역사인물에 대한 영화적 탐구와 해석 -연산군에 대한 영화를 중심으로-

Abstract

This study examined films in which Yeonsangun was the main character. These include movies by director Sin Sang-ok such as “Yeonsangun: Janghansamo”(1961), and “Tyrant Yeonsan: Bogsukwaegeo”(1962), Director Im Kwon-taek's “Yeonsan Diary”(1987), Director Lee Jun-ik's “The King's Man”(2005), as well as Director Min Gyu-dong's “The Treacherous”(2015). To compose a narrative related to Yeonsangun, one must interpret the character's esoteric and ambiguous nature. In director Shin Sang-ok's series of films, Yeonsangun was portrayed as being manipulated by the maternal complex. Yeonsangun, who tried to compensate for his lack of motherhood by exacting revenge on behalf of his mother, was engulfed in vain chastity once the vengeance ended and decided to enjoy the royal charm. Yeonsangun, who appears in “Yeonsan's Diary,” follows the record of Yeonsangun’s vengeance upon learning of his mother's unfair death. However, after revenging his mother, he experiences extreme anxiety as he is haunted by the ghosts of those he killed. Whenever this happens, he attempts to relieve his anxiety by engaging in sexual activity, thereupon this habit gradually becomes addictive. “The King's Man” portrays Yeonsangun from the perspective of lowly clowns. Rather than taking revenge on his mother, the film portrays a son suffering from the weight of his father, who was a great king. Yeonsangun, a being bound by her father's name and law, tried to go in the opposite direction to her father, following the typical path of sons who negatively expressed paternal complex. In the movie “The Treacherous” Yeonsangun appears in a maddening form. However, he is more clever than a cunning servant who deceives the king and tries to use even his lust to strengthen his power. Based on his cleverness, his goal of having a powerful kingship to calm his anxiety was for his own comfort and pleasure, and had no public utility. There are numerous documents and historical studies on Yeonsangun, including the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty, which is the official history of the Joseon Dynasty. Choosing the historical events from these materials to compose the narrative and shape it into a new character depends on the historian’s imagination. Examples of how this imagination can unfold are films about Yeonsangun, which contain the interpretive drive to understand Joseon's greatest tyrant in a narrative fashion and the answers to the questions that arise from it.