The Face Reader

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 Jong-seo 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 Jong-seo
• 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.

Awards and nominations

References

References

1. [https://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?page=intl&id=facereader.htm "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]].
4. Ho, Stewart. (27 March 2012). "Song Kang Ho Cast in His First Historic Movie ''Physiognomy''". enewsWorld.
5. Do, Je-hae. (2 August 2013). "Period pieces dominate Korean cinema, TV". [[The Korea Times]].
6. Park, Jin-hae. (13 August 2018). "Land determines one's fate in 'Feng Shui'".
7. Lee, Hyo-won. (1 November 2013). "''The Face Reader'' Shines at South Korea's Dae Jong Film Awards". [[The Hollywood Reporter]].
8. Conran, Pierce. (4 November 2013). "THE FACE READER Picks Up 6 at 50th Grand Bell Awards". [[Korean Film Council]].
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.