Kingdom: Ashin of the North

Greetings everyone. I recently came across the Korean movie Kingdom and I must say the movie is not bad at all. The movie centers on the main character Ashin.

Ashin and her father are part of a foreign tribe that has settled within the kingdom of Joseon. Their encounter with a mysterious disease sets Ashen down a path of betrayal, prejudice, and revenge. While this isn't necessarily a prequel, we get to see events that led to the chaos we know and love in the series. We meet Ashin as a young girl, curious and brave, and after she experiences lies and betrayal, she endures an extremely heartbreaking event, which then leads her on a course of vengeance.

And the treachery is intense, and it adds a great dramatic element to the narrative, and it drives motivations. Jun Ji-hyun, as the adult Ashin, plays the role perfectly. She has a quiet intensity that just radiates from her.

She also has this cold determination in her eyes, and the actions that make her someone you don't want to have as an adversary. She's able to be fierce, vulnerable, and sympathetic at the appropriate times, and plays them all convincingly. I like that her progression makes so much sense.

Probably at least the first half of the film is really creating and explaining all the situations that she endures, that then lead her to become a force to be reckoned with. The narrative does a good job of building the world for us. It gives us insight into the tribal structures, and especially when it comes to territories and the boundaries.

I think the class structure and hierarchies are illustrated really well, and they help to establish mindsets that then explain behaviors. The haves versus the have-nots, and the way the lower caste is looked upon and treated by the upper, just works to set up animosities, which also show how those in power use those that aren't for their schemes. There are a lot of exciting POV shots during some intense chase scenes, especially in the first portion of the movie.

The music mixed with the cinematography and action create really good anxiety and suspense, and the shots they utilize here are just stunning. There are so many wide shots with landscapes that are beautiful, and so many different environments are explored. We have dark and dense forests, expansive plains, rich overgrown fields, even snow-covered prairies, and ragtag villages.

And each of these reinforces the mood and emotion of the story, which is then combined with an absolutely moving musical score. There's also some messed up imagery, and the graphics, they're done really well. There are a few times though where CGI animals are shown, and those aren't always stellar in their execution.

It's not enough to ruin the scenes, but they certainly are noticeable. To add to the intensity and drama is the clash between borders. These groups antagonize each other and create conflict, even though they begin to have one common enemy.

There are many long, continuous takes that are pretty engaging, as they keep us connected to the action. And it's not breaking us out of the emotion as we take in these events without any type of scene cuts. After a good setup, the story begins its focus on Ashen, and it effectively builds her character.

There is a great sequence in the forest that transitions time with Ashen as she moves from little girl to young woman. And the way they executed this change, I thought it was really well done and impressive. When the chaos erupts, it's all-out insanity, and the excitement that just sticks to the same wonderful execution that we've learned to love in the series.

The pace works well to engage us, but not feel like we can't keep up. The action sequences are quick and urgent, and then the story will slow down to allow for more drama or story building. And the first half is actually slower than you might expect, especially given how much of the series plays out.

But the storytelling is really engaging and even patient when it needs to be. As we watch Ashin work through her plan, dark and disturbing events are unfolded. And then towards the latter half, the pace just dramatically increases.

And it creates intensity that can put you on the edge of your seat. I do wish that this would have either been longer than its 92-minute runtime, or that it would have been like a mini-season, so we could dive into even more detail on some aspects, characters, and motivations. This really worked just to get me even more hyped for Season 3. The build-up is exciting, and the story gives us a good backstory and motivation for Ashin.

I'm very curious to see how what we watched here is going to play into what's to come. This character-building tale of revenge provides good backstory and development for the very popular series. I rate the movie four out of five stars.And while I wish this was longer to provide more detail on some characters, the story is a compelling one with beautiful cinematography, and a central character who is both sympathetic and engaging.