Directed by: Hur Jin-ho (허진호) Starring: Son Ye-jin (손예진), Park Hae-il (박해일), Yoon Jae-moon (윤제문), Ra Mi-ran (라미란), Go Soo (고수), Baek Yun-shik (백윤식) Release date: August 3rd, 2016
The Last Princess is a biopic based on the life of the last princess of the Joseon dynasty, princess Deok-hee (Son Ye-jin). Because of Imperial Japan’s occupation of Joseon (the former name of Korea), Princess Deok-hee was more or less forced to live in Japan from the year 1925 to be educated in the Japanese aristocratic ways. This was done for a number of different reasons, but in essence it seems to have been done for Imperial Japan to dismantle and control the Joseon Monarchy in order to gain absolute dominance over the people.
I’ve seen this in other historical dramas, like the way a Chinese Emperor could mandate a Joseon prince be “formally” educated in China for many years away from his homeland (Hyun Bin’s character in Rampant). It seems to have been done to not only to establish Chinese values and customs into the Joseon elite class, but it was also to control the bloodlines of the royal family as they might often arrange for the Joseon princes and princesses to wed one of the Chinese emperor’s sons or daughters, thus strengthening Chinese control and eventually maybe putting an end to a family line. In this way, Princess Deok-hee of Joseon is sent against her will to Japan where they plan her to marry with a Japanese aristocrat. This becomes not only an affront to the honor and legacy of the royal family but it’s also a huge blow the national pride of Joseon that takes a toll on the psychological well-being of the people that ends up rippling through generations.
One of the best parts about watching a Korean historical movie set during the time of the Joseon dynasty is the beautiful visuals you get to take in. As the stories are almost certainly about the royal family or other aristocrats, you get to see them living in ornately decorated palaces wearing brightly colored robes in rich reds, yellows, purples and pinks, lavished in fine jewelry other other accessories, and surrounded by finely crafted furniture. Some of these palaces you can still visit today, like Deoksu Palace, which are incredible to visit. Some of this visual splendor comes towards the beginning of The Last Princess during Deokhee’s early years, but unfortunately and perhaps very fittingly for the story, the colors become very muted and monochrome as Deokhee’s life deteriorates during her stay in Japan.
There’s also some excellent make-up in The Last Princess as the story spans many years, Park Hae-il (High Society, Eungyo) and Son Ye-jin (The Classic, White Night) both transform seamlessly into their elder counterparts as the story quite smoothly shifts in time. The time-shifting sequences are a bit smoother in the scenes involving the character Jang Han (Park Hae-il), the reporter tracking down the whereabouts of princess Deok-hee.
There is a heavy weight of sadness throughout The Last princess that is very telling of the hurt that is still felt from what took place during the Japanese occupation, which I think is reflective of the Korean national psyche as a whole in their collective experience. This is something I can sympathize with, but I may not ever be able to fully feel it to the extent they do as a non-Korean myself. So to an extent, this aspect of the film can occasionally come across as a bit excessive for my tastes as I don’t respond to the continual reminders of “can you believe this happened to us” the same way.
With the help of an excellent music score, the pain of a country in hurt comes through loud and clear in The Last Princess as we bear witness to forced separations of families and friends. Son Ye-jin also rather uncharacteristically looks the part of a sad, broken, and lonely woman who lives a sort of tormented life against her wishes with her only crime being born a princess of Joseon. There is only one or two scenes in The Last Princess that her character smiles with any joy at all, so its a heavy role that the seasoned actress pulls off rather well.
The Last Princess is definitely not your “happily ever after” Disney princess story. However, it does interestingly feature similar “princess” type tropes and characters that do make for kind of classic “princess story” experience. We’ve got the good kingdom (early Joseon palace sequences), our princess whose been swept away to a faraway land against her will (Deok-hee confined to her quarters in Japan), her knight in shining armor/prince charming (Park Hae-il as Jang Han), an evil-stepfather type (Yoon Jae-moon as Han Taek-soo), arranged marriages, and even a kind of fairy god-mother (Park Ra Mi-ran as Deok-hee’s handmaid). It’s all here, and I find it very interesting that The Last Princess being a mostly true story can still feature this many similarities to a classical princess fairy tale. All these elements are what make The Last Princess so watchable, despite its overall sad and depressing tone.
I also enjoyed the contrast between the virtues and vices of human nature present in The Last Princess. There’s a constant back and forth between characters whose motivations are either wholly selfish or selfless. Whether it’s the resistance fighters ready to sacrifice their lives for their country, or Deok hee- volunteering to teach children the Korean language and giving inspiration to an oppressed working class — these virtues are at full on war with the villain in the movie, Han Taek-soo (Yoon Jae-moon), a pro-Japanese Korean man motivated only by greed and power, willing to sell out his country at almost any price. This conflict is the driving force of a lot of the pain and drama experienced by the characters and it was worth the watch.
Overall, The Last Princess comes across somewhat dry on the drama side as there’s a bit of a manufactured sense to the film. The events in the life of Princess Deok-hee are also presented in a manner that feel confined to just a small narrow band of the geopolitical climate of the time it takes place in, which could reflect a desire to steer some modern day political narratives one way or the other. All this on top of The Last Princess being based on a novel that took a fair amount of artistic freedoms with the historical accuracy involving certain characters and events detract the film from being very educational either. I recommend watching The Last Princess purely as a dramatic period piece that features some great acting and set pieces, and to read up online about the history if it sparks an interest.
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