The Face Reader
7 /10 1 Votes
Director Han Jae-Rim Music director Lee Byung-woo Country South Korea | 6.8/10 IMDb Genre Drama, History Duration Language Korean | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Release date September 11, 2013 (2013-09-11) (South Korea)
October 4, 2013 (2013-10-04) (United States) Writer Dong-Hyuk Kim (screenplay), Jae-rim Han (screenplay) Screenplay Han Jae-Rim, Kim Dong-hyeok Cast Lee Jung-jae (Grand Prince Suyang), Kim Hye-soo (Yeon-hong), Song Kang-ho (Nae-gyeong), Jo Jung-suk (Paeng-heon), Lee Jong-suk (Jin-hyeong), Baek Yun-Shik (Kim Jongseo)Similar movies Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports Exposed , Police State II: The Take Over , Democracy Is ... , Police State III: Total Enslavement , Police State 2000 , American Dictators: Staging Of The 2004 Presidential Election Tagline Look Fate in the Face | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Face Reader (Hangul: 관상; RR: Gwansang; lit. "Physiognomy") is a 2013 South Korean film starring Song Kang-ho as the son of a disgraced noble family who goes around Joseon and studies physiognomy. He is able to assess the personality, mental state and habits of a person by looking at his or her face. His talents bring him to the royal courts where he becomes involved in a power struggle between Grand Prince Suyang and general Kim Jongseo, a high-ranking loyalist to King Munjong.
Contents
The Face Reader became one of the highest-grossing films in South Korea in 2013, with 9.1 million admissions. It won six awards at the 50th Grand Bell Awards, including Best Film, Best Director for Han Jae-rim, and Best Actor for Song Kang-ho.
Plot
Nae-gyeong, the most skillful face reader in the Joseon dynasty, was living in seclusion when he was offered a lucrative partnership by Yeon-hong, a gisaeng. Nae-gyeong accepts the proposal to read the faces of Yeon-hong’s guests only to get involved in a murder case. With his face reading skills, Nae-gyeong successfully identifies the murderer and his skills are soon acknowledged by King Munjong who orders him to identify the potential traitors who threaten his reign. However, after the unexpected death of Munjong, Nae-gyeong is courted by Grand Prince Suyang who yearns to become King himself by killing the young successor Danjong. Nae-gyeong decides to keep his loyalty to the late King and help Kim Jongseo protect the young King which forces him into the biggest power struggle in the history of the Joseon dynasty.
Cast
Production
Kim Dong-hyuk's screenplay won the grand prize at the 2010 Korean Scenario Contest held by the Korean Film Council.
Awards and nominations
2013 50th Grand Bell Awards
2013 34th Blue Dragon Film Awards
2013 33rd Korean Association of Film Critics Awards
2014 5th KOFRA Film Awards
2014 9th Max Movie Awards
2014 19th Chunsa Film Art Awards
2014 8th Asian Film Awards
2014 50th Baeksang Arts Awards
2014 23rd Buil Film Awards
References
The Face Reader WikipediaThe Face Reader IMDb The Face Reader themoviedb.org