The King and the ClownMovies like The King and the Clown
- Key Features:
- Historical drama, Satire, Clown, Political intrigue, Royal court, Artistic expression, Power dynamics, Homosexuality, Forbidden love, Social commentary
- Tone:
- serious, dramatic, poetic
- Target Audience:
- Fans of historical dramas, Viewers interested in Korean cinema, Art house enthusiasts, Viewers interested in political intrigue
- Emotional Arc:
- ['Humor → Tension → Tragedy']
The King and the Clown

Two clowns living in Korea's Chosun Dynasty get arrested for staging a play that satirizes the king. They are dragged to the palace and threatened with execution but are given a chance to save their lives if they can make the king laugh.
The King and the Clown
Though it places his own life in danger, a look-alike commoner secretly takes the place of a poisoned king to save his country from falling into chaos.

Living a torturous life of poverty and barely able to survive, Hwa-yeon decides to offer herself as one of the king’s concubines. Once inside the royal palace, two men are immediately seized by the woman - the Grand Prince Seong-won, a megalomaniacal ruler drunk with power and lust, and Kwon-yoo, who has everything to lose if his desire for Hwa-yeon is exposed.

The story of Joseon's tyrant king Yeonsan who exploits the populace for his own carnal pleasures, his seemingly loyal retainer who controls him and all court dealings, and a woman who seeks vengeance.

An exceptionally talented face reader becomes entangled in a bloody power struggle between a child king and his uncle who plans to usurp the throne.

A historical drama set in the Koryo dynasty and focused on the relationship between a king and his bodyguard.

Ancient Korea, July 4, 1762. The Crown Prince Hyojang, posthumously named Sado, son of King Yeongjo of Joseon, is accused of treason. Thus, the king asks him to commit suicide, but his closest vassals prevent it, so the king orders the prince to get inside a wooden rice chest, where he suffers deprivation of food and water.

At the cusp of the founding of Joseon Dynasty, an envoy from China is delivering Emperor’s Ming’s Royal Seal. But nature in the form of a giant whale intervenes and swallows the royal seal. When a generous reward is offered to whomever can retrieve the royal seal from the belly of the whale, the race is on. A group of mountain bandits led by Jang Sa Jung and a group of pirates led by Yeo Wol go after the lost treasure, but who will get to to it first?

Late 18th-century Joseon dynasty. The King is beleaguered and surrounded by traitors of the ruling elite. They plan to assassinate and replace him with a puppet. But the King has some aces up his sleeve that may help him defeat them all.

Refusing to allow fate to decide whom she must marry, Princess Songhwa decides to find her own husband. She seeks the help of a man to interpret her marital harmony with four men she wishes to marry.

A young Korean man surpasses his difficult childhood by becoming a powerful prosecutor, but soon learns that real power comes at a price.

Ancient Korea, 1506. The tyrannical King Yeonsan-gun of Joseon is overthrown by his half-brother Jung-jong, whose reign begins with a blood bath. Over the years, traitors plot against him, sinking the kingdom into chaos. In 1528, frightened rumors come to royal palace, regarding a mysterious creature, known as Monstrum by the peasants.

All unemployed, Ki-taek's family takes peculiar interest in the wealthy and glamorous Parks for their livelihood until they get entangled in an unexpected incident.

Ancient Korea, 17th century. While the paranoid King Lee Jo of Joseon, vassal of the Qing dynasty, feels surrounded by conspirators and rebels, a dark evil emerges from the bowels of a merchant ship and the exiled Prince Lee Cheung returns to the royal court, ignoring that he will have to lead the few capable of defeating the ambitious humans and the bloody monsters who threaten to destroy the kingdom.

Ancient Korea, 17th century. The powerful Khan of the Jurchen tribe of Manchuria, who fights the Ming dinasty to gain China, becomes the first ruler of the Qing dinasty and demands from King In-jo of Joseon to bow before him; but he refuses, being loyal to the Mings. On December 14th, 1636, the Qing horde invades Joseon, so King In-jo and his court shelter in the mountain fortress of Namhan and prepare to defend the kingdom.

The life of the owners of Circus Esperança, Puro Sangue e Pangaré, father and son, who plays two clowns. At a certain point, Pangaré starts showing tiredness and sadness for being an unhappy clown.

In early 20th-century Naples, a theatrical parody lands beloved thespian and playwright Eduardo Scarpetta in court, facing a malicious lawsuit that could compromise his freedom of expression and the economic security of his extended family—including his son's, young Eduardo De Filippo.

Crown Prince Wu Luan is in love with Little Wan but left heartbroken when she marries his father, the emperor. The emperor's brother, Li, kills him and Wu Luan tries to avenge his father's death.

A timid and extravagant bank clerk, Dae-ho is considered inefficient at his workplace. As he tries to be recognized by his superior, his efforts only cause more bad situations. But he has an explosive energy that nobody knows about. One day, after yet another day of suffering at work, he goes to a wrestling gym to persuade its owner to become his bank’s client. And, by accident, he starts to learn how to wrestle. From then, he starts to live a new life. And his personality starts to change…

In late 1700s Korea, Lady Cho challenges the playboy Lord Jo-won into seducing and sleeping with her husband's coming young, virgin concubine. Lady Cho agrees to sleep with him if he succeeds.

Spanning four centuries in Korea, this epic action-adventure concerns a powerful pipe and a trio of wizards who will do anything to protect it.

Tragedy, betrayal and a mysterious discovery fuel a woman's vengeance for the loss of her tribe and family.

In the Joseon Dynasty, two friends who grew up together — one the master and one the servant — reunite post-war as enemies on opposing sides.

A trapeze artist must decide between her lust for Sergio, the Happy Clown, or her affection for Javier, the Sad Clown, both of whom are deeply disturbed.

In feudal Korea, a group of starving villagers grow weary of the orders handed down to them by their controlling king and set out to use a deadly monster under their control to push his armies back.

Two pairs of siblings are destined for each other, but fate throws countless obstacles in the path. When the young Emperor and his sister contrive to leave the palace, they meet the loves of their lives in the town of Meilong.

When the Goddess of Happiness tosses the Longevity Monk and his disciples out of heaven (because the Monkey King tried to attain immortality), the Monkey King is reincarnated as the Joker. He now spends his time chasing two jealous women. When one of them is dying, the Joker goes back in time in an attempt to save her.

In the turbulent Joseon dynasty, army commander Min-jae watches ambitious Prince Yi Bang-won while becoming entwined with Ga-hee, a vengeful gisaeng. Fate collides as power shifts.

Detective Nam-soon goes undercover with her partner Detective Ahn to investigate the counterfeit money. She discovers that one loyal henchman, Sad Eyes, a beautiful swordsman with a pale, blank face, is related to the truth. Nam-soon and Sad Eyes confront each other in a series of duels and become confused between love and obligation to duty.

A young shepherdess and a chimneysweep plan to get married and escape the clutches of a tyrannical king in love with her, assisted by the guile of a cheeky mockingbird, the king's archenemy.

The story of the romance between the King of Siam (now Thailand) and the widowed British school teacher Anna Leonowens during the 1860s. Anna teaches the children and becomes romanced by the King. She convinces him that a man can be loved by just one woman.

927 AD. The Killer-Blade Army has toppled the ruling dynasty, plunging the kingdom into chaos. The only remaining heir, Prince Jung-Hyun is living in exile, unaware of his family's dark fate. Still loyal to the dynasty, the beautiful and deadly warrior Soha sets out to find Jung-Hyun and guide him to become the great leader he was born to be. But with the Army's greatest assassins and the criminal underworld hunting them, Soha and Jung-Hyun are swept into an explosive, non-stop battle of swords, wits and bloodshed as they fight to reclaim the fallen throne.

Wang Bianlian is an aging street performer known as the King of Mask for his mastery of Sichuan Change Art in a true story. His wife left him with and infant son over 30 years ago. The son died from illness at age 10. This left Wang a melancholy loner aching for a male descendent to learn his rare and dying art.

In pre-unified China, the King of Qin sends his concubine to a rival kingdom to produce an assassin for a political plot, but as the king's cruelty mounts she finds her loyalty faltering.

A gutsy crew of Joseon pirates and bandits battle stormy waters, puzzling clues and militant rivals in search of royal gold lost at sea.

The story of the journey of married couple up the social latter. The husband is professor at Seoul National University who is running for the National Assembly, and his wife is a painter.

Two friends, Jung Jong-suk and Hwang Kyung-min, meet after several years and talk about their time in school, which left them scarred.

In Japanese-occupied Korea, three freedom fighters are assigned a mission to assassinate a genocidal military leader and his top collaborator. But the plan goes completely awry amidst double-crossings, counter-assassinations, and a shocking revelation about one of the assassins' past.

A seasoned actor and a pop star are cast as leads in a gay romantic play. As the actor teaches the pop star method acting, the line between fiction and reality is blurred and they become drawn to each other.

Widowed Welsh mother Anna Loenowens becomes a governess and English tutor to the wives and many children of the stubborn King Mongkut of Siam. Anna and the King have a clash of personalities as she works to teach the royal family about the English language, customs and etiquette, and rushes to prepare a party for a group of European diplomats who must change their opinions about the King.

A small-time thug who collects debts for the local triad is torn between his criminal aspirations and his devotion to family.

A man and woman have great success in all of their dating pursuits. The woman uses her dating rules and fakes a car accident to capture the guy's attention, but she can't get him to succumb to her charm.

Don Sallust is the minister of the King of Spain. Being disingenuous, hypocritical, greedy and collecting the taxes for himself, he is hated by the people he oppresses. Accused by The Queen, a beautiful princess Bavarian, of having an illegitimate child to one of her maids of honor, he was stripped of his duties and ordered to retire to a monastery.

Successful and married with children, paper-mill owner Jihei knows better than to contradict the strict social and moral codes of 18th-century Japan. But when he meets the lovely courtesan Koharu, he becomes a man obsessed. Koharu returns his love, even foregoing other customers while Jihei schemes to somehow buy her freedom. His efforts yield ruinous consequences for his business and his family life, and Koharu is meanwhile purchased by another client.

Soon after her latest husband death, the King himself (Louis XIV) meets with our heroine and begs her to help convince the Persian Ambassador to agree to a treaty. However, what they didn't realize was that the handsome Persian was in fact a sexual sadist. So, it is up to the King's half- brother, some Hungarian prince, to save Angélique from the evil troll's clutches.

A hapless carnival performer masquerades as the court jester as part of a plot against a usurper who has overthrown the rightful king of England.

A reclusive elderly poet feels the fire of his youth when gamine schoolgirl Eun-gyo enters his life, to the chagrin of the old man's assistant.

Mu Myeong is a Joseon dynasty headhunter who meets and falls in love with lady Ja Yeong who will become the future Empress Myseongseong. A few years later, Ja Yeong enters the royal palace to marry King Gojong. Mu Myeong still having feelings for Ja Yeong and in an attempt to get closer to her becomes her personal body guard.

A Korean man is sentenced to death in Japan but somehow survives his execution, sending the authorities into a panic about what to do next.

To get royal backing on a needed drainage project, a poor French lord must learn to play the delicate games of wit at court at Versailles.

In a time of political and social unrest in 19th century Korea, uncouth, self-taught painter Jang Seung-up explores his natural talent amidst the repressive world around him.

Blind acupuncturist Kyeong-su is able to see like a normal person at night. One evening, Kyeong-su witnesses the death of the crown prince. King Injo is driven into madness while Kyeong-su attempts to reveal the truth behind the prince's death.

After the death of their father, two siblings are raised by their father's best friend. However, when one gets kidnapped just before her wedding, the other rises against the Manchus.

In this sequel to Hope and Glory (1987), Bill Rohan has grown up and is drafted into the army, where he and his eccentric best mate, Percy, battle their snooty superiors on the base and look for love in town.

After being blinded in a coup against the king, Joseon's greatest swordsman goes into hiding, far removed from his city's anguish. But when traffickers kidnap his daughter, he has no choice but to unsheathe his sword once more.

Lucien, 14, can’t understand why his father, a serious and respected teacher, makes a fool of himself by dressing up as a clown and giving a show. André, Lucien’s father’s best friend, feels for the teenager and decides to reveal something from their mutual past that will explain the reason for Lucien’s father’s strange behavior.

Kang Seong-hee, a famous lawyer, takes up a case wherein he has to defend a man who is the main suspect in his wife's death. However, a formidable public attorney tries to test his mettle in court.

Chocolat the clown, the first black stage performer in France, goes from anonymity to fame after forming an unprecedented duo with fellow performer Footit in the very popular in Belle Epoque Paris. But easy money, gambling, and discrimination take their toll on their friendship and Chocolat's career.

Busan, South Korea, 1970s. Lee Doo-sam is a small-time smuggler. After helping a drug gang to smuggle meth, he falls into the dark crime world. Quick-witted and full of ambition, he eventually takes over the drug underworld and starts to lead a double life: a good community leader during the day but an infamous drug lord during the night.

One year after their royal wedding, King Edvard and Queen Paige of Denmark receive an invitation to attend the wedding of Princess Myra of Sangyoon. Upon their arrival, Paige finds Myra is unhappy with her arranged marriage to the brooding and sinister Kah and is secretly in love with a young elephant handler named Alu.

During a winter storm, Ursus offers shelter to two orphans, Gwynplaine and Déa; some years later, they are still living together. Gwynplaine has become a famous star, but his success threatens his relationships with Déa and Ursus.

A love story between a country boy in Beijing to study and a wealthy businessman set against the backdrop of the 1989 Tiananmen Square incident.

Former teen idol Nam Hyeon-soo is now in his thirties and working as a radio DJ. One day a young woman named Jeong-nam shows up and claims to be his own daughter. She also has a son whom she claims to be Hyeon-soo's grandson. Their relation is proven via DNA tests by Hyeon-soo's brother. This leads to Hyeon-soo attempting to avoid a scandal concerning him having children "unknown" to the media.

Kingdom of Goguryeo, ancient Korea, 645. The ruthless Emperor Taizong of Tang invades the country and leads his armies towards the capital, achieving one victory after another, but on his way is the stronghold of Ansi, protected by General Yang Man-chu, who will do everything possible to stop the invasion, even if his troops are outnumbered by thousands of enemies.

Two 19th-century opportunists become serial killers so that they can maintain their profitable business supplying cadavers to an anatomist.

A sweeping, epic tale of a martial arts warrior who attempts to defy a kingdom to be with his love.

In the 16th century, when Prince Salim falls in love with a beautiful courtesan named Anarkali, Emperor Akbar's disapproval leads to a battle between father and son.

Song Woo-seok is a lawyer with no clients. When his friend's son is falsely accused of a crime and tortured, he takes up the case and the course of his life changes for good.

A dweeby, mild-mannered man comes to the aid of a drunk young woman on a subway platform. Little does he know how much trouble he’s in for.

The heroic story of a dictator who risks his life to ensure that democracy would never come to the country he so lovingly oppressed.

England, 14th century. King Edward II falls in love with Piers Gaveston, a young man of humble origins, whom he honors with favors and titles of nobility. The cold and jealous Queen Isabella conspires with the evil Mortimer to get rid of Gaveston, overthrow her husband and take power…

England, 15th century. Hal, a capricious prince who lives among the populace far from court, is forced by circumstances to reluctantly accept the throne and become Henry V.

A young man believes that his country's leaders are actually toxic reptilian aliens sent down to launch a takeover of his beloved Earth. So he decides to abduct them and force the truth out on camera in his basement that doubles as a film studio and torture chamber.

A condemned prisoner slowly falls in love with the married female artist who decorates his prison cell. Jin is a convicted killer awaiting execution on Death Row; Yeon is a lonely artist locked in a loveless marriage.

During China's Tang dynasty the emperor has taken the princess of a neighboring province as his wife. She has borne him two sons and raised his eldest. Now his control over his dominion is complete, including the royal family itself.

Rebellious Ki-soo from North Korea is mesmerized by tap dance in prison camps. Ki-soo joins as a team member of a dance team named 'Swing Kids'. Yet suddenly, their dreams about dancing in prison camps are put in danger.

The heir to a noble and influential family finds the love of his life, but she will only accept him if he becomes a kung-fu master. He becomes a legendary folk hero who tries to save the emperor.

1930s Korea, in the period of Japanese occupation, a new girl, Sookee, is hired as a handmaiden to a Japanese heiress, Hideko, who lives a secluded life on a large countryside estate with her domineering Uncle Kouzuki. But the maid has a secret. She is a pickpocket recruited by a swindler posing as a Japanese Count to help him seduce the Lady to steal her fortune.

Whilst King Gros Pif I amuses himself at debauched banquets, his musketeers pursue their tax-collecting duties with a malicious zeal. Goaded by the court jester (who is also the Queen’s lover), the ministers decide to put an end to this regime and have the King locked up. Hearing the news, the famous Chevalier Blanc comes to his rescue. Aided by the knight and his cousin Lucienne, the King flees to Flanders, where he devises a scheme to win him back the throne of France...

The story of Wai Siu Bo, a pimp who after saving Chan Kan Nam, the leader of the Heaven and Earth society, a revolutionary group, is made a member. After a botched first assignment for the group, he is made a servant to the Prince, the very person the Heaven and Earth society want to overthrow. What follows is plenty of mayhem and laughter.

Based on the long running play by Jang Jin, the story is set in Korea during the Korean War in 1950. Soldiers from both the North and South, as well as an American pilot, find themselves in a secluded and naively idealistic village, its residents unaware of the outside world, including the war.

The children of Harpagon, Cléante and his sister Elise, are each in love but they still haven’t spoken to their father yet. Harpagon is a miser who wants to choose the right man and the right woman for his children. Based on Molière’s play.

In Edo Japan, a kabuki actor seeks revenge against the three men who drove his parents to their deaths years ago.

With just weeks before their royal wedding, Paige and Edvard find their relationship and the Danish monarchy in jeopardy when an old law is brought to light, stating that an unmarried heir to the throne may marry only a woman of noble blood or else he must relinquish his crown.

Security commander Chun Doo-gwang and the officers following him organize a coup. Lee Tae-shin, a stubborn Capital Garrison Command commander who believes soldiers should not take political action, fights against Chun Doo-gwang.

Shortly after the Korean war, a father and a son are wandering through the country and make a stop in a remote village, where strange and dangerous happenings occur.

Two North Korean soldiers are killed in the border area between North and South Korea, prompting an investigation by a neutral body. The sergeant is the shooter, but the lead investigator, a Swiss-Korean woman, receives differing accounts from the two sides.

In a country where women are in charge, a man goes to unusual lengths to make his dream of marrying the daughter of a military leader come true.

Set in the late 1920s, The Age of Shadows follows the cat-and-mouse game that unfolds between a group of resistance fighters trying to bring in explosives from Shanghai to destroy key Japanese facilities in Seoul, and Japanese agents trying to stop them.

When two brothers are forced to fight in the Korean War, the elder decides to take the riskiest missions if it will help shield the younger from battle.

Clumsy soldiers Şaban and Ramazan fall for a singer-dancer and accidentally become secret policemen tracking down a missing diamond.

During China's Song Dynasty, a mysterious murder occurs at Chancellor Quin Hui's palace after meeting delegates from the neighboring Jin Dynasty. The members become embroiled not just in a murder mystery, but a larger conspiracy concerning the fate of the empire.

Three teenage brothers are terrorized by a trio of escaped mental patients disguised as clowns.

Nicolas Philibert goes to America after killing a French aristocrat. On his return he tries to divorce his wife, Charlotte, but when he sees others trying to woo her his own interest is rekindled.

Sometime in the future, mankind has depleted all energy and fuel sources, however they have engineered a way to use human excrement as fuel. To reward production, the government hands out extremely addictive, popsicle-like "Juicybars", which in turn also act as a laxative. Aachi and Ssipak are street hoodlums who struggle to survive by trading these bars in the black market.

Set in Qin Dynasty during the warring states period in ancient China. Shin was a war orphan. He has a dream of becoming a great general Shin has a fateful encounter with young King Eisei. King Eisei aims to unify all of China.

A shady cop finds himself in over his head when he gets caught between Internal Affairs and the city’s corrupt mayor.

A black comedy about the events that are set into motion in a town after a man-eating boar goes on a rampage.

Diplomats from the North and South Korean embassies in Somalia attempt a daring joint escape from Mogadishu when the outbreak of civil war leaves them stranded.

When the wife of a 17th century Kyoto scroll-maker is falsely accused of having an affair with his best employee, the pair flee the city and find themselves falling for one another.
