A Frozen Flower movie review

Jo In Sung and Joo Jin Mo swap saliva, Jo In Sung and Song Ji Hyo show their ass, and then comes the icky violence.

Junggugeo Kaenada 중국어 캐나다: ★.5

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A Goryeon King (Joo Jin Mo) is unable to consummate his marriage with the Queen (Song Ji Hyo) in order to produce an heir. Both of them know that his lover is the commander of the palace guards, Hong Rim (Jo In Sung). The two men developed a close relationship early on, when Hong Rim was just a child being trained to serve as the King’s personal bodyguard. The Queen is relegated to the position of interloper, and can only throw Hong Rim bitchy looks.

With the threat of his throne being passed on to a relative, the King enlists Hong Rim to impregnate the Queen as a favour to him. The act of copulation starts off as an unpleasant chore, with the Queen probably still a virgin, and Hong Rim never having slept with a woman before. However, after repeat encounters, Hong Rim and the Queen start enjoying themselves, and become infatuated with each other. Pretty soon, Hong Rim and the Queen are acting beyond the call of duty in between the stacks of the palace library. It is only a matter of time before the King finds out Hong Rim is cheating on him with his wife. By then, the Queen is pregnant, and Hong Rim takes the brunt of the King’s jealous rage. The movie descends into insanity and violence after it is clear that the boning is over.

This is basically softcore porn. There are beautiful costumes and scenery, some political wrangling, and an action scene in which a gang of ninjas make an attempt on the King’s life. However, everything is really just the set up to the main event: the explicit sex scenes. Despite being inured to that sort of thing thanks to cable television, my head almost exploded watching Jo In Sung and Song Ji Hyo go at it, because it was the polar opposite of any K-drama I have seen.

Taken for what it is, my complaint is how clinical the camera’s gaze was, and how insincere the sexual acts appeared. Every view of the copulation was angled for maximum ease of ogling, at a dispassionate distance from the action. As a result, the camera fails to build intimacy or capture the passion of the two lovers. Meanwhile, the mood is so serious that when Hong Rim and the Queen engage in a montage of unconventional sexual positions, it could easily have been a satire. The actors are not much better when fully clothed. It is as if they hoped to lend the entire enterprise some degree of respectability with stiff delivery, and dour looks.

It was very brave of Jo In Sung and Joo Jin Mo to play gay lovers in a country that still struggles with the idea of homosexuality. The men don’t just leave things to the imagination by giving each other lusty looks, but actually make out on screen, So, it is a shame that the one and only scene where the King and Hong Rim are sexual with each other feels so uncomfortable. The French kissing is crude, and the way they paw at each other feels forced. One could claim that sex between Hong Rim and the King was the result of lust, and not true love, which would explain the robotic feel of the entire act. However, by the end, it is clear that one of the men had genuine feelings for the other, and this was not conveyed in what is supposed to be their most intimate moment.

If you watch A Frozen Flower, do not bother pretending that you are interested in a historical drama. You want to see Jo In Sung and Song Ji Hyo naked. I can confirm that they both look fantastic.