Ancient Korea, 17th century. The powerful Khan of the Jurchen tribe of Manchuria, who fights the Ming dinasty to gain China, becomes the first ruler of the Qing dinasty and demands from King In-jo of Joseon to bow before him; but he refuses, being loyal to the Mings. On December 14th, 1636, the Qing horde invades Joseon, so King In-jo and his court shelter in the mountain fortress of Namhan and prepare to defend the kingdom.
Lee Byung-hun
Choe Myeong-gil
Kim Yun-seok
Kim Sang-heon
Park Hae-il
King In-jo
Go Soo
Seo Nal-soe
Park Hee-soon
Lee Si-baek
Song Young-chang
Kim Ryu
Jo Woo-jin
Jeong Myeong-su
Lee David
Chil-bok
Heo Sung-tae
Yong Gol-dae
Kim Pub-lae
Khan
Jo A-in
Na-ru
Jin Sun-kyu
Lee Du-gap
Yoo Soon-woong
Chief Scholar (uncredited)
Park Ji-il
Deputy Chief Scholar (uncredited)
Choi Jong-ryul
Eunuch (uncredited)
Moon Chang-gil
Old Boatman (uncredited)
Cho Ah-in
Na-ru
Lee Sang-hee
Soldier
Kim Seo-hyeon
Minister
Ha Soo-ho
Royal Forces Commander
Jang Tae-min
Soldier
Song Hyeong-su
Messenger Officer
Jeon Ji-hak
Subject 1
Director, Screenplay
Hwang Dong-hyuk
Adaptation
Song Hae-sung
Adaptation
Kim Hae-gon
Novel
Kim Hoon
December 26, 2024
7
Based on real events from the early 17th century, this enthralling drama tells the story of the efforts made by the last king of independent Joseon (modern day Korea) to keep his kingdom and his people from the encroaching Qing who conquer all before them. Facing overwhelming odds, he must retreat to a remote mountain fortress and rely on it's inaccessibility and the fierceness of the winter to keep them safe until the spring, when hopefully his southern armies will be able to reinforce him. They are determined to sit it out, even if food was is in short supply for the 13,000-odd mouths they had to feed, and to a certain extent are helped by their foe who would rather the king (Park Hae-il) came out and publicly swore fealty to the Khan (Kim Pub-Lae). As you might expect, his advisors consist of those hawkish and those pragmatic, and he has to try and reconcile the increasingly fractious advice of his council. Meantime, getting a message to his troops is no mean feat, either, and he has to be aware that even if their wily blacksmith messenger does get through the enemy lines his soldiers might decide to keep their powder dry many miles away. The film looks great with authentic looking and especially frigid scenarios bringing a shiver to your spine as the occupants of the mountain refuge face the constant snow and freezing temperatures with only some straw cushions to insulate them from the cold. It does drag a little at times, but there are some entertaining combat scenes with plenty of bows, arrows and cannons to compensate. It's an history so like that other hilltop siege story "Masada", there's no actual jeopardy - but it's still a classy looking production that marries the needs of the state with the needs of the little people quite effectively for a couple of hours of honour amongst warring parties.
Status:
Released
Original Language:
Korean
Budget:
$0.00
Revenue:
$28,645,448.00