun dimainkan oleh mereka, namun dgn dipentaskannya drama malah menjadikan raja bertindak kejam, ga bisa kontrol emosi, sampai menjatuhkan korban.Mulai dari drama penyindiran terhdp para menteri, tentu saja sang mentri hrs kehilangan jari-jarinya.. drama ttg kisah ortu si raja sendiri, raja baru tahu kalo ibunya dibunuh dgn racun atas suruhan neneknya, ibu permasuri..Akibatnya krn saking shock, nenek raja pun meninggal..

Perlahan-lahan pula raja pun mulai menyukai badut kesayangannya, Kong-gil, bahkan sampai jatuh cinta lho..Emang dr pertama kali liat Kong-gil, raja udh suka ama dya, walaupun dya tau kalo Kong-gil adlh cowok tulen. Kong-gil pun srg dipanggil ke kamar raja, nemenin minum teh, maen boneka tangan, dll deh..Krn ngeliat raja+ Kong-gil yg srg berduaan, Jangsaeng pun jadi sewot, permaisuri pun cemburu..Dya pgn ngejatuhin Kong-gil dgn cara meniru tulisannya dan menulis selebaran yg isinya sgt melecehkan raja..

Apakah taktik permasuri berhasil? Ataukah ada hal yg tidak terduga terjadi shg akhirnya Kong-gil bebas dr tuduhan? Lalu apakah kasih sayang Jangsaeng ke Kong-gil hanya ksh sayang kakak-adik saja atau lbh dr itu?..Well, u better watch it by yourself. Krn cerita Movie ini diambil dr sebuah drama lokal Korea berjudul “Yi” and emang ada sebuah pernyataan dr Dinasti Chosun di mana raja Yeonsan memang mempunyai “clown” favorit pada saat itu!!

-utHie-

yuhuuu... nambahin yah... film blockbuster Korea yg judul aslinya Wang-eui Namja (artinya King's Man atau Cowoknya Raja...) ini telah mematahkan semua rekor film Korea terdahulu dgn menjadi the all-time number one hit mengikuti keberadaannya selama 112 hari di box office. Pada pemutaran terakhirnya, yaitu tgl 18 April 2006, film ini telah menyedot hampir 4 juta penonton di Seoul (secara penduduk Seoul 9 juta orang, berarti hampir separo orang seoul udah nonton nih film..!! ckckck…), dan lebih dari 12 juta penonton di seluruh negeri, padahal ni film cuma diputar di 300-400 teater nationwide. Bahkan di antara angka2 yg fantastis itu, presiden Roh Moo-hyun juga turut menyaksikan film yang produksi visual dan wardrobe-nya byk dipuji ini...

Oiya, ini ada interview-nya junki about film King and Clown yang diambil dari First Magazine...



How do you feel about taking up this role in King and the Clown?
Many of my close friends told me not to take it up, since I am a male actor, and it might be difficult for me to get parts for other roles in future. But after reading the script, I decided to take it up anyway. Honestly, I didn't expect this film to be so successful. I just felt that the role would help me as an actor.

Do you get any problems from over-aggressive gay fans?
I did get a lot of e-mail messages after the film was shown. There were people stalking me on the Internet. But I wasn't too bothered, because it was a testament to the success of the film and the role I played.

Were you as effeminate when you were growing up? Did any guys try to hit on you?
No, I didn't have to experience that. In fact, my friends think that I am quite masculine! Maybe that's why I took up the role, because it is so different from me. To be honest, I was rather grossed out on the first day of the shoot.

How did you feel about working on this film?
Too bad it had an all-male cast...if only they were all females! (laughs)

What sort of girls do you like?
I like cute girls. They make me want to protect them.

What would you do if you have a male friend confessing his love for you in real life?
I would reject him directly. But I won't ostracise him. He's a friend after all, and I'll treat him like one.

You have B-type blood. People say men with B-type blood are domineering. How do you feel about it?
Half the girls in Korea like B-types and half do not. B-type males are perceived to be passionate, driven and creative. Of course, there are also the negative qualities. B-types can be a bit self-centered and aggressive. But I think I will treat my girlfriend very well.

Why did you want to be an actor?
It was a childhood dream. Actors have the ability to bring out emotions from audiences and I like that.

Are you a trendy guy?
Not really. After this film, I did experiment with dressing up a bit more. To be honest, I'm really just a sports-wear type of person. And I am not fussy. I don't like to trouble myself with dressing up. But lately, whatever I wear tends to become fashionable!

Gay films rarely appeal to the mainstream, but this film has enjoyed a tremendous box-office success. Do you think it has an impact on changing societal attitudes?
I don't really think a single film can make such an impact. Our box-office success has more to do with the fact that the film was poking fun at a historical royal figure. Girls tend to be more intrigued by the plot, so many of them drag their boyfriends along with them to the cinema, even though they (the guys) may fell reluctant to watch it at first.

If a famous director offered you a role like the leads in Brokeback Mountain, would you take it up?
It depends on which stage I am in in my acting career. If I think I can do it well at the time, I will. I am actually quite interested in action films.



_randjay_