Dec

23

2007

Shadows in the Palace

Posted by luna6


Movie : Shadows in the Palace / Goongnyeo / 궁녀
Release Date : October 18, 2007
Country : South Korea
Director : Mee-jeung Kim
Starring : Jin-hee Park, Young-hee Seo, Jung-eun Lim
Runtime : 113 min
Editor Rating : 6.5
Users Rating: 7.09 1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars6 Stars7 Stars8 Stars9 Stars10 Stars (11 votes)

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“Shadows in the Palace” features mostly an all female cast, female director Mee-jeung Kim (worked on the directing team for King and the Clown), and takes place during the fabled Chosun era. If you take those bits of information you may expect a gentle period drama - something along the lines “Hwang Jin Yi” with more frailty. Well looks can be deceiving and in this case you would be totally wrong. Simply put, the ladies in the Palace don’t mess around. They will do anything to maintain their power, even inflict the type of pain that gives new meaning to “I’ma get medieval on your ass.” There were a handful (pun intended) of gruesome scenes that made me turn away from the screen.

shadowspalace-main.jpgAlthough “Shadows in the Palace” takes place in the well documented Chosun era, the movie is purely a fictionalized account of what occurred among made up characters in the court of King Jung-jo. A nurse, Chun-ryung (Jin-Hie Park) is called into the quarters of the King’s mistress Hee-bin. One of her maids, Wol-ryung, is found hanging in her maid chamber in an apparent suicide. It doesn’t take long for Chun-ryung to conclude that the maid did not commit suicide, but was actually murdered. Even though Chun-ryung has circumstantial evidence to conclude foul play occured, the supervising maid orders Chun-ryung to classify her death as a suicide. If not, a scandal like this may weaken Hee-bin’s base of power and consequently the maids’ source of power.

While, Chun-ryung performs an autopsy on Wol-ryung, she discovers another startling secret. It appears that Wol-ryung recently gave birth to a child. This is all the more scandalous, because maids are sworn to keep their chastity for the king. Chun-ryung must now filter through the myriad of lies and deception given by the other maids to uncover the truth before another murder takes place.

“Shadows in the Palace” comes out blazing with a gripping mystery/thriller set in a historical time period. The film was shot on the same set as King and the Clown, but has a far darker look. It does take a while to get a handle on who all the characters are, but once that happens you are immersed in the “Shadows in the Palace”. Unfortunately, once the investigation got into high gear the movie sinks a few notches, occasionally knocking on the doorsteps of cheeseball territory. Jin-hie Park cast as Chun-ryung, isn’t noted for dramatic roles and after watching her performance I can understand why. She used a particular Korean dialect that I couldn’t quite place, but it did remind me of the Wicked Witch in the Wizard of Oz. The supporting cast was better, two of the more noteworthy performances were given by Yeong-hie Seo (Moodori/My Lovely Week) and Jeong-eun Lim (My Love/Make It Big). On a postive note, the movie picked up with a lavish climax, visually recalling the Curse of the Golden Flower.

Normally in historical dramas the film centers around the King, Queen and their Royal Court. In “Shadows in the Palace” the movie focuses exclusively on the maids who worked in the royal court. The movie provides ample doses of mystery, intrigue, and gore while portraying a fictionalized account of their inner world. “Shadows in the Palace” is unique in that aspect and mostly entertaining, making the film worth seeking out.

buy Shadows in the Palace from YesAsia

Cast:
Jin-hee Park - Chun-rying
Young-hee Seo - Wol-ryung
Jung-eun Lim - Ok-jin
Hae-jin Jun - Jung-ryeol
Sae-ah Yun - Hee-bin

If you like this movie you may enjoy: The King and The Clown, Hwang-Jin Yi, Sakuran



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2007 Movie Reviews, Korean Movies, Movies |

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4 Comments so far

  1. 4 KRRJNN Says: October 4, 2008

    Jolene: I saw this movie quite a while ago and couldn’t remember the details of the plotlines. But, I can tell you that the “lover of the mute palace maid” is Kim Nam Jin (i.e. the man who is the lover of the imperial medic, Chun-rying - do you remember? It’s him who impregnates her). Apropos of the ending, I think you’re right as I reckon the same - the concubine’s sister (i.e. the late maid in waiting) takes over.

    This movie has quite a few unexpected twists and turns which kept me riveted all the way till the end. I also rate it higher than 6.5!!

  2. 3 Jolene Loh Says: October 2, 2008

    Hi there,

    I really like the movie and the twist of the story. But i am really confused by a lot of things for exmaple who is the lover of the mute palace maid? The guys and the women honestly look so alike that i couldnt tell who is who and got confused with the story line. What happen in the end? The concubine’s sister took over the status? Would u kindly tell me the story. Thanks.

  3. 2 PrincelyLuna Says: February 10, 2008

    sadly, the ‘horror’ element kinda spoil this movie for me.

  4. 1 Rico Says: January 9, 2008

    I dont like most of the korean historical drama movies, and this one was a bit more interesting but I wouldnt rate it higher then a 6.5.
    I wouldnt watch it again.