The Face Reader

Nae-kyung can read a face and tell a person's character and fate, and the talent gets him summoned to the palace. The king is ill, the heir is a child and the king's brother wants the throne. He can see who will betray whom, but cannot calculate what saying so will cost. Han Jae-rim directed. Song Kang-ho plays Nae-kyung, Lee Jung-jae plays Prince Suyang who wants the throne, Baek Yoon-sik plays Kim Jong-seo who holds the court's power, with Lee Jong-suk and Cho Jung-suk in the cast. The background is real: Suyang taking the throne from his nephew in Joseon history, and the purges that followed. The idea is simple and works: the man who can read fate cannot change what he reads. Face reading is used as an instrument of politics rather than a display of skill. The scene where Lee Jung-jae's prince first appears descending a staircase was talked about in Korea for a long time. The film drew close to nine million admissions. Who it is for: viewers who like Korean court intrigue and Song Kang-ho. Who it is not for: anyone wanting historical accuracy; the film rebuilds a real event around an invented figure.