No Regret (film)
Encyclopedia
No Regret is a 2006 South Korean film and the feature film directorial debut of Leesong Hee-il
, based on his earlier short Good Romance. No Regret is the first commercially-released South Korean film to feature frontal adult male nudity, and is also regarded as "the first 'real' Korean gay feature", (although earlier South Korean films, such as Road Movie, released in 2002, have dealt with gay relationships), and is also the first South Korean feature to be directed by an openly
gay
Korean filmmaker.
where he works various jobs to pay for computer classes. One of those jobs is driving drunks home from bars. After losing his factory job, Su-min ends up taking a job at a host bar. Initially the boss of this host bar is reluctant to take him on, as he knows from experience that openly gay hosts will often leave when they become romantically involved with one of their clients. Having given up on love, Su-min believes that this won't happen to him, until one day a man from his past enters the host bar. That man, Jae-min, is a former driving client, who has fallen in love with Su-min. Su-min refuses his advances, and accepts him as a client only once, and threatens to kill him if he hires him again. Jae-min is undeterred, and after several weeks go by, Su-min gives in. They are very happy in their relationship until Jae-min's mother discovers them together. She orders Jae-min to marry the woman he's been dating halfheartedly. Su-min is angry. With another man from the host bar, they kidnap Jae-min one night and take him to a shallow grave in the forest. Su-min watches passively as his colleague throws dirt on Jae-min, but eventually moves to stop the plan. His colleague already depressed over a two-timing girlfriend, whacks Su-min with the shovel and leaves the two there in the grave. Jae-min later awakens and takes Su-min to the car and they crash a tree while going back. As dawn breaks in, the two of them start to awake at the same time cops show up at the scene but inside, without paying attention to the cops, Su-min and Jae-min silently reconcile.
on 16 November 2006, and over the course of its theatrical run received a total of 43,265 admissions, becoming the top grossing independent film at the Korean box office. The film was later screened in the Panorama section of the 57th Berlin Film Festival (8–18 February 2007), and also competed at the 9th Barcelona Asian Film Festival (27 April–6 May 2007).
Leesong Hee-il
Leesong Hee-il is a South Korean film director whose first feature film No Regret is regarded as "the first real Korean gay feature." The film won him Best Independent Director at the 2006 Director's CUT Awards...
, based on his earlier short Good Romance. No Regret is the first commercially-released South Korean film to feature frontal adult male nudity, and is also regarded as "the first 'real' Korean gay feature", (although earlier South Korean films, such as Road Movie, released in 2002, have dealt with gay relationships), and is also the first South Korean feature to be directed by an openly
Coming out
Coming out is a figure of speech for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people's disclosure of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity....
gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
Korean filmmaker.
Plot
Su-min is an orphan who, having turned 18, is required to leave his orphanage. Unable to pay for university, he heads for SeoulSeoul
Seoul , officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD developed world...
where he works various jobs to pay for computer classes. One of those jobs is driving drunks home from bars. After losing his factory job, Su-min ends up taking a job at a host bar. Initially the boss of this host bar is reluctant to take him on, as he knows from experience that openly gay hosts will often leave when they become romantically involved with one of their clients. Having given up on love, Su-min believes that this won't happen to him, until one day a man from his past enters the host bar. That man, Jae-min, is a former driving client, who has fallen in love with Su-min. Su-min refuses his advances, and accepts him as a client only once, and threatens to kill him if he hires him again. Jae-min is undeterred, and after several weeks go by, Su-min gives in. They are very happy in their relationship until Jae-min's mother discovers them together. She orders Jae-min to marry the woman he's been dating halfheartedly. Su-min is angry. With another man from the host bar, they kidnap Jae-min one night and take him to a shallow grave in the forest. Su-min watches passively as his colleague throws dirt on Jae-min, but eventually moves to stop the plan. His colleague already depressed over a two-timing girlfriend, whacks Su-min with the shovel and leaves the two there in the grave. Jae-min later awakens and takes Su-min to the car and they crash a tree while going back. As dawn breaks in, the two of them start to awake at the same time cops show up at the scene but inside, without paying attention to the cops, Su-min and Jae-min silently reconcile.
Cast
- Lee Yeong-hoonLee Yeong-hoonLee Young-Hoon is a South Korean actor.-Early life:He began his acting career after joining the MBC Academy while in high school. Some of his peers at the MBC Academy were future actors In-seong Jo and So-yeon Lee.-Acting:...
... Su-min - Kim Nam-gilKim Nam-gilKim Nam-gil , is a South Korean actor. He used to go by the name Lee Han and later decided to use his real name since the movie Public Enemy Returns in 2008. He was honoured with a few awards for his excellent acting as Bidam in MBC TV Series Queen Seon Deok in 2009. He has enlisted in the army in...
(as Lee Han) ... Jae-min - Jo Hyeon-cheol
- Kim Dong-wook
- Jeong Seung-gil
- Lee Seung-won
- Hwang Choon-ha
- Kim Jung-hwa
- Lee Seung-cheol
Release
No Regret was released in South KoreaSouth Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
on 16 November 2006, and over the course of its theatrical run received a total of 43,265 admissions, becoming the top grossing independent film at the Korean box office. The film was later screened in the Panorama section of the 57th Berlin Film Festival (8–18 February 2007), and also competed at the 9th Barcelona Asian Film Festival (27 April–6 May 2007).