Two of Korea's most esteemed actors—Yoo Ah-in and Song Kang-ho—give standout performances in this sumptuous blockbuster that dramatizes one of the most notorious and tragic episodes in the nation's history. King Yeongjo, the longest-ruling monarch of the Joseon Dynasty, held the throne for more than 50 years, but as he himself predicted, is remembered primarily for one single event of his reign: the brutal execution of his son Prince Sado, who was locked in a rice chest for eight days before he died of suffocation and dehydration. According to historical accounts, Sado was a madman who committed sexual crimes and murdered his attendants, but the film takes a more sympathetic view, portraying him as a free spirit with an artistic soul who eventually crumbled under the relentless pressure of his father's fanatical expectations and strict adherence to Confucian doctrine. Director Lee Joon-ik (The King and the Clown, Dongju; The Portrait of a Poet) is already a master of the historical drama, but The Throne may be his crowning achievement.