Huhwihaji Anha (No Regret) (2006)
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56% of critics liked it
(9 reviews) -
72% of users liked it
(579 ratings)
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)… More 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. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Directed By
- Leesong Hee-il, Hee-il Leesong
- Written By
- Leesong Hee-il
- Genres
- Drama, Romance, Art House & International
R,
- In Theaters
- Jul 25, 2008 Limited
- Studio
- Regent Releasing
Critic Reviews
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David Wiegand, San Francisco Chronicle
Even a melodrama can be made credible in the hands of a skilled director, as Leesong Hee-Il reminds us in No Regret.
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Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times
As a love story, it could scarcely be more tempestuous and as an exposé of class differences and sexual hypocrisy it could hardly be more scathing -- or, more important, entertaining.
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V.A. Musetto, New York Post
Part soap opera, part soft-core gay sex movie, No Regret is the debut feature by Leesong Hee-il, who is said to be South Korea's first openly gay filmmaker.
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Nathan Lee, New York Times
[Director] Leesong fails to extrapolate the insights of the brothel milieu into his larger agenda: a melodramatic love-hate affair between Sumin and Jaemin so schematic it's unintelligible.
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Melissa Anderson, Time Out New York
The tale of class-clashing lovers plays out predictably until the final act, which appears to have been inspired by Oscar Wilde's observations that each man kills the thing he loves and nothing succeeds like excess.
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