It
is always a bad sign when a nation’s best warrior is pulled out of battle to
perform bodyguard duties. However, there is nobody better capable of protecting
the rightful heir than Yushin. The battle is effectively over, but there is a
pivotal skirmish yet to be fought in director-editor-cinematographer-screenwriter
Kiyun Sung’s The Destined King (trailer here), which screens
during this year’s Action on Film Festival.
Yushin’s
story is the stuff of legend, which Yong-mi’s master will duly pass down in the
framing device. The king had been betrayed by Yushin’s former apprentice Sanggun,
but no usurper will rest easy on the throne while the rightful successor
foretold in legend still lives. Princess Ji-won charges Yushin with protecting
the newborn infant, but she also has a surprising additional request.
Inevitably, Yushin will face Sanggun sword-to-sword, but the faithful retainer
will have to fight the traitor with one hand tied down with its precious cargo.
Despite
its economical twelve-minute running time, Destined
King is a ripping good martial arts fable that distills quite a bit of
narrative into its short form. Joey Min’s fight choreography is impressively distinctive,
incorporating moves that are grittily realistic but also aesthetically
cinematic. As Yushin and Sanggun, Hugh Cha and Christopher Kim clearly have the
action chops, but they also have the right serious-as-a-heart attack presence.
Mihee Choe adds a poignant human touch as the sacrificing mother, Ji-won.
