Review of No Regret (2006) by Anders B — 26 Jul 2010

I wish director & writer Hee-il Leesong had more to say than simply portray a "Romeo and Jules" gay story where both males suffer alot. I presume he's saying that there's no happy life for gays in Seoul. I refuse to believe that the gay community cannot form a productive alliance.

Young-hoo Lee as "Sumin" is a poor teen trying to leave the orphanage and earn a living. When he meets Lee Han "Jaemin" during a driving job, their destiny is sealed. ( Young-hoo Lee is a charismatic actor who holds your attention.) Their relationship goes through various phases of obsession, lust, rejection, denial, manipulation, harassment, attempted murder. When Jaemin's mom tells him, "You can sleep with other men but you must get married"; it's less about homophobia than economic differences.

The inexplicable attempted murder is lit so dark that you'll need to get an appointment with an optometrist. I don't know if Leesong is bitter about conservative Korea because he doesn't showcase the locations well. The photography is so dark and menacing, it's more suitable to a thriller but this is a melodrama. He keeps the camera at a distance from the characters when I was more interested in their motivations. The movie left me with a lasting feeling--I won't be planning on visiting Seoul soon.