Out at the Movies: "No Regret" and "Brideshead Revisited"

The weekend after The Dark Knight is a dark one indeed for moviegoers, as most studios are hiding out until the caped crusader wears himself out at the box office. But gay audiences in several cities have the opportunity to catch some gay stories from foreign locales.

No Regret

This Korean film is something of a breakthrough, being one of the first explicitly gay movies to come out of the region. The film tells the story of an orphan from the country who heads to the big city and, after losing his factory job, takes a spot as a go-go boy/hooker at a karaoke bar. (This is probably highly inappropriate, but I can't think of a better way to make karaoke more popular Stateside than by adding go-go dancers into the mix!) When his paths cross with a wealthy executive with whom he's had several professional encounters (pre-hooking), the two lock horns in a rather disturbing emotional stalemate.

I had the chance to screen the film but unfortunately the DVD flaked after the first hour ... so while I enjoyed the taste of gay Seoul (however depressing it may have been) I got, I can't speak for the movie as a whole. (Given that it's being billed as a "tragic romance", I can't imagine it ends well for the mismatched lovers.) But given the fact that gay film is in its infant stages in the Korean film market and that the "hustler tragedy" is sadly a gay cinema rite of passage, I found the film to be better than most American counterparts ... and it doesn't hurt that lead actor Young-Hoon Lee (at left in the above pic) is incredibly easy on the eyes.

Ben Whishaw and Matthew Goode revisiting 

Brideshead Revisited

What can I say, I liked this feature adaptation of Evelyn Waugh's classic novel of class, ambition and religious oppression quite a bit (I've seen it twice already, in fact). If you're in NY or LA, you can check the film out this weekend, while other cities will have to wait for the broad rollout. In the meantime, check out my coverage of the premiere and my thoughts on Sebastian Flyte's being made explicitly gay in this version, and check back next week for our full review and interviews with Matthew Goode and director Julian Jarrold.