Featuring an all star cast and the director of the biggest Korean box office film
The King & Clown, Lee Joon-ik, Blades of Blood is a stylish adaptation of the
1994 graphic novel, Like the Moon Escaping from the Clouds. Set in 1591, the
Japanese are moments away from landing on the Korean shores with hopes of
conquering its people. Meanwhile, the King’s court is embroiled with internal
struggles between the East and West Councils. A young and rebellious politician,
Lee Mong-hak (Cha Seung-won) creates a new faction which unites the East and
West to run Mong-hak out of the court for treason.

Exiled, Mong-hak raises an army to overthrow the government, bringing order
to the land and fending off the impending Japanese invasion. But even with the
most noble of intentions, Mong-hak loses sight of his goal and leaves a wake of blood and betrayal on his journey to the King. One of those betrayed friends,
Hwang (Hwang Jung-min), a blind swordsman, decides that Mong-hak needs
to be stopped and quickly hunts down his old friend.

The two lead performers deliver outstanding performances, with Hwang
possibly surpassing any previous roles of ‘the blind swordsman’ character
seen in Shintaro Katsu and Beat Takeshi’s Zatoichi films. Seung-won plays the
overly righteous Mong-hak with such conviction that you could be forgiven for
empathising with his approach, albeit a bloody one.