I used to believe that period movies weren’t really my style, but Korean movies with historical genre entirely changed my perspective. Now, I crave such movies. I’ll definitely watch it as long as it’s worth it.

And while at this topic, I have been actually watching the drama ‘The Crowned Clown‘ which is based off the movie ‘Masquerades‘. Both stories happened during Gwanghaegun’s time on the throne, when strangely there was no entry in the records for 15 consecutive days. And the writer’s imagination basically centered on his theory that Gwanghae actually hired a clown that looked so much like him as his replacement while he’s out of the palace. The clown, named Ha Seon, ruled Joseon for 15 days with threat to his life, but with compassion for his people.

Prince Gwanghae’s life and legacy and the mystery surrounding him actually intrigued me so much that I took the time to read about him and stumbled upon another piece of work that depicts another period of his life. ‘Warriors of the Dawn‘ is a movie from 2017 that mainly focuses on the proxy soldiers who went on a really long journey to bring the Crown Prince to his destination to look for volunteer soldiers that will fight alongside them against the Japanese soldiers who were trying to take over Korea at that time.

Read below to see if this movie is somewhat your taste! I’ll give you reason why to watch it 🙂

The Story

To avoid Japanese forces, King Seonjo escapes to the Ming Empire and abandons his people in the process. In his place, Prince Gwanghae (Yeo Jin-goo) leads the royal court and confronts the enemies with the help of proxy soldiers led by To-woo (Lee Jung-jae). Proxy soldiers consist of those who are paid to serve in the military on behalf of others.

Review:

To be honest, after watching big budget period movies with heavy CGI like ‘Monstrum’ or zombie-thriller ‘Rampant’, I have lost expectations for period movies. So, I didn’t really set high standards for ‘Warriors of the Dawn’, thinking that it won’t also live up to its name.

Thankfully, though, I’m happy that I am wrong.

The movie greatly delivers, especially with it’s nice plot, sequence, as well as the battle scenes that are both heart-stopping, emotional, sometimes poignant, but also moves something in you to the point that it makes you cry.

Proxy warriors or men who were paid small wages to serve in the military in replacement of someone else are the center of this movie. It depicts their long journey and hardships as they join the royal court in delivering Prince Gwanghae to his destination in order to convince volunteers to join them in their fight against the Japanese.

Gwanghae is the son of a concubine to the King, therefore, making him an illegitimate child who should have not the right to be the heir to the throne. All thanks to an incompetent older brother and his father, King Seonjo, who fled to Ming to evade the Japanese force as well as put his illegitimate son at a spot where he would be easily killed and later blame the Japanese for his death, Gwanghae is installed to the throne to rule Joseon. Though deemed incompetent for the role as Gwanghae has not shown preparedness or huge interest to it, he is thrown into a long and dangerous journey together with a royal court that supposedly will serve him with loyalty and some proxy soldiers that actually hates the royal court and the Prince for how poorly they are treated.

Gwanghae’s entourage and the proxy soldiers, led by To Woo, go on a long journey filled with ups and downs that eventually cost them lost lives and supplies. Most of Gwanghae’s servers die from the ambushes that they experience until most of what’s left are the proxy soldiers that he does not truly trust.

Through this journey though the highlight of this film that truly moves me is how these characters from two different worlds evolve in such a harsh world full of deceit. Gwanghae who is once insecure and thinks he cannot be a good king, dances to thank his people he just met in the mountains for the food that they shared to him. He continues a journey that gets him nowhere, but fights his own battles and picks up a bow once he realizes his purpose, which is to stand up for his people and become a true King that will lead them to safety.

On the other hand, because of To Woo, his team learns to dream of a better world and learns to value their job not just because it’s something they have to do in order to earn their keep, but it’s something they have to do to protect the greater good. To Woo has learned to trust that Gwanghae will definitely become a different King. He will be a good leader and because of that found a reason to protect Gwanghae and his people until their last breaths.

I must admit that the deaths of these heroes during the last part of the film made me feel dismayed. It’s so sad that I thought of the dreams and fears of these proxy soldiers and how it will never come true now. I wish for a better end for them, but I realized that not all wars end the way we want it to be. There’s always something that will inevitably go wrong. There are a lot of sacrifices that must be made in order to achieve a bigger goal. In this movie, they are the sacrifice so more people gets saved and eventually find refuge. Prince Gwanghae truly has a more important role and I think making sure to keep him alive is the best decision in a situation wherein they have to choose who to save from a sinking ship. Gwanghae, in return, keeps to his promise to keep the flag safe and show it as proof that Joseon is going to rise again from the ashes through his rule.

Lee Jung Jae has shown such great acting and chemistry with Yeo Jin Goo, who is still a household name, whom have shown progression with his acting skills in time. Yeo Jin Goo, though only second to Jung Jae’s role also displayed his prowess in acting by perfectly portraying a flawed but compassionate ruler that puts his people first before him. His youthful face did not hinder him from making the character his. He’s so good at it that you also feel his emotions through his acting. The other minor characters are nonetheless at their best, greatly contributing to the momentum at which the story is going. I don’t see why I wouldn’t like them though I feel a little awkward meeting Esom in the film with a role I have never seen her in before.

Visually, the movie has utilized such picturesque settings from nature that made the movie even believable. The fight scenes did not need any kind of wired stunts to make it look grandiose. These fight scenes are the life of this movie and has actually had me at the edge of my seat for the most part of it, making me often curse at the Japanese for getting my team short on number. But eventually, I am happy as help arrives. Sadly, this help isn’t enough to contain the enemy and eventually they catch up to the escaping party. Though I gripe about that part a lot, it’s no saying that the movie sucks because the protagonists and main reason for this movie ends up with a sad fate. It so happened that it’s more realistic, though I was hopeful that each of them will reach the day all their dreams would come true.

All in all, the movie is perfect in all sense. It mixes action, history and drama in one movie. Add familiar and great actors to get the story going and an emotional rollercoaster ride and you’re really out for something worthwhile. Just be prepared with your tissues beside you, because I have bawled my eyes out for the second half of the film. I’m sure you also will. lol.

Rating:

The real Prince Gwanghae’s story has me intrigued so much that I currently fancy most movies and dramas about him. ‘Warriors of the Dawn’ has truly lived up to its title as well as to my expectations that I would like to recommend it to everyone as well.

Rating it, I’ll give it a 4.7 out of 5.0.