From Boy Meets Boy to Friends?
by javabeans
Seo Ji-hoo, Hong Jong-hyun
Director Kim Jo Gwang-soo garnered some attention with last year’s queer short film Boy Meets Boy, and now he’s coming out with his follow-up. Called 친구사이?, the title translates to “We’re Friends?” or simply “Friends?”
Friends?, like Boy Meets Boy, also deals with queer romance, and this time, the director has cast two unknown actors, 19-year-old Hong Jong-hyun and 25-year-old Seo Ji-hoo. Hong started as a model and was also in Jo In-sung’s Frozen Flower, while Seo earned his role through auditions.
As with Boy Meets Boy, the events of this film are based on the director’s personal experience; the film aims for a “realistic, frank” depiction of young gay love.
Although Boy Meets Boy was a mere 35-minute short, it had a decent amount of buzz. Maybe it was the pretty young actors Kim Hye-sung (Unstoppable High Kick) and Lee Hyun-jin (Family Honor), maybe it was the material (two high school boys falling in love for the first time), maybe it was the fact that the film was nearly dialogue-free. Maybe it was the zeitgeist. In any case, it got people talking and even had a theatrical run.
This film is described as “lively and bold,” with stronger (romantic) scenes between the actors than in Boy — but that doesn’t mean they’ll be steamy or graphic; rather, this film features older characters (twentysomethings, versus Boy‘s teenagers) and a longer running time. The plot is described as the “unexpected events that occur when Seok (Hong) goes to visit Min-su (Seo), who’s serving his military duty.”
I’m all for bromancey fun and comic takes on homoeroticism (e.g., Coffee Prince, Antique Bakery), but it’s also nice to see the emergence of queer cinema in the mainstream that is (or seems to be, at least) handled with some deftness and thoughtfulness.
The mid-length (50 minute) film will begin shooting mid-March, and aims for a theatrical release sometime in the latter half of the year.
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Tags: directors, Kim Jo Gwang-soo
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1 Biscuit
March 12, 2009 at 2:40 PM
Within the past years, homosexual movies seem to be coming on a rise :O
Maybe I'll try it :/ While I don't usually watch homosexual-themed movies, like every other movie, I always have this extreme curiosity to see what happens @___@
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2 drama/music/craver
March 12, 2009 at 3:05 PM
I agree with
biscuit
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3 tiki
March 12, 2009 at 4:00 PM
whoa... is it just me or does hong jong hyun look remarkably like lee min ki? O_O
and aaah i'm still waiting for antique bakery subs.. .*sad*
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4 misskeke
March 12, 2009 at 4:10 PM
idk... X_x since I'm heterosexual, I usually like seeing stories about a man falling in love with a woman. I would be pretty devastated if one of my favorite actors played a gay man (like KJH)
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5 Muffin
March 12, 2009 at 4:14 PM
I enjoyed Boy Meets Boy, except for that singing fairy. Although, if not for her song and the anime sequence, I would not have assumed the story was supposed to be "gay." After my years of watching males in Korean entertainment, nothing that went on between the two leads felt sexual at all. Not the glances, not the pseudo stalking, not even the running embrace.
In the interest of a more accepting society, Korean and American alike, I'm all for same sex themed movies being on the rise. As long as the story is good and the acting is halfway decent, I'll give it a looksee.
Are there that many gay themed (or gay implied) Korean movies/shows anyway? I mean, compaired to mainstream productions. Off the top of my head, that I know of...
No Regret
King and the Clown
Frozen Flower
Coffee Prince
Painter of the Wind (Portrait of a Beauty)
And Heechul from Super Junior kissing every boy he meets doesn't count.
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6 Sere
March 12, 2009 at 4:18 PM
I liked Boy meets boy except for the fairy that sang and showed up at the most inappropriate moments ever. Was her appearance supposed to be artsy? His conscience? Well, whatever. I'm looking forward to Friends. Boys love FTW!
@misskeke
why would you be devastated? That doesn't make any sense.
@Muffin
LOL! Heechul loves his fans and knows them well. ;)
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7 Snikki
March 12, 2009 at 4:58 PM
Where can I watch Boy Meets Boy with english subs?
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8 DBSK
March 12, 2009 at 5:14 PM
2 questions:
1) is this supposed to be like pt. 2 to boy meets boy? since the characters have the same names....
2) was boy meets boy really 35 minutes long? i thought it was 15 minutes long..maybe i downloaded a shorter, edited version, idk...
the fairy parts of boy meets boy were a little strange, but i loved the music overall~ i've tried to find the songs that ye jiwon sings, but i can't find them anywhere! i wonder if they are even available...
anyways, looking forward to this "follow-up"..it will be interesting to see a more explicitly "gay" film as opposed to (what i considered to be) the mild boy meets boy.
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9 Alvina
March 12, 2009 at 5:18 PM
hm... as far as Korea's conservative society goes, it seems like, at least on the outside, there are a LOT more respected homosexual themed love stories than in America.
Sounds like fun. I haven't watched boy meets boy but I'll give it a try.
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10 Enkhee
March 12, 2009 at 5:29 PM
Was it really 35 mins long? Mine is 15 mins too. I'm missing 20 mins? i WANTS it. it was a cute little movie, except for the singing fairy. Really looking forward to this one.
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11 Muffin
March 12, 2009 at 5:42 PM
@Snikki
Boy Meets Boy is currently on Youtube, account user name is moxcha. The leads don't speak and only the second song the fairy sings (with anime) is subtitled.
@DBSK & Enkhee
There is a "Making of Boy Meets Boy" that is about 20 minutes long which may account for the 35 minutes overall. It's also on Youtube, account user name is bloodysnow666.
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12 kkstar
March 12, 2009 at 5:43 PM
I love a heartwarming story no matter whether it be male/female, male/male/ or female/female. Gay people have gotta find love too! I would definitely be interested in watching both of the videos.
And @ 9...
I am surprised too. Korea seems like such a conservative society, one where my boyfriend said he didn't even know gay people existed until he moved to the US. Yet, their movies and stories of homosexuality have much more dignity and respect than many here in the US. I am impressed.
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13 j3ssicas
March 12, 2009 at 7:35 PM
when you said this was based on the director's story does that mean the director is gay?
just curious, i don't have anything whatsoever against people just wondering~
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14 JJ
March 12, 2009 at 10:18 PM
@ #3 Tiki:
Veoh.com has subbed antique bakery! =)
That is how I watched it...good quality too.
just search Antique 08 & it should show up.
or here is the link
http://www.veoh.com/browse/videos/category/entertainment/watch/v17946377ND65DDeZ
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15 Porcelain
March 12, 2009 at 10:51 PM
@ Muffin...
I love your last line... "And Heechul from Super Junior kissing every boy he meets doesn’t count."ROFL.... This guy goes around and does the most unexpected things and I only love him more each day... and yes I do fangirl over him quite an obscene amount...
Gay movies... its good to see them seeps into mainstream consciousness. Its like its there but no one discusses it. I think HK movies like Lan Yu and Hollywood stuff like Brokeback mountain success critically and at the box office has helped; 1. For movies of this genre to be accepted mainstream 2. Give directors around the region boost to do more of such movies...
In Korea...I am glad they are stepping up with Coffee Prince(but En Chan IS a girl after all) and The King and the Clown. There are a couple of more indie titles but I just can't seem to recall offhand...
Again agreeing with some of you ^ is that, sometimes I do not know what to make of Korean entertainment... I am all for bromance but sometimes I am amazed at the level of closeness(all the hugs and kisses and what nots)... But yet I know it does not mean a thing...
And, I think I should get around to watching Boys meets Boys...
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16 Jill
March 13, 2009 at 12:07 AM
HeeChul should a movie with Lee MinHo..it'd be a hit! With lots of kissing of coz!
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17 Jess
March 13, 2009 at 12:22 AM
@ #6, Sere
I can understand how misskeke feels. As fans of a particular male actor, part of the fantasy is to imagine ourselves as the lead actress. But if we were to find out that he's gay then it would make the fantasy much harder to imagine...
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18 lucky_kiss
March 13, 2009 at 4:57 AM
you are right tiki, he did resemble LMK..
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19 lucky_kiss
March 13, 2009 at 6:01 AM
you are right tiki, he did resemble LMK..
Sorry, forgot to add great post! Can't wait to see your next post!
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20 Snikki
March 13, 2009 at 6:16 AM
Thanks Muffin!
I'll watch Antique next. =)
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21 jusash
March 13, 2009 at 5:48 PM
@ muffin
adding another to your list:
Bungee Jumping
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22 DBSK
March 14, 2009 at 1:40 AM
just finished antique~ thanks jj!
loved it!
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23 hmmmm
March 14, 2009 at 7:43 AM
so this is based on a true story of the director..?
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24 Yaleni
March 14, 2009 at 11:53 AM
@ tiki, lol, i thought it was lee minki on the first picture until i saw the second one!! XD
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25 M
March 15, 2009 at 4:43 PM
yeah...the director is gay...and that´s great.
can´t wait...
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26 belleza
March 18, 2009 at 5:00 PM
"Boys love FTW"
Doesn't matter what culture, Yaoi always translates to "Epik Win."
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27 A
March 19, 2009 at 7:37 PM
Yea, that singing fairy in Boy Meets Boy nearly ruined it for me. I didn't really think it was appropriate for the scene at all. Portraying a cutesy romance? It made me grit my teeth and bear it to see the scenes of them together ._.
But! I still really liked the short film. I hope Friends? gets finished and released soon because I am looking forward to it :]
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28 Pepper Mori
April 19, 2009 at 8:56 PM
is the movie out yet?
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29 Scott Stout
June 22, 2009 at 3:56 AM
I'd like to submit that "친구사이" would be better translated directly as "Between Friends." Connotations in Korean being pretty much similar as in English. It's worth noting that "친구사이" is also the name of one of the more prominent GLBTQ advocacy/support groups in Korea (Chingusai's website: http://chingusai.net/)
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30 Miki
May 13, 2013 at 12:19 PM
In the end Hong Jong Hyun didn't act in this movie :(
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