The Princess and the Matchmaker
Director: Hong Chang-pyo
Year: 2018
Rating: 6.0
Country: Korea
I have been eating lots of delicious Korean
strawberries these past few days and Blackpink just finished up a few concerts
here in town. Not that I went. Me at a K-Pop concert would likely get me arrested.
But they are pretty good and their posters were all over the subways. So,
it put me in a Korean mood. I even went to a Korean buffet for lunch and
I am not too fond of kimchi. I figured it was time to watch a few Korean films.
I always feel a bit guilty that I watch so few. They make so many good quality
professional films, but I tend to go Hong Kong, Japan, American, Bollywood
and then Korean in my preferences. But I rarely come away from a Korean film
thinking, that really sucked. This one is an amiable light romantic comedy
that hit no high notes but was always pleasant and modest. I like Korean
period films that deal with the Royalty - the splendor and the funny hats.
Why did they think that was a good look for men? Give me a basket hat covering
my face any day.
Taking place in the mid-1700s the country
is in the middle of a drought and the wise men and the astrologers (saju)
tell the King that only by marrying off his daughter will rain come. This
daughter Princess Songhwa (Shim Eun-kyung) has been considered to be
cursed since the day she was born when her mother died. But they decide to
have a contest similar to The Bachelor in which one of them wins the hand
of the Princess. There are various contests but the most important one is
the Marriage Harmony test in which the Four Pillars of the men are matched
against the Four Pillars of the Princess to see what the future says. The
Four Pillars are the year, the month, the day and the time of birth. But it
is way more complicated than just checking a book - at least in this film.
A young saju named Seo Do-yoon (Lee Seung-gi) is introduced to the court and
he impresses everyone with his ability and gets the responsibility to write
the Pillars and decide if there is Marital Harmony. He also has a bit of
Sherlock Holmes in him. And is handy with a sword. He is the hero of the film.
The Princess decides that she wants to
see her final four suitors before one is chosen and disguises herself as
a maid and a man (which fools no one) to go visit them around the city. They
are either reptilian or much too young for her and she gets into one scrape
after another and Seo keeps having to get her out, not knowing she is the
Princess. Cute and sweet and at moments amusing - but the film kicks in when
there is a conspiracy around the throne and her - and the comedy is forgotten
at the point. Good easy-going likable performances from both leads.
It is directed by Hong Chang-pyo who has directed only this film. When you
are in the mood for something light with just a a bit of adventure and melodrama.
