hur jin ho

Screening for the 19th New York Asian Film Festival, director Hur Jin-ho’s 15th century drama, Forbidden Dream, takes a page from history to shed light on a unique friendship, tried and tested at a precipice of Joseon history. Written by Jung Bum-sik and Lee Ji-min, the film starts forward in time when the royal palanquin is wrecked with the ailing King Sejong (Han Suk-kyu) still inside. The 1442 incident is but one of several key moments that introduce the core story, beginning twenty years earlier with the entry of Jang Yeong-sil (Choi Min-sik), a low-born slave with a keenness for engineering and a distinct appreciation for stars. Sejong catches on to Yeong-sil’s adept understanding and thirst for knowledge and handiwork, tasking him to help lead Joseon out of the dark ages and into the future by inventing a clock suited for the kingdom. Even going so far as to pull […]

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