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No Regret (Huhwihaji Anha)

 

 

Written and Directed by Hee-il Leesong

South Korea 2006 / Drama / 113 min / Color / Dolby 5.1 / 1.85: 1 Widescreen Anamorphic / NTSC /  In Korean with Optional English, Korean and Thai Subtitles

Beautiful, daring, and haunting, No Regret represents a breakthrough for both Korean queer cinema and independent filmmaking. Opening in only a handful of theaters, the gay-themed film not only garnered great reviews, it also managed to attract 40,000 moviegoers, setting a new box office record for an indie film. No Regret is the debut feature from Lee Song Hee Il, Korea's first openly gay filmmaker. Lee Song has long been a familiar name in the festival circuit, having directed the acclaimed short films "Sugar Hill", "Good Romance", and "La Traviata", which was a part of the omnibus Camellia Project - Three Queer Stories at Bogil Island. In No Regret, he continues to delicately explore universal themes of love and sexuality set against uncommon relationships.

A working-class South Korean homosexual and a factory owner's engaged son embark on a clandestine love affair in director Hee-il Leesong's heartfelt tale of forbidden love. The first-ever South Korean feature by an openly gay filmmaker, No Regret begins as orphan Lee Su-min (Yeong-hun Lee) leaves behind both his rural orphanage and one-time lover. Later finding work at a Seoul factory and sharing an apartment with an unquestionably heterosexual workmate, Lee supplements his income by working nights as a driver for hire. When drunken fare Jae-min Song (Han Lee) makes a tentative pass at Lee during a late-night ride home, the uninterested driver rejects the obvious come-on. As it turns out, Song is the son of the factory's CEO. Later, when a round of layoffs is announced at the factory and Lee's name appears on the list, Song offers to help the struggling worker, to no avail. Subsequently earning his keep as a lap-dancer at a local strip joint, Lee is disturbed to see Song appear at the club and threatens to kill him if he ever dares return. Though Song's parents are pressuring him into marriage, the reluctant groom has no interest in taking a bride, and gradually begins to form a relationship with the down-on-his-luck dancer. Despite the comfort they find in one another's company, simmering class differences soon propel their doomed affair toward a tragic conclusion.