Powerful drama in a prison for nobles

A problem with too many historical dramas, especially those based on real events like this one, is what has been called “iPhone face” — when actors have auras so modern that they take viewers out of the story.

- John Lui

(From left) Park Ji-hoon, Yoo Hae-jin and Jeon Mi-do in The King's Warden. PHOTO: GOLDEN VILLAGE

(PHOTO: GOLDEN VILLAGE)

No danger of that here. Director and co-writer Jang Hang-jun (Forgotten, 2017) has packed the cast with faces that appear to have never met a plastic surgeon’s knife. Nor are the cast members sporting makeup that makes them look as though they have been processed through an Instagram filter.

Visual authenticity is crucial in a film featuring rough rural characters, such as the villagers of Cheongnyeongpo. In this provincial backwater, food is scarce, but mosquitoes are plentiful, according to one character.