The Face Reader

The Face Reader
The Face Reader
Korean name
Hangul	관상
Hanja	觀相
Revised Romanization	Gwansang
McCune–Reischauer	Kwansang
Directed by	Han Jae-rim
Written by	Kim Dong-hyuk
Produced by	Kim Woo-jae ; Yu Jeong-hun ; Ju Pil-ho
Starring	Song Kang-ho; Lee Jung-jae; Baek Yoon-sik; Jo Jung-suk; Lee Jong-suk; Kim Hye-soo
Cinematography	Go Nak-seon
Edited by	Kim Chang-ju
Music by	Lee Byung-woo
Distributed by	Showbox Mediaplex
Release date	September 11, 2013;
Running time	139 minutes
Country	South Korea
Language	Korean
Box office	US$61 million

The Face Reader (Korean: 관상; RR: Gwansang; lit. "Physiognomy") is a 2013 South Korean period action drama film starring Song Kang-ho as the son of a disgraced noble family who goes around Joseon and a gwansang^[2] expert. He is able to assess the personality, mental state and habits of a person by looking at his or her face. His talents bring him to the royal courts where he becomes involved in a power struggle between Grand Prince Suyang and general Kim Jong-seo, a high-ranking loyalist to King Munjong.^[3]^[4]^[5] It is the first installment of the Jupiter Film's three-part film project on the Korean fortune-telling traditions and was followed by two sequels, The Princess and the Matchmaker and Feng Shui in 2018.^[6]

The Face Reader became one of the highest-grossing films in South Korea in 2013, with 9.1 million admissions. It won six awards at the 50th Grand Bell Awards, including Best Film, Best Director for Han Jae-rim, and Best Actor for Song Kang-ho.^[7]^[8] This film is Lee Jong-suk's only historical project to date.

Plot

Nae-gyeong, the most skillful face reader in the Joseon dynasty, was living in seclusion when he was offered a lucrative partnership by Yeon-hong, a gisaeng. Nae-gyeong accepts the proposal to read the faces of Yeon-hong’s guests only to get involved in a murder case. With his face reading skills, Nae-gyeong successfully identifies the murderer and his skills are soon acknowledged by King Munjong who orders him to identify the potential traitors who threaten his reign. However, after the unexpected death of Munjong, Nae-gyeong is courted by Grand Prince Suyang who yearns to become King himself by killing the young successor Danjong. Nae-gyeong decides to keep his loyalty to the late King and help Kim Jongseo protect the young King which forces him into the biggest power struggle in the history of the Joseon dynasty.

Cast

Song Kang-ho as Nae-gyeong
Lee Jung-jae as Grand Prince Suyang
Baek Yoon-sik as Kim Jongseo
Jo Jung-suk as Paeng-heon, Nae-gyeong's brother-in-law and assistant
Lee Jong-suk as Jin-hyeong, Nae-gyeong's son
Kim Hye-soo as Yeon-hong
Kim Eui-sung as Han Myung-hoi
Jung Gyu-soo as Park Cheom-ji
Chae Sang-woo as Danjong
Lee Yoon-geon as Jo Sang-yong
Lee Do-yeop as Kim Seung-kyu
Yoo Sang-jae as Hong Yun-seong
Lee Ae-rin as Hong-dan
Lee Yong-gwan as Yang-jeong
Yoon Kyung-ho as Im-woon
Seo Hyun-woo as Jin-moo
Lee Chang-jik as Hwangbo In
Kim Tae-woo as King Munjong
Ko Chang-seok as His Excellency Choi
Kim Kang-hyeon as Suspect 3

Production

Kim Dong-hyuk's screenplay won the grand prize at the 2010 Korean Scenario Contest held by the Korean Film Council.^[9]

Awards and nominations


Year	Award	Category	Recipient	Result
2013	50th Grand Bell Awards	Best Film	The Face Reader	Won
		Best Director	Han Jae-rim	Won
		Best Actor	Song Kang-ho	Won
		Best Actor	Lee Jung-jae	Nominated
		Popularity Award	Lee Jung-jae	Won
		Best Supporting Actor	Jo Jung-suk	Won
		Best Supporting Actor	Baek Yoon-sik	Nominated
		Best Screenplay	Kim Dong-hyuk	Nominated
		Best Cinematography	Go Nak-seon	Nominated
		Best Editing	Kim Chang-ju	Nominated
		Best Art Direction	Lee Ha-jun	Nominated
		Best Lighting	Shin Kyung-man, Lee Cheol-oh	Nominated
		Best Music	Lee Byung-woo	Nominated
		Best Costume Design	Shim Hyun-sub	Won
		Technical Award	Kwak Tae-yong, Hwang Hyo-kyun (Special Make-up)	Nominated
		Technical Award	Im Dae-ji, Choi Tae-young (Sound)	Nominated
	34th Blue Dragon Film Awards	Best Film	The Face Reader	Nominated
		Best Director	Han Jae-rim	Nominated
		Best Actor	Song Kang-ho	Nominated
		Best Supporting Actor	Lee Jung-jae	Won
		Best Supporting Actor	Jo Jung-suk	Nominated
		Best Supporting Actress	Kim Hye-soo	Nominated
		Best Screenplay	Kim Dong-hyuk	Nominated
		Best Cinematography	Go Nak-seon	Nominated
		Best Art Direction	Lee Ha-jun	Nominated
		Best Lighting	Shin Kyung-man, Lee Cheol-oh	Nominated
	33rd Korean Association of Film Critics Awards	Best Actor	Song Kang-ho	Won
		Best Actor	Lee Jung-jae	Nominated
		Best Supporting Actor	Jo Jung-suk	Won
		Best Music	Lee Byung-woo	Won
		CJ CGV Star Award	Lee Jung-jae	Won
2014	5th KOFRA Film Awards	Best Supporting Actor	Lee Jung-jae	Won
	9th Max Movie Awards	Best Actress	Kim Hye-soo	Nominated
		Best Supporting Actor	Lee Jung-jae	Nominated
		Best Supporting Actor	Jo Jung-suk	Nominated
		Best Supporting Actress	Kim Hye-soo	Nominated
		Best Poster	The Face Reader	Won
		Best Preview	The Face Reader	Nominated
	19th Chunsa Film Art Awards	Best Director	Han Jae-rim	Nominated
		Best Actor	Lee Jung-jae	Nominated
		Best Screenplay	Kim Dong-hyuk	Nominated
	8th Asian Film Awards	Best Costume Design	Shim Hyun-sub	Nominated
	50th Baeksang Arts Awards	Best Film	The Face Reader	Nominated
		Best Supporting Actor	Lee Jung-jae	Won
			Kim Eui-sung	Nominated
	23rd Buil Film Awards		Lee Jung-jae	Nominated
	23rd Buil Film Awards	Best Art Direction	Lee Ha-jun	Nominated

References

^ "Face Reader (2013)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2014-09-16.
^ Korean version of Physiognomy
^ Tae, Sang-joon (14 August 2013). "Director and Stars Gather for THE FACE READER Press Conference". Korean Film Council. Retrieved 2013-08-17.
^ Ho, Stewart (27 March 2012). "Song Kang Ho Cast in His First Historic Movie Physiognomy". enewsWorld. Retrieved 2012-11-19.
^ Do, Je-hae (2 August 2013). "Period pieces dominate Korean cinema, TV". The Korea Times. Retrieved 2013-08-03.
^ Park, Jin-hae (13 August 2018). "Land determines one's fate in 'Feng Shui'". The Korea Times. Retrieved 2018-09-16.
^ Lee, Hyo-won (1 November 2013). "The Face Reader Shines at South Korea's Dae Jong Film Awards". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2013-11-05.
^ Conran, Pierce (4 November 2013). "THE FACE READER Picks Up 6 at 50th Grand Bell Awards". Korean Film Council. Retrieved 2013-11-05.
^ Lee, Hye-ji (28 August 2012). "The Thieves stars Lee Jung-jae, Kim Hye-soo join Song Kang-ho's 1st historical film". TenAsia. Retrieved 2012-11-19.

External links

Official website (in Korean)
The Face Reader at the Korean Movie Database (in Korean)
The Face Reader at IMDb
The Face Reader at HanCinema

[bomojo-1] "Face Reader (2013)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2014-09-16.

[2] Korean version of Physiognomy

[3] Tae, Sang-joon (14 August 2013). "Director and Stars Gather for THE FACE READER Press Conference". Korean Film Council. Retrieved 2013-08-17.

[4] Ho, Stewart (27 March 2012). "Song Kang Ho Cast in His First Historic Movie Physiognomy". enewsWorld. Retrieved 2012-11-19.

[5] Do, Je-hae (2 August 2013). "Period pieces dominate Korean cinema, TV". The Korea Times. Retrieved 2013-08-03.

[6] Park, Jin-hae (13 August 2018). "Land determines one's fate in 'Feng Shui'". The Korea Times. Retrieved 2018-09-16.

[7] Lee, Hyo-won (1 November 2013). "The Face Reader Shines at South Korea's Dae Jong Film Awards". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2013-11-05.

[8] Conran, Pierce (4 November 2013). "THE FACE READER Picks Up 6 at 50th Grand Bell Awards". Korean Film Council. Retrieved 2013-11-05.

[9] Lee, Hye-ji (28 August 2012). "The Thieves stars Lee Jung-jae, Kim Hye-soo join Song Kang-ho's 1st historical film". TenAsia. Retrieved 2012-11-19.

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v t e Works by Han Jae-rim
As director/screenwriter	Rules of Dating (2005) The Show Must Go On (2007) The Face Reader (2013) The King (2017) Emergency Declaration (2021) The 8 Show (2024)
As producer	Very Ordinary Couple (2013)

v t e Grand Bell Award for Best Film
1960s	Prince Yeonsan (1962) The Memorial Gate for Virtuous Women (1963) Bloodline (1964) Deaf Sam-yong (1965) The Sea Village (1966) Coming Back (1967) Prince Daewon (1968)
1970s	Patriotic Martyr An Jung-gun (1972) The General in Red Robes (1973) The Land (1974) Flame (1975) Mother (1976) Diary of Korean-Japanese War (1977) Police Story (1978) The Hidden Hero (1979)
1980s	Son of Man (1980) Invited People (1981) Come Unto Down (1982) Mulleya Mulleya (1983) Adultery Tree (1984) Mother (1985) Pillar of Mist (1986) Diary of King Yeonsan (1987) Come Come Come Upward (1989)
1990s	All That Falls Has Wings (1990) Passion Portrait (1991) Fly High Run Far (1992) Seopyeonje (1993) The Story of Two Women (1994) The Eternal Empire (1995) Henequen (1996) The Contact (1997) Spring in My Hometown (1999)
2000s	Peppermint Candy (2000) Joint Security Area (2001) The Way Home (2002) Memories of Murder (2003) Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring (2004) Marathon (2005) The King and the Clown (2006) Family Ties (2007) The Chaser (2008) The Divine Weapon (2009)
2010s	Poetry (2010) The Front Line (2011) Masquerade (2012) The Face Reader (2013) The Admiral: Roaring Currents (2014) Ode to My Father (2015) Inside Men (2016) A Taxi Driver (2017) Burning (2018) Parasite (2019)
2020s	N/A (2020) N/A (2021) Decision to Leave (2022) Concrete Utopia (2023)