The film, directed by Chang-min Choo, begins by introducing us to King Gwanghae (Byung-hun Lee), who is rigid and cold. The king suspects treason, so he orders his councilor to find a double to stand in for him. The councilor, Heo Gyun (Ryu Seung-Ryong), finds Ha-seon (Lee), a jester who looks exactly like the king. Sure enough, the king is poisoned and he is carted off to a remote temple, leaving Ha-seon to take his place while he recovers. Heo Gyun teaches Ha-seon how to act like the king (well, he tries to teach him), leading to many antics with the king's concubines and the queen (with whom Ha-seon begins to fall in love). However, it isn't all fun and games for Ha-seon. He has to make decisions regarding the state (decisions that, when made by the real king, hurt the common people like him), and he learns of the injustice done to one young concubine's family. As the king's return draws near, Ha-seon realizes that he wants to be king...but Gwanghae has other (much less appealing) plans for Ha-seon.
First off, I thought the film was incredibly well-acted. Hats off to Byung-hun Lee for playing two completely different characters and making both believable. Every time Ha-seon smiled, I wanted to smile right back at him; he was just so lovable. I also thought that Hyo-ju Han did a wonderful job playing the queen; I found myself wishing she'd smile just as much as Ha-seon did.
Another strong point of the film was, in my opinion, its score. Certain pieces reminded me of other films' scores, but I can't quite put my finger on which ones. I really loved the piece that played whenever Ha-seon looked or acted especially like the king; it was so powerful and it honestly gave me chills.
I wasn't expecting the film to be as comedic as it was; I was pleasantly surprised. I was thoroughly entertained by watching a commoner try to act like royalty (I'm sure I'd act the same way as Ha-seon were I ever put into that situation). My personal favorite mishap was his whole ducking-behind-the-wall bit; I think that was the moment that sold the movie for me.
My only problem with the film was that I got a little lost at one part towards the end (which I won't talk about--this is a spoiler-free blog, thank you very much). Something happened that I didn't realize had happened, and I was confused for a brief amount of time (but I eventually found my way back). The rest of the film was very easy to follow, though, so getting lost at one minor part wasn't a huge issue.
Score: 9/10
Recommend: Of course!
