Shadows in the Palace

A-

Directed by Kim Mee-jeung

I'm not sure how film financing is done in South Korea, but whereas most first time directors in North America get a limited budget and have to work with a small cast and crew, Kim Mee-jeung's directorial debut is a sweeping costume epic that employs scores of extras, an unbelievable level of decor and obviously required a very large crew to produce. Whereas many new directors churn out indie art house films if not by choice than surely due to budget contraints, Kim was busy constructing a historical chronicle that looks stunningly similar to many of Zhang Yimou's period pieces. The result is an at times spectacular and always entertaining film that combines elements of horror, crime drama, and "drame de moeurs" to form a very satisfying and succesful first effort for Kim and her crew.

"Shadows in the Palace" focuses on the intrigue, bitchiness and backstabbing of the Korean Royal Court during the Joseon Dynasty. The film opens with one of the King's mistresses' maids being found dead, apparently having commited suicide. Yet all is not as it seems and one of the court's doctors suspects that foul play is involved. This sets the stage for a murder investigation that eventually sheds light on the palace's unsurprising culture of treachery and power moves curteousy of the King's wife and concubines, all vying to get their own kin on the throne.

The film itself is quite formulaic in the sense that the plot resolves around finding out who killed the court maid and why this dastardly deed was done. The intrigue is handled competently, though, and Kim never allows the resolution of the plot take a backseat to watching a bunch of girls running around in period garb. The film also benefits (in my opinion, at least) from a series of truly grisly scenes that serve to jolt the audience and remind them that this isn't just some run of the mill period piece but rather a gigantic catfight between a number of fairly evil women, all out to grab power at any cost.

"Shadows in the Palace" also sets itself apart from other Asian historical drama's by focusing almost solely on women. Indeed, the only men to be found in "Shadows in the Palace" are there briefly and only out of necessity to the plot. The movie is very much dedicated to the ladies which reminded me a lot of "Raise the Red Lantern," a top notch period piece that also incidently focused on concubines and their various power struggles.

All in all a very satisfying and enjoyable film and a great date movie as long as your lady excuses herself to the washroom during the needles-under-the-fingernails torture scene. Eesh!