Empire of Lust (2015)

Empire of Lust (2015) Korean Title: 순수의 시대 Translation: Age of Innocence

Starring: Shin Ha-kyun, Jang Hyuk, Kang Han-na, Kang Ha-neul, Son Byong-ho, Lee Jae-yong, Choi Moo-sung, Kyung Heon Kang, Kim Da-ye

Director: Ahn Sang-hoon

Action Director: n/a

Despite my being into Asian movies since I watched my first Godzilla movie in 1989 and Asian history since I started getting into kung fu movies in the second half of the 90s, I know relatively little about Korean history. The peninsula borders on the land known as Manchuria, which currently belongs to the People’s Republic of China. For centuries, if not millenia, Manchuria was a separate entity from China; the tribes that hailed from there invaded both China and Korea on certain occasions. Most notably, the Manchus, a unification of all the tribes in the region, successfully conquered China and set up the Qing Dynasty. Back to Korea, the peninsula enjoyed a (relatively) stable history, unlike China, which saw a frequent cycle of dynastic ascensions, periods of peace, descent into decadence, followed by a fracturing of the empire, and subsequent reunification by the next dynasty. 

At about the time China was in its Han Dynasty, having reached empire status about 150 years earlier, the Korean peninsula had divided itself into three kingdoms: the Silla, the Goguryeo, and the Baekje. Although they were always trying to conquer each other—and sometimes did, temporarily—they managed a (sorta) stalemate for about 700 years until the Silla ultimately unified the peninsula. It did not last forever, however, and eventually fell and was divided into three kingdoms (again). The peninsula was eventually reunified under the Goryeo Dynasty in A.D. 918, which lasted almost 500 years. It was ultimately overthrown by the Joseon dynasty in A.D. 1392, which ruled until the end of the 19th century. At that point, Korea ultimately became a Japanese colony until the end of World War 2.

Empire of Lust is set in A.D. 1398 during the early years of the Joseon Dynasty. The reigning monarch is King Daejo (Son Byung-ho, of R-Point and Spider Forest), who has his hands full at the moment. For one, the Jurchen tribes from neighboring Manchuria have been trying to take advantage of the transition of power to invade. Second, Daejo wants to make certain reforms to the Court, of which many of his ministers are not fans. More specifically, Daejo wants to do away with the practice of high officials having their own private armies—a practice that was common during the previous dynasty—and consolidate them into a single army. On a more personal front, Daejo has two sons: Prince Jeong Ahn (Jang Hyuk, of The Swordsman and Volcano High) and a younger son from a recent marriage (or new concubine). The latter is in his early teens, but Daejo has named him the crown-prince. Jeong Ahn is not particularly happy with the arrangement, considering his status as a war hero in the overthrow of Goryeo, but he hides it well.

The Jurchen invasions are deterred in the very first scene, thanks to the valor of Generals Kim Min-jae (Shin Ha-kyun, of The Villainess and Sympathy for Lady Vengeance) and Jo Yeong-gyoo (Choi Mu-seong, I Saw the Devil and The Berlin File). Kim Min-jae is married Lady Jeong (Kang Kyung-hun, of Spider Forest), who is the daughter of Lord Jeong (Lee Jae-yong, Steel Rain 2 and Save the Green Planet). Lord Jeong is not only one of the king’s most trusted ministers, but he is also something of an adopted father to Kim Min-jae. Kim was the orphaned son of a barbarian woman who was raped and slain—well, she committed suicide in shame—by the Jurchens and was brought up and given opportunities by Lord Jeong. That also means that for all of his military valor, General Kim is seen as little more than a lapdog to both his father-in-law and the king. But being a lapdog has its benefits, and when King Daejo decides to integrate the ministers’ private armies into the main military, Kim is chosen to be the Supreme Commander. This pisses off General Jo, who sees the gesture as little more than nepotism.

Nepotism, you say? Why yes. General Kim has an adult son, Jin (Kim Ha-neul, The Pirates: The Last Royal Treasure), who is married to Princess Gyeongsun (Kim Da-ye, of Warriors of the Dawn). That would be Prince Jeong Ahn’s sister (unless she was born of another concubine) and thus Jin is the son-in-law to the king. But this is where things really start to look like one big soap opera. Jin has always been a little momma’s boy. Much of that has to do with the fact that Jin is not even Kim’s son: he’s an affair child. Only Kim, Lady Jeong and her father, know that, though. Because of mom’s constant overbearing on him (this is implied, not shown), the little bastard has grown up to be a complete wastrel. He is less interested in giving the king a grandson and more interested in seeing how many peasant women he can rape without getting caught.

So yes, there is a whole lot of dysfunction going on beneath the surface between the combined families of the King, the Jeongs and the Kims. But what will bring it to the surface? If you guessed “a beautiful woman,” you’d be correct. While Generals Kim and Jo are partying with Prince Jeong following their latest military victory against the Jurchens, a courtesan named Ka-hee (Kang Ha-na, of “Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo”) comes onstage to perform a dance. A drunk General Jo tries to sexually assault her on the spot, but she is saved by General Kim. Her dance reminds him of his late mother and he is attracted to her apparent morality as well. After a stare-down between the two Generals, Prince Ahn lets the girl choose which man she will be with. Score one for General Kim. Initially, he has no intention of deflowering her. But as time passes, he feels himself being more and more drawn to the mysterious beauty…

To talk anymore about the plot would be to give away the juicy developments and twists that occur as everything starts to unravel. Needless to say, things get very steamy…and then very bloody. There is some action in the film, but it is far from the focus. The sword fights and battle sequences look more like what you would see in a film like Gladiator than in a Chinese period piece. The film ends with a one-on-one sword fight against a fellow armed with a spiked club, followed by a one-on-many skirmish with a platoon of soldiers. But the treat is the interplay between the characters, especially the unspoken chess game between Kim and Prince Jeong. This reaches a memorable, if extremely disturbing, apex when General Kim arrives at the Prince’s quarters to collect his horses for the army.

The “lust” in the world-wide English title is not an exaggeration. There is some very explicit sex going on in the movie—I wonder if it would garner an NC-17 rating in the States (it got a 16 Anos rating here in Brazil). That said, it is filmed in a way that is erotic and sensuous, but not too raunchy. There is always a fine line between the two approaches to cinematic intimacy, but you see the camera lingering on the actresses’ breasts and lady-parts the way it would in a 90s-era film starring the likes of the two Shannons. There are lots of sexual positions on display (a lá Lust, Caution), but director Ahn Sang-hoon is not trying to beat us over the head with “Hey! Look! Tits!” And Ahn shows the dark side of sex, both in the form of rape and its use as a display of power and manipulation. It’s not all boner material.

The film can be a little slow at times and at almost two hours, the project on the whole feels a little overlong—although thankfully shorter than most other Korean movies on Netflix. But the story is interesting, mixing soap opera, court intrigue, history and spicy sex. I wonder if it is enough to call this the Korean movie equivalent to The Tudors or something like that.