King and the Clown Unofficial Fansite Forums

[lady wakasa]

King and the Clown: Portland International Film Festival

My sister and brother-in-law went to see King and the Clown at the Portland International Film Festival last weekend, and sent along some pictures.

They arrived "armed" and ready with t-shirts.


They got there early, too, and were third / fourth in line.


My brother-in-law, who is a great conversationalist, discussed the movie with the couple ahead of them on line.


By the time they were ready to go in, a crowd had come. The showing itself was about 75% full – so good thing they got there early!


AND they enjoyed the movie:

My brother-in-law found it an emotionally involving, compelling story, well-told, with great cinematography to boot. He noted the Farewell, My Concubine comparison, and thought it was a better story. And he really liked the score - not something I've heard much about from non-Asian viewers - and thought it suited the action very well.

My sister liked seeing Korean cinema beginning to come into its own in the States - she's heard of plenty from Japan and Hong Kong, and is glad that Korea's also getting some Western traction. As far as the story goes, she like seeing the human abillity to satirize going back centuries, rather than being portrayed as something developed during the 19th and 20th centuries. And she liked how the relationship between Jang-Saeng and Gong-gil, no matter what it was, was handled without any sensationalism. It was very matter-of-fact, which was nice.

Her favorite scene was the climax on the rope: even though Jang-Saeng was blinded, and Gong-Gil had (partially) sold his soul, they realized how full their lives as minstrels had been. The leap from the rope was a fitting - though bittersweet - ending to the story.

So all in all, they had a really good time, even if it was a little later than they'd normally go out. And I'm happy, because they enjoyed my suggestion!