Myths and ancient legends have continuously served as a solid backbone to many historical dramas coming from Korea over the past few years. Similar to the brand of Hong Kong or Chinese features, the blend of a known historical backdrop, drama, martial arts and/ a murder mystery has fueled many stories, many of which have been commercially very successful in Korea, but not so much outside, where the majority has been released either digitally or physically. The directorial debut of Ahn Tae-jin falls into this particular category, with “The Night Owl” having won numerous awards in its home country, while it is now being released for home cinema in many countries. The foundation for the features is the mystery surrounding Crown Prince Sohyeon, who attempted to reform his home country but died before doing so.
THE NIGHT OWL Comes to VOD on September 26th, courtesy of Capelight Pictures
However, the protagonist of the story is a man named Kyung-soo (Ryu Jun-yeol), a skilled acupuncturist, who is summoned to the king's court after the royal physician, Lee Hyung-ik (Choi Moo-sung) recognized his talent. Finally being able to support his family, especially his sick younger brother, the young man embraces the opportunity, quickly making a name for himself within the royal family, despite his blindness.
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When Crown Prince Sohyeon (Kim Sung-cheol) returns after being a hostage of the Qing dynasty for eight years, he also becomes aware of Kyung-soo's skill. The two men share a certain level of trust among each other, but before Sohyeon is able to convince his father of adapting Western culture and accepting him as the new ruler, he is found poisoned. Because Kyung-soo knows who the real murderer is, he aims to bring this to the attention of the king, but the truth also means becoming a suspect himself and revealing his best-kept secret.
For those familiar with the kind of historical drama made in Korea, you will certainly find many of the elements you have come to cherish. Much like, for example, Choi Jae-hoon's “The Swordsman” or Kim Sung-hoon's “Rampant”, close attention has been given to every detail, from the costumes to the sets. In general, “The Night Owl” is a very elegant-looking film, capturing the beauty of the home of the rulers in that particular era of Korean history, while also highlighting the transition which is about to happen. From the perspective of the protagonist, we are introduced to the system of power, within the servants and also the physicians, before we recognize the dynamics within the family, especially the prince and the father. All in all, the combination of aesthetics and themes is well-executed, even though you might add it does not bring anything new to the table when it comes to tackling those ideas.
When it comes to the cast, the performances are also quite solid. After his role in “Alienoid”, Ryu Jun-yeol again manages to give a good performance, showcasing his versatility as an actor. His interactions with actors such as Kim Sung-cheol and Choi Moo.sung are noteworthy and will keep you following the story, the family drama and the murder mystery, over the course of the feature's running time. As with nearly every genre outing, especially dramas, you could make a case of “The Night Owl” containing way too much slack for its own good, with some elements of the story feeling a little drawn out.
In the end, “The Night Owl” is a solid blend of historical drama and murder mystery. Ahn Tae-jin directs a feature which plays it safe in many ways, making it somewhat interchangeable to many other movies of the same genre.
