A Frozen Flower (2008)

I didnt skip a second

I came to watch this movie after watching the drama its ok thats love by Jo In Sung. His mature acting is really a treat to watch.This movie is a masterpiece having the perfect amount of everything. A great story, amazing actors and perfect execution. I didn’t skip a second of this movie
The story where king always felt he is is the supreme and others would do anything for him either its his subjects, wife or love. But each character takes up their chances and makes therier own choice. I also remembered the drama Hwarang were group of men are trained as loyal soldiers to the the king I felt the same vibe with the kunryongwe.
I read the plot and was ready with my box of popcorn and tissues. The love making scenes were done very boldly and perfectly. It really felt they were doing it onscreen. The sex scene between the king and hong lim was a real surprise and It showed the complexity of the movie even precisely. The actors did their part amazingly well. I wont criticize anyone, its the story and it should be apprecited
The betrayal, tragedy, boldness were crazily marvellous. I enjoyed the fight scenes and the sword dance, yes I had seen that In hwarang too. The song played by king on his musical instrument are really heartbreaking.
Rewatch is a must.

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Could be gayer?!

Warning: This movie is for 18+ viewers ONLY.
A year ago, I came across this movie but it wasn’t available anywhere so I read the summary on Wikipedia and gave up! Now about a week ago, by complete dumb luck, I found the movie on a website and thought I’ll watch it, anyway. It’s a good movie. The production, the story, the acting, etc. were all nice. On top of it all, it has a well-executed love triangle of the type I like. So it was a shoo-in for 10/10. It’s just…I liked the first two-thirds but the third act was kind of…meh? I wanna say it was a total sad surprise but I kind of could already tell I wouldn’t like the ending when I read that summary a year ago. No, it’s not negative bias that affected my judgment. Because when I started watching the movie, I expected to be underwhelmed but the movie surprised me by how good it was. Then the third act happened!
I’m really conflicted over this film. About how I felt about it and what to rate it. I said I’ll give myself some time to think it over but a week later and I’m still none the wiser.

You should check this out if you like:
1. Historical fiction
2. Tragic endings
3. Love triangles
4. Internal conflicts
5. Betrayals and moral ambiguity

Summary: The king of Goryeo is gay. He’s been sleeping with his chief of guards (whom he may or may not have groomed since childhood) for a long time. The problem is that Goryeo is now a vassal state of the Yuan dynasty and if the king can’t provide an heir, his country will basically get taken away from him. So, the king has the brilliant idea to have his queen and lover provide an heir for him…because that would still be in the family, right? Well… wrong!

Plot: Love triangles get a bad rep because these days we are sort of sick of them and also because they have turned into formulas that are uninspired, repetitive, and stale. Back in the noughties (The author of this review was on a noughties drama nostalgia bender at the time of watching this movie and reviewing it!) the trope wasn’t done to death yet and people still had the guts to go really wild with their love triangles. That’s the kind I love. Like here, where all three points of the triangle are involved with each other romantically and everyone is simultaneously in love with the others and jealous of them. It’s a MESS! And believe it or not, love triangles are only fun to watch when they are really bunkers. If you can already tell which side will end up together, then it’s not a love triangle. That’s two people in a relationship and a stalker. Anyway, this movie really impressed me because, for two-thirds of it, it delivers all the delicious, terrible feelings of being in love with your love rival and feeling hella conflicted and guilty about it. The final act though was rather tonally different. It was still great. The best of the acting happens during that time and it’s packed with plot and action but it fails to deliver the satisfying emotional punch that was building up in the first two acts, for me. Because while things seemed ambiguous and uncertain before, the last act tries to deliver fast and concrete answers to those questions and it cheapens the story that was told before.

The acting: It was great. I wasn’t super impressed with Jo In Sung here. His expression began to meld into the same two after a while. (But then I watched WHIB right after this, so I think he’s great anyway!) Joo Jin Mo was really good though. A Standout. Everyone else was fine. I wanna pour a drink out for the female lead who had to do so many explicit scenes though. Girl, I wouldn’t wanna be you. That looked so awkward.

Music: Great music elevated the emotional scenes in the film. It set the sad and somber mood perfectly and was also pleasant to listen to.

Rewatch value: Probably not. It’s a tragedy and has too many explicit scenes.

Negatives: For the record, yes, it does matter if the story has gay romance or not. The whole conflict exists because of the issue of sexuality so there’s no way to think about the plot by pretending the tension would still exist if the love triangle wasn’t set up the way that it was. Because the thing that makes this movie interesting and watch-worthy and the thing that sets it apart is the fact that it is known for the relationship between the king and the guard dude. If the guard was just a friend, the story would immediately be way less interesting. That would be something they would make nowadays. Not the noughties!!! With that said, I think the story was a bit conflicted in itself. Like they hesitated to lean into the implications. It didn’t know if it wanted to be about the tragic gay couple or the star-crossed straight couple and that hurts the last act because a lot of the nuance disappears as the king and the guard take the shape of stereotypical rivals more and more. The thing is, by modern standards, the straight part is not a love story at all. It’s just a physical relationship so there’s just no charisma to it. I couldn’t root for the guard and the queen to save my life! They have nothing in common except their physical desires. I can’t fault the story though. In a historical setting, I can understand how that was as good as either one could wish for. It’s just that their romance became the main drive of the last act and that was just not a strong enough romance to carry the plot. So it’s a bit less interesting to watch than when everyone is in love with everyone or married to them and they have all these feelings of lust and betrayal and confusion that they don’t know what to do with.
There were also way too many explicit scenes! Omg, just…so many! Why?! I fast-forwarded most of that because I just couldn’t stomach it. It almost looked clinical. Really disturbing. I felt so sorry for the actors…just YIKES!

Overall: The film has such a perfect set-up. When we meet the characters, the king and the chief guard seem to have a very good and intimate relationship. Same with the King and Queen who though obviously not romantic, still get along. The queen and the chief guard have this mellow rivalry which is very polite and respectful in appearance and the political unrest is interesting. Then the stuff happens and the conflicts are deliciously tantalizing as we see the three characters torture themselves and each other with their silences, with the things they keep from each other, and the stuff they want but can't have. It’s just such an interesting story to tell. The ending is still good even if it doesn’t live up to its potential. The beginning promises an epic fallout and we do get one. It’s just that it could have been an even BIGGER fallout. I think it’s worth a watch. It’s a very well-made movie.
Sidenote: If you think about it, all the problems would be solved if Hong Rim could just identify as a bisexual.

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Entertaining Though Overlong...

This film piqued my interest due to its BL/gay content. Though entertaining and epic, the film was overlong and could have easily been shortened by 30-45 minutes. I wonder though, couldn't the King force himself to have sex with the Queen? Many gay royalty had to do the same, if I remember correctly. And if he can't force himself to bed the Queen, why would he force his lover, who he presumed to be also gay, to bed the Queen?

Anyways, of course, the evil King is gay and is driven mad by his obsession with his chief of guard who love his Queen. And we were made to root for the straight romance and demean the gay one.

I would love to see historical epic films with a central gay love that doesn't end in death or despair.

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If you're watching this for BL's sake, then don't!!

Honestly, they're a bunch of great actors and the production was really cool. The sex scenes were explicit and the gore fight scenes made it all realisitic. The ending was not what I expected though. I mean, I really didn't get the point of the story. SUPER ANTICLIMACTIC!

If you're rooting for bl scenes, dont waste your time! There are bl scenes, but it's just like 8 percent of the whole movie. I can say the storyline could've been written better.

Also, I don't get why the King is sort of the Antagonist of this show. To me, he was just being himself but got hurt by the people he trusts and that's what led him to his demise.

Overall, it's a good korean movie but not so much that I'd want to rewatch it.

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A Realistic View

I find this story very sad. The emprises has no say in her marriage to the emperor. He is gay and does not touch a women but send his men to sleep with her because he needs an heir. She has no say in the emperors order and summits to his request. She falls for the first guard and he falls for her after he has been sleeping with the emperor. The emperor get jealous because he is in love with the guard. the emperor jealousy ends his rain on the kingdoms. It is a realistic view of what the past could have been. I have to say I cry especially at the end. The performance of these actors was great. A great story.

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Gripping, emotional storyline.

For over a year I battled to see where to watch this movie, until I eventually stumbled on it in Dramacool and gave it the attention I'd wanted to give it for long. And honestly, this movie is a BOMB. The love triangle is intensely captured. Imagine, chief and the king, with the former growing up under the latter and the latter loving the former from their formative years...and Chief, even as a kid, saying the best person is one who would lay his life down for the king. Reading through comments here I can see people berating the king and hating on him, but in this instance I feel he did what he had to do given the circumstances. I do not applaud it, but I understand it, and him. Furthermore, with the introduction of sex between the Chief and Queen, we see Chief opening up to a new, strange love he'd never witnessed and also being sad about it; he did go to the queen, then sleep next to the king and cuddled him, with tears leaking from his eyes. That was a sign that he loved this man, and he felt sad and confused about loving another. Then the anger, the sense of betrayal, the brutal punishment meted out, are all mind blowing. For me, chief did really love King, even though he told him otherwise in his last moments, to deeply hurt him. I know I would say the same, in the same circumstances... But the love remained there, as, even as he lay dying, he turned to King, in those very last, dying moments he had. That, dears, was love right there.

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The whole review is a spoiler

I'll start by saying, I wasn't forced to watch A Frozen Flower, but it was hard to watch due to my background of childhood sexual abuse and a narcissistic parent who preferred either male or female.

The story: A teenage King who groomed a pubescent boy to be his lover in the guise of "service" to the King who was homosexual. Years later, the King needed an heir to keep his reign (or be killed). Disgusted at the thought of being with a woman, his Queen, whom he'd never consummated his marriage with, the King offered the services of his Chief Guard (his lover) to impregnate the Queen and hopefully no one would be the wiser. The Chief & the Queen fell in lust with one another (love?, NO.) after sneaking around behind the King's back well beyond the required "services" after finding their much needed freedom FROM the King and for both TO a first sexual encounter for both of them; she with her first lover and he with his first woman. They both were escaping a Stockholm syndrome situation with the King so they thought they "loved" each other. The King had the Chief's doonie cut off (castrated) in response to him being "betrayed" by the Chief & the Queen. The Queen had been impregnated so the King's plan did work, but now the King had to shut everyone up since too many people knew it was the Chief's dna and not the King who had gotten the Queen pregnant. The Chief, infuriated by not having a doonie anymore, and not having a future with the Queen, decided to kill the King. The King had also killed the Queen's maid and hung her head on a pike with the Queen's sachet (given to her by the Chief) making the Chief think the King had killed her. This gave the Chief all the more reason to kill the King. The Chief killed the King. The Chief was finished off by the other Guards and both bodies were to be hidden. The Queen could give birth to the throne's heir, and everyone could not live happily ever after. The end.

TL;TR: A gay King needed an heir, offered his longtime lover Chief Guard to service the Queen to impregnate her. The plan backfired due to the King not understanding people have emotions, and aren't robotic, thus he didn't contemplate his CG and the Q falling in lust with one another. Having lost control of his CG the King sought revenge by castrating the CG which prevented both he and the Queen from having a relationship with him in the future. The King was killed by the Chief. The Chief Guard was killed by the other guards. The end.

Korean films take leeway in explicit content, whereas their dramas don't.

SERIOUSLY, the movie should have a disclaimer attached to it (on Viki where I watched) as an EROTIC film, a Trigger Warning for sexual abuse (or grooming), pedophilia, explicit sexual scenes, nudity, profanity, & extreme violence, and restrict access for anyone under the age of 18. It also is not a BL movie and shouldn't be labeled as such. It is an adult erotic movie with adult content, plot, and storyline.

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A very sad movie

I'm just in love with this movie...
I love the actors and the story, I didn't expected that the King will make the Queen to do that but the story is perfect.

I expected that ending...

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At first it was it was difficult for me to watch this movie for many reason but then my friend recommended me this by saying that she wants my review on it.... I am happy that I listen to her and watch this movie even though this is not an easy thing to swallow but still the intensity and passion worth it the character of king is so amazing and remarkably portrayed by Joo min... to be very honest this movie is totally about him the way he expressed His anger hatred disbelief and player through his eyes is amazing till his last breath he laughed untrusted the only one he laughed and trusted and the beginning even when he was dying the look in his eyes was amazing and beautiful in his pain the only thing that was in his mind was the pain of the man he laughed when he saw his lover with other women the way he expressed His anger and the way he looked at his lover what is belief and looked at the woman in hatred is amazing do the story is little complicated but it worth it... Jo in sung was refreshing too... Main lead girl disappointed me as she failed to act before two giants but her role is not powerful enough so I don't mind her... She was used only for glamour and exposure and that's all she has done good... A heart breaking story and heart warming acting...

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Love or lust...Intricate and layered with jealousy, fear, passion and a lot of bad decisions

This historical movie tells the story of Hong Rim, the Chief of King's guard and his relationship with King Gong Min who ruled in the latest half of the 14th century of the Goryeo Dynasty. I find very interesting the period of history in which the film is set as well as all the the romantic premise which build up in a gut-wrenching love story.

Story-wise, I really enjoyed the imbalance of power in the relationship and in the romance. Nothing is as simple as it seems as the feelings get more and more intricated and layered with jealousy, fear, passion and a lot of bad decisions (which frustrated me a lot as they were not super logical sometimes)...It was really love and lust leading to madness in a heart breaking way.
Despite it relative long length, I found the pacing of the movie quite good. My only regret is that we do not spend enough time on the beginning of the relationship between Hong Rim and King Gong Min: I would have loved to see their kinship and affinity evolve in something more, especially with the difference in status in the context of the court. The ending was very satisfying to me because the final actions of the protagonists made it very clear to me as to where their affections were truly lying. I am convinced that it is NOT what was said that is the most telling regarding the romance but rather what was left unsaid and rather shown by the characters.

The acting performance for the three main roles was pretty solid. The trio of Zo In Sung (as Hong Rim), Joo Jin Mo (as King Gong Min) and Song Ji Hyo (as Queen No Guk) worked very well together. I found the relationship between the two male leads the most compelling one but Song Ji Hyo hold her own quite well in these very tortuous relations. Regarding the secondary characters, it was quite good overall, no obvious stand out on the support roles with the exceptions of some of the guards. It was really nice to see some familiar faces acting as secondary characters: Song Joong Ki, Noh Min Woo, Jo Jin Woong ,Yeo Jin Goo and Park Sung Hoon.

The production value was really impressive, even looking at it 16 years later. The fight scenes were very good and the more gruesome parts felt very effective in conveying the violence of the story at that period of time. I loved the decors, it felt rich and well put together. The numerous (but purposeful) sex scenes were also very well filmed. I enjoyed the soundtrack, in particular the scenes were some of the characters were singing: really beautiful and poetic.

I would recommend this movie to people looking for an historical movie with a gut-wrenching love story. The romance is really interesting in the dynamics that it explores. I wish the scenario would have spend more time on some aspects of the relationship and I got frustrated by some choices made by some characters...But overall, I was very satisfied by this movie and its ending as well.

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