When you sit with tear stains on your glasses in the dark, the last two hours of your life were definitely not wasted. There are moments so laugh out loud funny, and moments so contrastingly sad, that the result was completely fulfilling.This is not a new story, and not the first time this story has been told by a long long shot. However, this very well may be the best that this story has ever been told. Every culture has this story in one form, or another, so I would not doubt if this sort of thing has gone on as long as there have been humans in power, and afraid. The acting in this movie is top notch, the souls of each character are brought to life in front of you with no doubt of their sincerity. The story is well written, and plotted out, and has been filmed so simply, and beautifully that you can not help but be pulled right in. There is no lag in the story even at more than 2 hours, there is only continued development, and growth. I Enjoyed watching, and feeling this movie, and I recommend it even to folks who shy away from subtitles. I really think that this movie has what it takes, and you will not be sorry if you give it a try.

Well this movie is not meant to be hidden! I know enough history to recognize that the two faces of the ancient god Ianós have no relevance to bad or good or prince Gwanghae or the dual role of Byung-hun Lee.But the acting of the latest is surely godlike.Byung-hun Lee plays the part of Gwanghaegun the fifteenth king of the Joseon Dynasty and this movie is a work of fiction created around a quote that I love , "Do not put on record what is meant to be hidden".The plot of the movie is the following.The king, afraid of his life during rumors of assassination attempts, searches for a man that looks like him and can replace him as long as the danger for his life remains.What follows is a masterpiece.Great actors,great direction and great costumes create a drama worth anyone's time.Do not miss it.

I am not a fan of costume drama/movie and have limited knowledge of the truth historical events which the story is based upon. I even have doubt of watching this movie at the first place. But the slogan drew me in, 'The Kingdom in the hands of a layman for 15 days".The front part for about 30 minutes is kind of pale. But I am happy that I got through that. Because what follows is the one of the most intriguing and interesting plot I had watch for a long time.It is simple plot. A king is afraid of an assassination plan (later got drugged) and proceed to hide himself and put a fake on the throne for 15 days. The story follow Ha-seon, a layman impersonate as the fake king puppet during his 15 days reign of Joseon Kingdom and the relationship with his servants and the queen.Lee Byung Hun is terrific as King Gwanghae and Ha-seon. The transition through and forth is clearly display. The affection towards his maid, Sawal, the Queen and the royal chief secretary is so well acted.This movie give people something to think about. A king and a layman is not much different. A king is made to rule the country but he is not necessary the best man for the job. In the other way round, a layman with little literature education who had experience the poverty and difficulties as a citizen should not have the ability to rule a kingdom. BUT, HE DOES WITH HIS OWN WAYS AND MADE CHANGES THAT TURN THE KINGDOM INTO A BETTER PLACE.

***Spoilers below*** I will be very surprised Lee Byung-Hun does not get the best actor prize in Korea this year. The transition from the real king to the impostor/actor was absolutely amazing (to say the least) making it easy to know which was which; very important in my ability to follow the story as it unfolded. The only confusion I felt was which high government official was which - all the way through the movie, the only way to figure out who was whom was if they "stepped out" when the king called on them; they all had the same clothing, hat, beard, mannerism (I do realize that this is how it was back then but still I kept asking myself, "now, who the heck is this nut?")Overall, it was a wonderful movie with high production value that I thoroughly enjoyed. It could have used better editing about 15 minutes from the end of the movie tho - it dragged a bit where the lighting was way off - the reason for a 9 out of 10.Cinematography was phenomenal!