It
is not quite fair to lump physiognomy together with phrenology, because the shrewder
readers largely supplement the pseudo-scientific analysis with Sherlockian deduction.
Kim Nae-gyeong happens to be one of the better ones, but it is not hard to read
the ambition written all over Grand Prince Su-yang’s face. Unfortunately, Kim’s
family will be engulfed in the ensuing royal power struggle during the course
of Han Jae-rim’s The Face Reader (trailer here), which screens
during the 2014 New York Asian Film Festival.
As
the son of a disgraced nobleman, Kim prefers to lay low and eke a modest living
with his bumbling brother-in-law, Paeng-heon. However, his renown as a face
reader leads super-connected brothel owner Yeon-hong into tricking him into her
employment. Fate shifts quickly in the Joseon era, though. A pro bono gig for
the gendarmerie attracts the attention of the venerable deputy prime minister,
General Kim Jong-seo, who whisks him off to work with the inspection board
evaluating new officials. One of the candidates he approves happens to be his
son, Jin-hyeong, who has renounced his name for the sake of a career.
Impressed
by his work, the general and the king task the face reader with detecting the
traitors within their midst. Obviously, the king’s brother is the leading
candidate, but the king dies before Kim gets a good hard look at him. As the
grand prince consolidates his hold on the military and the nobility, the face
reader scrambles to protect the newly crowned twelve year old king and his
guileless son.
Evidently,
NYAFF’s special guest and Korean Actor in Focus, Lee Jung-jae has quite the fearsome
countenance. You would not want to trifle with him in Park Hoon-jung’s wickedly
entertaining gangster film New World,
either (which also screens today, full review here). While there is plenty of
Richard III in his ruthless usurper, Lee puts an intriguing spin on the
character.
Although
Face Reader is the first costume role
for Snowpiercer’s Song Kang-ho, a sad
clown like Kim Nae-gyeong is totally in his wheel-house. Yet, it is Jo
Jeong-seok who really lowers the emotional boom, despite Paeng-heon’s
deceptively rubber-faced demeanor. On the other hand, Lee Jong-seok’s
Jin-hyeong has little presence throughout the film, mostly looking like he has
just had his stomach pumped. Such is not the case with Baek Yun-shik, who
brings all kinds of grizzled gravitas as General Kim (he has the face of a
lion, by the way), while Kim Hye-soo’s courtesan functions as the smart and
sophisticated witness to the tale of woe.