"Revenge is sweetest when done secretly."

"Untold Scandal" is a lush adaptation of the novel "Les Liaisons Dangereuses" set in Chosun Dynasty Korea. I have not read the novel nor seen any of the other film adaptations (e.g., "Dangerous Liaisons"; "Cruel Intentions"),so my review is on the merits of the film itself rather than a comparison to other works.

Lady Cho is none too happy when her husband brings in 16-year-old So-OK to be his concubine. She is cute and virginal and of course Lady Cho can't stand it. So she turns to her cousin, Sir Cho Won, and makes a devious proposition--seduce this "innocent flower" and impregnate her. The thought of presenting her husband with a pregnant concubine makes Lady Cho's eyes sparkle. What would Cho Won get in return? What he has always wanted—to enjoy the carnal pleasures of Lady Cho.

But the idle rich are easily bored and this is hardly the test Cho Won was looking for. Seducing a naïve teenager is no challenge. A few flattering words and, well, what girl would *not* fall into bed with the dashing and charming Cho Won? He offers a counter-proposal. If he can bed the virginal Lady Chung, who belongs to a Catholic group and has made a vow of chastity, that would be a true accomplishment worthy of the reward Lady Cho offers. (Of course, being the Lothario that he is, he can't help making eyes at So-OK as well. Just a little something on the side to keep in practice.) Now the games begin. Cho Won finds it rough going, as Lady Chung wants nothing to do with him. She has heard of his reputation and she has no interest in anything but her Catholic service and charity work. She's rather a plain Jane and can't even conceive of why Cho Won would want to have anything to do with her anyway. In fact, she tells him straight out that she would rather live with the plague victims than even carry on a conversation with him. He's certainly got his work cut out for him.

Lady Cho gets a perverse pleasure out of this game of seduction and manipulation. And she's got her own devious games to play with the clueless So-OK.

The scheming escalates in intensity and nefariousness. Will Lady Chung crack? Will Lady Cho have to pay up on the bet? Will So-OK end up a pregnant bride? Will the Law of Unintended Consequences come back to bite Cho Won? The challenge for the actors is to make such characters engaging enough so that the viewer isn't completely turned off by them. Let's face it. Cho Won is a cad of the first degree, and Lady Cho is no better. Even when it appears that Cho Won is succumbing to actual feelings of affection and love, we are not sure if it is genuine or just a part of his merciless game.

Many films can offer up good villains, but they are usually played off against protagonists who have the audience's sympathy and interest. It is more of a task when the villains have to carry the film. I think "Untold Scandal" rises to the challenge admirably. The scheming cousins set about their plans with such style and panache that viewers may find themselves actually rooting for them. These are interesting characters who are surprisingly multi-dimensional (especially in the case of Cho Won).

My major issue with the film was that the ending seemed sort of slapped together. Up until then we've been treated to a very tight and contained piece, but then things start spinning all over the place. I'm not sure if this is true to the original story or if the director felt that after 2 hours he'd better just wrap things up.

If you like costume and period pieces, this is the movie for you. The look of the film is colorful and vibrant. The Hong Kong DVD version carries a Category III rating for some nudity, eroticism, and sensuality, but it is not some silly sex romp. The characters develop, and there are some surprises along the way.

Now this movie is based on "Les Liaisons dangereuses". And the story this movie takes place is in Joseon Dynasty in Korea. But I couldn't help but think of the movie "She's All That" except this one goes in a more serious and sexual direction. Which the book has and this delivers for the most part. But falls flat in other areas as well. But did a good job of incorporating the classic sexual tale into taking place during the 18th century Korea. Bae Yong-jun plays the flirtatious seducer that picks on the weak minded girls and woman. I am not a fan of Bae Yong-jun and this movie didn't make me have a different thought about the actor. But I still think he fit the this role quite nicely. Bae Yong-jun's character pulls all the tricks up his sleeves in order to seduce someone for a bet. Who is a this virtuous woman that is difficult to tempt. But the chemistry between the two leads just didn't seem all that strong or leaves a presence. Even if it's one sided for quite a while. The build up is a bit weak for the most part. And thus made the ending less impactful and believable. As a matter of fact a lot of the areas just seemed a bit rushed and not developed well, especially the ending. It's a tragedy shown in a kinda bleak manner, it's a alright watch at least once.

4.6/10

... and, like the man said, never ask for whom it tolls. This is alleged to be the 10th version of Les Liasons Dangerouse and I haven't seen any of the previous nine. The main thing I took away from this version was elegance, stateliness, formality. Not unusual of course in a film emanating from the Eastern hemisphere. What it is, in fact, is a Comedy of Manners in top-to-bottom writing and no worse for that. Like most occidentals Asian names don't exactly trip off my tongue so I won't attempt to name the actors who I thought were uniformly excellent. I did find it singular to say the least that the leading man whose prowess at martial arts had been amply demonstrated would turn his back on an opponent who might have been down but was far from out. Although I'm woefully ignorant of Eastern mores I do know enough to realize that Honour is prized above most things and a man who has just spoken about the shame his family suffered at the hands of the leading man is not going to give up until he draws his last breath. It's just about feasible that the leading man wished to die/be killed but in that case why has he just kicked seven kinds of s*** out of his opponent instead of succumbing gracefully to the first blow. Overall it's a chocolate-box of a movie like Marivaux in Mandarin.