The Pirates

In the founding years of the Joseon dynasty, the ship carrying the royal seal from China sinks and a whale swallows the seal. Pirates, mountain bandits and the state's men all go after the same whale. Lee Suk-hoon directed. Son Ye-jin plays the woman who leads the pirates, Kim Nam-gil the bandit chief Jang Sa-jung, with Yoo Hae-jin and Lee Kyoung-young in the cast. This is not historical drama but adventure comedy. The period is only a frame and the tone stays light throughout. It was an expensive production for Korean cinema at the time, with most of the sea work built digitally. The whale sequences are the centre of its visual ambition. It opened in the Korean summer season and drew close to eight million admissions. The woman captain gives the genre an unusual centre; the story moves on her decisions. Who it is for: anyone after a Korean adventure film to watch with family. Who it is not for: viewers wanting historical accuracy; the film could not care less.