Ssanghwajom

What does that mean in English?  Hell if I know.  It’s the title of a Korean movie I recently watched.

What was it about?  Well, this street video wasn’t subtitled so my guess is as good as yours.

Here’s what I could surmise:  Seems the King has a squire or knight or whatever.  And he loves him.  Not like a brother, but as a lover.  The King aslo has a Queen (as in wife).  I think she was from China.

So, the King was expected to provide an heir.  Maybe under Chinese duress.  Again, without understanding the dialog, I’m kinda guessing.  But these “different” looking Asian guys showed up and started talking, and that talk was subtitled in Korean, so it had to be China, right?

Anyway, the King just can’t bring himself to do the deed with the Queen, so he gives the chore to his beloved squire.  And after a couple of fitful starts, it turns out that the King’s lover likes sex with a woman.  And yeah, of course they wind up falling in love.

The King gets kinda jealous over this turn of events, and mayhem breaks out, heads are offed, and the climatic scene has the King and his lover in an intense sword fight which concludes with both of them dead.

Sort of a Brokeback Mountain meets Camelot situation.

What surprised me was the rather graphic sexuality.  Not hard core of course, but comparable to the stuff you might get in a hotel room.  Or so I’ve (ahem) been told.

How graphic?  Well, the King and his lover did some deep tongue kissing and some simulated anal.  The scenes with the Queen were also pretty hot.  A bit much for me, but I’m an old fart.

Well, for not getting more than 5% of the spoken word, I think I followed the story pretty well.  And I was sufficiently entertained enough to watch the whole thing.

Even without a clue, I’ll give a solid 3 out of 5.  If I missed something significant, let me know.

1 thought on “Ssanghwajom

  1. Thanks for the laughs, John.

    A gentle reminder.

    “The Civilization of Maxwell Bright”.

    Still waiting for your review.

    Get it soon, please.

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