I'm so glad you did a review of this movie. I watched it a while back and loved it. I think the two male leads had amazing chemistry, not to mention super great looking.

It is brokeback mountain except asian style. Interesting.

Thank you for the recap and incisive commentary, Sevenses, and for sharing the review on your blog, Javabeans. Makes me want to watch the movie even more.

Joo Jin-mo was so good in this movie.. but I can't help but notice our lovely Park Gyu lol

does anyone know where I can watch this movie? Everyone raves about it so I want to watch it. Thanks!

I thought the movie to be beautiful in terms of visuals and the plot to be very interesting. I really enjoyed the move so much and I agree I was on Joo Jin-mo side the entire time. When he was betrayed by the one he loved so was I , but then again never let another man sleep with your woman no matter his "orientation".

saw this movie...did not like it...just wasn't that good of a movie. I'll never watch it again for sure.

Ooh, I've been wanting to see this. I have friends who like this kind of movies...erm *whispers* I do too actually... :P

Surprising me that you recap this. Since i was crazily waiting this movie for zo in sung. It bit disappointed me. I want see his acting , not his look. hmm.. i want something memorable like dirty carnival. He 's sacrificied him self in sex scene but it seems useless (for me ). But whatever reason i still love him hehe. It reminds me with Joo jin mo in HAPPY END hehe Hohoww that movie as crazy as frozen flower. Haha Thanks for recaps

"that the couple trying to find love against all odds will die"

LOL, freaking true. I just finished "Portrait of a beauty", and pretty the same thing happened. Steaming sex + dead in the end.

Movies, this type, are pretty to look at. But I forget the second after it ended. Maybe it's just me.

OMG, so that was Im Joo Hwan running away with the girl at the beginning?

From this summary, the story sounds like a mix of Alexander, Mists of Avalon, and the King and the Clown.

Oh. I can't say it is a great movie or the movie I like very much.. But I love Joo Jin Mo's acting and character here. I agreed with you. I sided with the King's pathetic love rather Hong Lim and the Queen. I think it is because of JJM's acting. It is very persuasive and real, made my heart feel sorry for him even the King is merciless killing those peole involved in.
Jo In Sung is just okay in this movie, I don't think he really stepped up.
For the Queen, the actress is alrigh, she certainly improved since Goong. But her role was shadowed by the King and Hong Lim.

You should do more of these reviews, I can't keep myself from laughing when I read some of your comments about certain scences. Lovely!

Nice recap Sevenses. I've been wondering about this movie even though the subject matter doesn't appeal to me. Now I've got a better idea of what it's all about.

I LOVED THE MOVIE !!
THE BEST EVER MADE if not sine i have stated to be interested in korean drama and movie!
THE BEST !!
so beautiful

I for one absolutely love this movie... So tragic that it lingers in your mind for quite some time afterwards. I absolutely agree with the doomed lovers thing cause having been re-aquainted with korean 'historic' 'movies through Frozen Flower, I went back and watched Portrait of a Beauty and Untold Scandal....

I have read somewhere that the frequent sex scenes were imperative to the pacing of the film as it builds up audience tension in awaiting for the inevitable discovery of The Betrayal. Sex in film is a good thing- both between Hong Lim and the King as well as Hong Lim and the Queen- but sometimes there's just too much. So much that you start to roll your eyes (Again?) and then press the ff button just to find out what happens next - never a good sign for a film.

I think that a major interest in this film is how flawed the main characters are, as well as how seemingly every choice they make regarding their relationships turns out to be the wrong one and propels their interaction onto the next phase, especially near the end. I would say HL character is weak to temptation (especially as there is a definite question about his sexual orientation... was he gay? If he was then why would the King think that HL could serve the queen if he, the king can't. Was he bisexual? Was he groomed/ coerced by the King from his childhood days?). The King obviously loved HL very much, and was willing to forgive him right to the end and I for one was hoping for this outcome/ pairing... However, castrating your beloved, killing his friends and lover... not the best way to make him come back to you, man.

One of my major problem with this film is the issue of love between the Queen and HL. When did that happen? Great sex does not equal love and the love confessions just came out of nowhere. It also ended with HL saying that he have never loved the King- not even once, which I take as a lie (only because it makes for a better story...) plus the fact that at this point HL was mightily pissed off with him. HL kills him. Then he gets killed. Queen comes in. HL makes a deliberate effort to turn and face the king as he lies dying. A single drop of tear as he takes his last breath...... (AHHHHHH I'm so confused about what this means?!!) Would someone enlighten me??

thanks for the recap...this indeed is a good movie, scene, music, costumes...etc. I enjoyed the movie & 2 thumbs up for Joo Jin-Mo & Jo In-Sung.

I would have really liked to see the sword dance without all the sex scenes woven in.

For those who have also seen The King and the Clown and Farewell My Concubine, how would you compare Frozen Flowers to them (if comparable, that is)?

I saw this a month back or so, and it left me pretty confused. I wasn't sure too sure to take Hong Lim's words when he said he has never loved the king. But then again, I wonder if lust can blossom into love.
As for the sex scenes, they were extremely graphic, and a little unnecessary.
I also find it kinda "odd" that the King wasn't even wiling to elope with his wife. I mean, sure he doesn't love her, but a couple tries can solve the problem. Why drag Hong Lim into this? And the King is in assumption that Hong Lim loves him, so if he can't proceed with this task, what makes him think Hong Lim can do it for him?
However, as a whole movie, it was enjoyable. The sceneries were brilliant as well as the colorful wardrobes.

I liked your review and point of view on the movie, and I agree te best performance in the entire movie was from the King.

But I must admit, I couldn't help but hate the King, and I know it was all part of the plot, but really. What would he expect from making his lover and the queen sleep together? Of course he'd get jealous, and I just wanted his character to die in the end. I got way to frustrated with all the angst that I couldn't just look at the beauty that the movie wanted to emit.

Overall for me, great idea and plot, but could've been a bit better.

I just watched this movie only days ago, and while I enjoyed it, I was not a fan of the relationship between Hong Lim and the Queen nor the King's needy tendencies. The biggest gaping flaw for me was that the queen and Hong Lim only ever have sex, I think they speak a total of ten sentences to each other. How can either of them say that they are in love?

I also agree in that there could have been a lot less sex and a lot more emphasis on the relationship between the king and Hong Lim. It felt as though the filmakers were still very uncomfortable with the whole gay plot.

However I must agree, this movie was gorgeous to look at and the music was especially nice.

@ Sevenses...i think the king's love for hong lim was real but i don't think hong lim's love for the king is real at all. he might have genuine affection & respect for the king having grown up and spent most of his life by the king's side...not to mention being doted on by the king...but it came across very obvious to me that he just didn't know any better until he got intimate with the queen...and realized that he really bats for the other team. although i do agree that sex doesn't necessarily equate to love, however, the intimacy can bring out all sorts of feelings! :P so i didn't get the sense that the queen and hong lim's supposed love was random at all. there were times when i felt that maybe the queen didn't really love hong lim but rather just wanted his male companionship b/c she was obviously lonely...and horny! lol joo jin mo definitely did an awesome job in this movie...he played the lover scorned so well!

WOW, finally a discussion about FROZEN FLOWER.

I so agree a lot with @28 mochiballs
King's love for HL = true
HL love for King = total devotion he grew up in his household, romantic love I don't think so.
Queen's love for HL = yes possible, remember male and female reaction to "sex" are quite different. Male can do it without emotions, female usually attaches a certain amount of emotions to the act of sex. The frequent sex, I am sure stirred a lot of emotions to the queen.

JJM was awesome, for me the best part was when he discovered the Q + HL doing it in the library, his facial/eyes reaction was SUPER. When I was watching this part and the build-up of the scene where the K was looking tentatvely at each aisle, i was literally shouting at the screen, "NO! NO! PLEASE DON'T LET THE KING DISCVOVER THEM, HE WILL BE DEVASTATED FOR SURE, POOR HIM.

Then the next scene was the castration part, whew!! my heart was really pumping so fast. I so love the action of the the vice-captain, when the King ordered TO DO IT NOW!! His initial hesitation, confusion but finally he has to do it, the sputter of blood drops (tacky).

I just wish the scene (backtrack) of the bodyguards performance with the sword dance(?) in the scene where there was a festivity, was loooonger. There was so much eyecandies and I sooo love it. Instead the scene was alternated with the Q + HL doing their tryst in the library (bummer!). I saw the scenes in youtube when they were rehearsing this scene and most of the actors (bodyguards) were shirtless or wearing sleeveless shirts, hmmmm yummy.

Again, JJM was sooooo GREAT.

I forgot, thanks a lot SEVENSES for the review. I forgot to mention that I watched this initially without sub, so I barely understood the real gist. Then I watched it again when I happen to see later that eng sub was now avaialble. But the episodes that had sex in it was deleted. Now, reading your review I now understood the correct storyline.

@19 Meix2
"Then he gets killed. Queen comes in. HL makes a deliberate effort to turn and face the king as he lies dying. A single drop of tear as he takes his last breath…… (AHHHHHH I’m so confused about what this means?!!) Would someone enlighten me??"

My take is that, when all this fighting was happening HL believes the Queen was dead, so when he saw the pregnant Q walks in, he had to look at the King in his dying seconds. Probably HL was thinking "how could you let me think she was dead...." or probably "thank you for not killing the queen and the future heir (or my baby)...." I like this scene as well..

I like jim mo very much. He's so charming and handsome. And he can act very well.

Thankyou for the review. I enjoyed reading it. I haven't seen the movie yet, but will now.
"Their tragedy lies in the fact that they both feel too much (as opposed to feeling too little). Their emotions run to extremes all the time: they love too hard, they hate too hard, and they tied themselves together far too tightly for the break up to end well."
Story of my life!

" It’s hypocritical to force his boyfriend to sleep with the queen because it’s unpleasant – it’s not any less pleasant for Hong Lim, but he’ll do it because it’s his duty."

I haven't seen the movie so what I am about to say may be
completely wrong. I wonder if the reason king forced Hong
to sleep with the queen was because he rather be cheated on
than cheat. I use the term cheating here loosely considering
all parties involved had prior knowledge. The king rather go
through the angst of having his lover be with someone else
instead of watching hong in misery. "I rather be cheated on than
cheat" kinda logic. It is selfish nonetheless.

Every movie that deals with male homosexuality is always compared to Brokeback Mountain and I'm not going to be any different. BBM is one of the best movies I've ever seen in my life. I can't watch it without having a complete emotional breakdown; in fact I've only ever watched it completely twice. But it really hits me where I live and I always irrationally hope for a different outcome. In my mind, Ennis and Jack are living on Brokeback Mountain with gray hair and beer bellies, happy together forever.

It's the same for me with A Frozen Flower. I wanted so badly for the king to get his happy ending, but barring that, at least SOME admission of love from Hong-lim before they died. What a credit to Joo Jin-mo's acting abilities that so many people feel this way!

I completely understand why Hong-lim is confused by the events that unfold. The king has practically raised him from early childhood, given him every advantage and opportunity; and lavished him with attention and great affection. Hong-lim in return is fiercely protective of the king, respects him tremendously, and wants only to please him. They could have lived out the rest of their days blissfully happy together...if only the king had not made this one fateful command.

But he did...and now Hong-lim has had sex with a woman for the first time. The king is gay; Hong-lim is not. That, to me, is the bottom line. Hong-lim has spent his formative years in the company of men, was introduced to sex by a man. Up to that point he'd never known anything else. But after the fact, he clearly prefers sex with the queen to sex with the king. The queen, a virgin who has long desired her uninterested husband from afar, is also awakened to the joys of sex. Is it love? Probably not, but it's really hard to tell your raging hormones that when it's all new and exciting. "Wait, you mean THIS is what I've been missing? More please!"

It's not the king's fault; he was born that way and his love for Hong-lim is very pure and very natural to him. It's not Hong-lim's fault; he might never have left the king's side had he not been forced to, but once he did, he realized that he was meant to be with a woman. It's not the queen's fault; she loved her husband but he was unable to return her desire, so she transferred those feelings to a man who could.

It's a tragedy of Shakespearean proportions, if you ask me. The pity is that the movie wasn't quite strong enough to flesh out (no pun intended) the emotions of all the parties involved. With the possible exception of the king, which is why so many of us who watched the film feel that he is the most tragic character of them all. Because he is; he is the one character who never hides nor wavers on his true feelings. Who doesn't become irrational at the thought of losing the love of their life? The act of castration is horrifying and barbaric, but it was done in the heat of the moment after witnessing not just a physical betrayal but an emotional one. Remember, the king wants to believe that Hong-lim loves him, not the queen. And if lust is the reason Hong-lim can't stay away from the queen (which Hong-lim stated was the case, truthfully or not) then why not make it impossible for it to ever happen again?

I tend to agree that Hong-lim was the weakest character, not because of his actions but because the emotions behind his actions weren't expressed enough. He had to know that what he was doing would destroy the king, but a few sad, pouty faces here and there didn't really cut it for me. We should have seen Hong-lim struggle as much with his love for the king as with his lust for the queen. Because then the scene in which he rises up one last time to gaze at the king as they die would have had a lot more impact, rather than leaving us to wonder if he did or didn't love the king after all.

JB, I won't read your review until after I have watched the movie for fear of spoilers, but wanted to give you a high five for the including Rufus Wainwright in your song for the day. Hallelujah indeed.

I was so excited to see your review, Sevenses! Thank you. This is maybe only the second or third review I've seen of the flick, in spite of how long it stayed in the theater, and I've been wondering a lot what other people thought of it.

Personally, I was sooooo disappointed with this film. First and foremost, I couldn't believe what an uproar it caused even before it was released because of the love scene between Hong Lim and the king, a scene which turned out to be **NOTHING AT ALL** compared to the 1001 heterosexual sex scenes that followed. I won't lie--I had been looking forward to the film specifically for its slashy nature, and it was a terrible letdown for me when it ended up, IMO, focusing so much more on the relationship that developed between Hong Lim and the queen.

Furthermore, it seems to me that the overabundance of sex scenes between Hong Lim and the queen (which I normally wouldn't mind at all) was supposed to be a way of showing the desire that grew from what had originally only been duty, but I'd be a lot more accepting of that if I'd found any of the sex scenes sexy. I never felt any chemistry between the two of them at all, and the expression on the queen's face every single time left me wondering whether she was enjoying it or in pain.

And finally, I had no sympathy for the king whatsoever--I think that's really what ruined the film for me. Such a selfish and immature character, the king was the cause of all of his own problems, and I was neither surprised nor moved by his demise.

What a shame! I was bummed that I disliked the movie so much, but at least other people enjoyed it.

I was so excited to see this film due to the topic but was so disappointed in Jo In sung's performance. I had to laugh in some scenes because he was so bad. This movie would have been a lot better with another actor. I think his performance brought an element of cartoonishness to the story rather than any genuine tragedy.

Also I do not shrink in face of man on man love having seen enough gay porn thanks to my status as a "faghag" (not my words) but the scenes were so awkward it felt literally like two straight actors bravely plowing forward. I felt almost like they had those scenes for the sake of showing audience that korean cinema had arrived to the world where broke back mountain was a mass success and that they had real artists who weren't afraid to show some gay love. If it can't be done well it would have been better for the director to allude to the intimacy. Sometimes a picture isn't worth a 1000 words.

I actually felt the most compelling part of the story besides Joo Jin Mo's acting was the love story of Hong Lim and the Queen. It was an awakening in both of them. Not only did Hong Lim realize he wasn't batting on the same team which must have been a shock to him after 20+ years but his chief rival to his surprise is his love, soul companion, object of his lust and his baby mama. How quaint and refreshing is that?

thanks for recapping this movie, as always you rock....Jo Jin Mo did a great job in this movie, lots of eye candy and the scenery was gorgeous..........I waivered between Jo Jin Mo and Zo In Sung's characters, gripping... thanks once again

I love Jo in Sung and watching this movie at first got me really uncomfortable...OMIGOSH...I have never saw a Korean movie that is so full of sex scenes...My family thought I was watching a Porno or something...When I finally got over my uncomfortable stage, then I was able to enjoy the storyline...I thought Jo in sung did a great job in this movie ...but now when I see him, I can't help but imagine him naked all the time ....

I didn't really enjoy the movie. I didn't see any love from the Queen for Jo In Sung at all. I think that was a major flaw and didn't really make the movie work. I was a little disappointed after watching it because i expected ti to be better from the trailer.

I have to say, never having been a fan of Jo In Sung or Joo Jin Mo, (okay... maybe during the 'Memories of Bali' stage with Jo In Sung), this film has certainly make me take notice of these two actors. So I went back and watched some of their other work (I'm just coming out of my Cha Seung Won (Cityhall) addiction!) While Jo In Sung has done some decent films - Dirty Carnival etc. Jo Jin Min has left me considerably less impressed with his past work, which make me wonder why the heck I like him so much in this film (to be fair, 'Musa' was ok and I have yet to see 'Real fiction').

I suppose choosing Hong lim to impregnate the queen was a monumentally bad decision (duh), if the only reason being a matter of trust and wanting the child to look like HL. Maybe he wanted to raise HL child together as a couple, but surely this must cause problems if the child does indeed, as the King wants, to resemble HL. Surely, it would be much easier to find someone else to impregnate the queen and then silence them with death after the fact? Or maybe he chose HL because he knew that the Queen despised him and so there was little chance of any affection growing.

Generally, the more I read about and discuss the movie, the more questions arises? Why this, why that, why, why, why.... Don't get me wrong, I still love the movie but only wish that there was a bit more explaining to the audience and not just glossing over important character/ relational issues. This is one movie that needed a directors commentary to explain what was what and bring on the 'Oh, I seeeeee' moment. Opening discussion about a film is always a good thing, but having a film that NEEDS discussing just shouts pretension and laziness in directing/ editing. This is a good film, but it could have so easily been a great film.

Oh and in answer to the question as why the King never slept with the Queen himself and needed Hong Lim, I always got the impression that it wasn't that he couldn't do it because he found it distasteful (okay that too) but rather he couldn't because he was 'unable to take a woman' - meaning he found it so disgusting that he could not get aroused. Which raises the question... what made him think that HL can? So some part of him realised that HL was not gay like him?

Okay, I'll stop asking questions now.

Thanks Sevenses! Am very much surprised someone did a recap on this!!!

I have been waiting for this movie.... it's not available anywhere...and the DVD is in region3...*sigh*

can i email you too?! ill do it anyways!

I have been reading so many good reviews on this movie....

Am just browsing over your recap...just enough to get the gist...dont want too much spoilers... ^-^

...so it’s up to Seung-ki, the vice captain, to kill him as an assassin. (It’s almost a matter of personal revenge, as Seung-ki seems to have been in love with the king this whole time.)

I didn't get the impression that Seungki would have been in love with the King but more like he was in love with the position Honglim had and Seungki wanted to be more important and was ready for sacrifices. I might be wrong though idk... I would have wanted to see more of this character in the movie.

@44 Soob

Same here, i did not get the vibes that "he is in love with the King" when was it manifested or implied in the movie? Was there I dialogue I missed (probably it got lost in the translation). He is more in love/jealous with HL's position. Probably he felt he was better/expertise (swordmanship, etc) than HL and yet HL was the captain bec. of we know what.

Personally I don't think Hong Lim has ever loved the King, I don't think he's gay either. He was raised with men, and his first sexual encounter was with a man, and with the king no less. Although it was wrong that he was emotionally cheating on the king, he was also a victim; a victim of circumstance. From the get-go we are given the impression that Hong Lim is an extremely loyal man, and I think this loyalty was what made him into the king's lover in the first place. The scene at the end where he made an effort to turn his head was because he was sad that this was how they had ended, even when he preferred the queen, he still valued, loved (even if it's not romantic) and had fierce loyalty towards the king. Remember that scene in the library before they got caught? the queen was saying that the king would not love their child, but Hong Lim had argued and believed in the king's goodness.

Soob, i think he was in love with the king, he offered himself and was quite jealous of Hong Lim.

@47 anonymous

Oh, so there is a dialogue that Seung-ki offered himself? Missed that one, however, I think that does not mean he is in love, I think he just did it to be in the same standing career-wise as HL, IMO.

passsss

@4

Just finished reading your parody, wow LOL.