The King and the Clown (2005)

A drama by Lee Jun-ik.
Among a traveling group of performers, the man who dresses in drag is whored out every night so the lead actor runs away with him to a new town. They encounter a local group there and perform together, making lots of money. When the local actors ask our hero for advice, he decides to mock the king. They do so the next day and make more money. The king's officials hear about this and arrest all of the actors. While they are being tortured to death, they ask with an audience with the king to show him their act. They decide that if the king laughs, they are innocent, but if he doesn't they will all be put to death. The actors perform for the king and he laughs, saving their lives. The king invites them to stay at his palace, against the will of his officials. The man in drag is invited alone to the king's chamber and entertains him with puppet shows while the king falls in love with him.
Obviously, the plot is rather complex. The characters are also good and the production value was great. The style was typical of far-eastern films, with lots of color and high contrast, creating a rich visual experience. I rate this awesome.