Feb
4
2007
No Regret
Posted by luna6
Movie : No Regret / 후회하지 않아
Release Date : November 16, 2006
Country : South Korea
Director : Leesong Hee-il
Starring: Lee Young-hoon (Su-Min), Lee Han (Jae-Min)
Runtime : 135 Minutes
Editor Rating : 6.9
(15 Votes, User Rating: 9.27)
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Plot Synopsis : Su-Min, leaves the confines of a rural orphanage and moves to the big city of Seoul. He takes a low wage position as a factory worker. He also works part-time, as a chauffeur for people who have had to much to drink in bars. One of his clients asks Su-Min to come inside for a drink after he is driven home, but Su-Min leaves. The next day at the factory plenty of people are getting fired and Su -Min is one of them. As he leaves his job in disgust, he crosses paths again with the man he drove home the other night. That person happens to be the son of the CEO at the factory that Su-Min worked. Su-Min finds out shortly afterwards that the factory decided not to fire him, but instead fired a co-worker. Su-Min goes back to the office of Jae-Min, quits, and throws his business card back in his face.
Su-Min then winds up working as a prostitute in a Gay Bar. His life is going relatively well under the circumstances, until he meets Jae-Min again at his workplace. AlthoughSu -Min pushes Jae-Min away, they eventually get closer and a relationship develops. Although they come from two different economic worlds, they are able to live happily together for a brief moment. That is until Jae-Min’s mother steps in and tries to force Jae-Min into marrying a woman he does not love.
Movie Review : A trend that seems to be developing in Korea, is the popularity of gay themed media. From the unexpected smash hit “The King & The Clown” to the popularity of the U.S. syndicated television show “Queer Eye For The Straight Guy,” Korea seems to be opening its arms to gay themed films. One of the early fruits of this surprising trend is the movie No Regret. This film marks the impressive directorial debut by Leesong Hee-il. Because of his background as an openly gay director, Leesong Hee-il provides incite into a gay subculture that most heterosexual directors would have a difficult time to convey. One of the more impressive facets of “No Regret” is the lack of stereotypical gay characters that is so often found in other films. The characters in No Regret are depicted in a raw & honest manner, that ultimately gives a refreshing viewpoint of people that are often neglected in Korean Cinema.
Lee Young-hoon , who played Su-Min, would have to be the star of this film, providing a captivating performance of a flawed young gay man trying to find his role in society. The movie certainly was riveting through the first half of the film. In addition to the realistic portrayal of gay men, the manner in which the relationship between Su-Min and Jae-Min develops, particularly the economic differences that divides them is compelling regardless of their sexual orientation. The film does include a few explicit gay sex scenes, that I think most adult viewers would find to be done in a non-excessive manner.
The second half of the film is where problems started to arise for No Regret. As the relationship between Su-Min and Jae-Min develops, the movie fell into a lull, where the pacing slowed down considerably from the first half. An aspect of the movie that had me slightly bewildered would be the reaction of Jae-Min after his mother tried to force him into marrying a woman. Perhaps not having a firm grasp on the dilemmas a gay person may face in Korea society, I was just unable to relate with his response to his mother’s demand. With all the trouble that he went through to become partners with Su-Min, and the fact that he was sleeping with the woman his mother wanted him to marry - during his obsessive pursuit of Su-Min, I had the impression that he would continue his relationship with Su-Min no matter what. Yet, once his mother told everybody that Jae-Min would be getting married, he caved into his mothers wishes (believable) and pushed Su-Min completely away (hard to believe).
The movie then picks up the pacing within the last 20 minutes of the film, throwing in some absolutely unexpected turn of events. I actually enjoyed these surprise twists, as a welcome reprieve from the slow pacing found in the second half. Even though I welcomed the surprise twists at the end, the ending certainly felt disjointed within the narrative structure of the entire film. If the film would have tried to foreshadow these unexpected events a little better, this movie could have been spectacular.
No Regret is a promising film that provides a fascinating glimpse into the lives of two young Korean gay men. The lack of stereotypical gay characteristics found in other films was a welcome change as well. The pacing in the second half of the film was too slow for my tastes and the ending would have been appreciated more if it was foreshadowed in a better way. If nothing else, I would say watch out for the director Leesong Hee-il and the actor Lee Young-hoon, both of whom show an incredible amount of promise. There’s also a wonderful soundtrack that is featured in this movie.
2006 Movie Reviews, Korean Movies, Movie Reviews |