Masquerade
(2012/CJ Entertainment DVD)
Picture:
B- Sound: C Extras: C Film: B+
Political
backstabbing, betrayal, paranoia are normal in the royal Korean palace, but
when the emperor falls ill, they secretly find actor/look-alike as his double
to stand in for him for daily court matters in Choo Chang-min’s Masquerade.
All his
lines and acts are set, but how long can the masquerade last? He has to keep fooling the magistrates and
administrators, if they find out he's not really the emperor they will kill
him. A poor peasant finds himself in the opportunity of a lifetime when
he is taken for the emperors double. Perks are good food, wine, and woman, but he
soon discovers there is more to the job than a life of leisure.
The
emperor is slave to his court, and his court is full of corrupted officials
that would kill him off if he acted un-king like. There is a delicate balance of power, if he
disturbs that he will most likely be noticed as a fake, but then when he see
how the common people suffer and starve he vows to change the courts ways, even
at the risk of exposing himself.
This film
is like the story of a tyrant and the pauper, which sounds familiar, but this
version offers more. The first half of
the film is comedy, as the poor commoner learns how to talk, behave and act
like the real king, but then turns serious in the second half when he starts to
realize the responsibility of a king to his people... he risks changes that may
bring a revolution, but what happens when the pauper turns out to be a better
king than the old king?
The
anamorphically enhanced 2.35 X 1 image (shot on an all-HD RED ONE MX camera) looks
as good as it is going to get here, but the lossy Dolby Digital Korean 5.1 mix was
not as impressive or consistent as I expected, but maybe the Blu-ray would
correct that and perform better overall.
Extras include lighting and cinematography, production design, and
deleted scenes.
- Ricky Chiang
