Review of the film NO REGRET by Hee-il Leesong. Two boys from different backgrounds fall in love in Seoul in this troubled gay romance.

Seoul, early 2000s. The handsome and sunny Su-min (Lee Young-hoon) takes on a series of odd jobs to survive. An orphan, he has learned to work hard to support himself. He works in a factory during the day and as a driver in the evening. One evening, during a car ride, he meets a wealthy businessman, Jae-min (Kim Nam-gil). At first, Jae-min is cold, but upon arriving at his destination, he unexpectedly begins hitting on Su-min, who has clearly caught his eye. Su-min seems unmoved and continues his service. The next day, Su-min discovers that the factory where he works is laying off many employees and that he will be among them… but he also discovers that Jae-min is one of the factory’s decision-makers and intends to cancel his dismissal. Proud and unwilling to accept this preferential treatment, Su-min leaves his job of his own accord. But the following weeks are difficult: he struggles to find steady work. Eventually, he lets himself be persuaded to work in a kind of gay brothel. It is there that, one evening, he runs into Jae-min again, who begins paying to see him.

Clearly obsessed with Su-min, Jae-min will do everything he can to win his interest. His persistence will eventually pay off, and the two boys will fall in love. But just as Su-min lets go and begins to feel happy, he discovers that Jae-min does not accept his homosexuality at all. Jae-min hides it from his wealthy and powerful family, who want to marry him off to a young woman. The outlook darkens…

A dark and melancholic romantic drama

This is one of the first feature films by South Korean director Hee-il Leesong, displaying a genuine style despite its limited budget. Seoul becomes the tragic stage for the handsome and neglected Su-min, a boy to whom life has never given anything. The entire film is permeated by a deep melancholy, with a nocturnal and almost desperate atmosphere. We watch Su-min struggle to make ends meet in a violent society and the underworld, using his body to pay his rent. Having become a solitary bad boy against his will, he rejects the repeated advances of the obsessively romantic Jae-min before eventually giving in to them. But their love will prove threatened by convention.

Between social film, neo-noir and emotional thriller

In a fragile balance between romance and darkness, between social film and love story, and with an atmosphere of neo-noir and thriller, No Regret proves beautifully unpredictable until a tension-filled final act. Well-developed characters, loneliness, sensitivity, and the search for a shoulder amid social and/or emotional hardship: a little-known gem that deserves to be rediscovered.

Produced in 2006 and watched on the GagaOOLala platform. Available on DVD.

Other troubled gay romances:
–The Wounded Man
–Since the Last Time We Met
–The Demons of Dawn