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The Night Owl

The Night Owl

Thriller · Mystery · History · 2022

Korea, 1645 - Joseon Dynasty: a partially blind and gifted acupuncturist, Gyeong-su, is invited to work alongside the royal physician in the palace of King Injo, just before the crown prince Sohyeon returns after having been held captive by the Qing Dynasty. Prince Sohyeon and his father begin to differ in opinion on the future direction of their dynasty, leading King Injo to suffer from severe anxiety and paranoia. One night, Gyeong-su witnesses prince Sohyeon's death. Disbelieved as a witness on account of his blindness, Gyeong-su must struggle to reveal the truth while not falling prey to the power-hungry conspirators of the palace.

Movie details

The Night Owl

“The crown prince is dead. The only witness is a blind man.”

2022 Thriller · Mystery · History 1h 58m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

7.3 / 10

Community rating

Korea, 1645 - Joseon Dynasty: a partially blind and gifted acupuncturist, Gyeong-su, is invited to work alongside the royal physician in the palace of King Injo, just before the crown prince Sohyeon returns after having been held captive by the Qing Dynasty. Prince Sohyeon and his father begin to differ in opinion on the future direction of their dynasty, leading King Injo to suffer from severe anxiety and paranoia. One night, Gyeong-su witnesses prince Sohyeon's death. Disbelieved as a witness on account of his blindness, Gyeong-su must struggle to reveal the truth while not falling prey to the power-hungry conspirators of the palace.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over The Night Owl?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

An Tae-jin

Written by

An Tae-jin · Hyun Gyu-ri

Ryu Jun-yeol

Ryu Jun-yeol

Cheon Gyeong-su

Yoo Hai-jin

Yoo Hai-jin

King Injo

Choi Mu-sung

Choi Mu-sung

Lee Hyeong-ik

Cho Seong-ha

Cho Seong-ha

Lord Choi

Park Myung-hoon

Park Myung-hoon

Man-sik

Kim Sung-cheol

Kim Sung-cheol

Crown Prince Sohyeon

Ahn Eun-jin

Ahn Eun-jin

Consort Jo

Court is in session

Put The Night Owl on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Arthouse Gremlin

“Ambition earns the room.”

The film reaches for consequence and scale, accepting the risk of seriousness instead of shrinking from it.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Importance has entered the chat.”

The production keeps announcing its significance, as though awards-season posture were proof of insight.