Well this film outlines conservative culture in South Korea that I have heard of from a South Korean. Homosexuality is not widely accepted, men are expected to marry.The film has a kind of strange and dark nature, at times. There is a death, almost a murder, and of course, prostitution. We see the desperation of a man who feels he is not worthy due to his lack of education, and simple rural background, fall into a prostitution ring for money.A man from his previous non-prostitution workplace takes a liking for him, but eventually follows suit, giving into his parents demands - who he is financially dependent on - to marry a lady. I found this disappointing, as the two main characters were getting on well. But by the time he changes his mind, his lover already has other, very twisted plans, and is accompanied by an equally mentally troubled man to fulfill them. Thankfully at least, the plan is not completed.Overall I found this film too dark a storyline, cold in behavior, and at times the acting seemed stunted, in ways.

I've been trying to think if I've ever seen a stupider and more annoying movie than this one. I'm sure I must have, but I can't remember any right now. I often disagree with other reviewers, but I can't remember another movie that got almost universally good reviews that I absolutely hated. I kept expecting it to get better, but it just kept getting worse.Both leads, even the orphaned hustler - actually, everybody in this stupid movie - they're ALL selfish, arrogant, unattractive, manipulative people, expecting everybody else to bend under the pressure of their relentless, selfish demands - without EVER showing ANY sign of ANYTHING the least bit attractive to make such a surrender desirable.If this were meant as a clinical study in extreme, unrelenting human dysfunctionality and co-dependence, I might have been able to stand it - just barely - but romance? PASSION? What movie did these people see? Not the one I saw. Not the mindless, petty, self-indulgent, tantrum-filled, grossly overwrought, hand-wringing, tear-jerking, IDIOTIC soap opera I just spent almost two hours with."Prepare to be captured and enthralled for every minute, beginning to end." Well... I was prepared, but I was not ever, not for one second, captured (unless being held hostage counts) or enthralled, or even mildly interested. And "Strong sexual content"? "Nudity"? WHAT nudity? I didn't see any, unless a shirtless man smoking a cigarette merits an adults-only rating now. What a profoundly disappointing and irritating afternoon this has been. This is the worst movie I've seen in ages, if not ever.

Yeah, well, I definitely had regrets about giving up my Saturday night watching this strange little, yet very long, movie. Apparently neither did the main character for stealing two hours of my life. Here's the epitome of the antihero in 'No Regrets.' We have this jerk, so messed up, so wandering, so selfish, aimless and unlikable that it was extremely hard to get past the attraction a highly favored businessman's up-and-coming son, Jaemin, unless it was just that: physical attraction. He claims otherwise, that it's love. But after watching this, it's like loving Charles Manson because you dig the beard. (Alright, he's not that bad, but still no real redeemable characteristics.) I could never get past the reason Jaemin endless stalks Sumin. It was never shown, just told, that Jaemin loves Sumin. Perhaps it's a culture thing that flew over my head: crazy/stalking = mad love over in Seoul. It has to be, because a little more than half the movie is one stalking the other and the last part is stalking back and forth to the point I thought this was turning into a screwball comedy. I was waiting for a tiger named "baby" to make an appearance. Okay, so Sumin works two jobs while going to school, so far so good on someone trying to better themselves. But after his first taste of his stalker's attraction, he gives up his day job for some kind of prostitution ring. What? OK, well, as previously mentioned, the obsession doesn't stop due to the job/career change and if you throw in a bunch of other very angry characters you get one messed up movie where unbelievable occurrences just seem to happen without buildup. Basic movie, not 100% terrible, but you can do better with foreign gay-themed movies.

NO REGRET (HUHWIHAJI ANHA) is an impressive film from Korea, especially in that it is the first venture for writer/director Hee-il Leesong who gives evidence of not only a his ability to create a film that examines life in Korea in a verismo style, but also knows how to cast and direct a crew of actors in a polished manner. He is most assuredly a new artist to watch. NO REGRET takes many chances with the story of Korean orphans growing to the age of self- sufficiency without the guidance of parents, fending out a life with the sole support of their fellow orphans. The boys in this story come from the country with little exposure to the city life of Seoul and the tough choices that must be made to survive. The other side of the story reflects the wealthy young men who come from homes burdened with high expectations and preordained 'lives' of inheriting the family business, marrying the right girl, continuing the level of 'sophistication' to which they were born. NO REGRET places a member of each of these disparate groups together and the impact of opposite backgrounds is the thread that weaves so well through this love story. Lee Su-min (the remarkably gifted newcomer Young-hoon Lee) is the orphan who works at menial jobs until he finds a source of good money as a rent boy in a company called XLarge. Su-min adapts well as he is apparently comfortable with his sexuality: his fellow ex-orphans who work at XLarge present the gamut of types that find prostitution monetarily if not emotionally rewarding. At a chance encounter Su-Min meets Song Jae-min (Nam-gil Kim) and while the attraction is one sided at first, Jae-min is bound by family expectations to marry and take over the family business and has not come to grips with his sexuality. Fear and recognition of class differences keeps Su-min from responding to the near stalking Jae- min, but eventually the attraction blossoms and differences seem to disappear. The two young men have found love, but Jae-min must cope with the expectations of his family - the results being devastating to both men in different ways. How the relationship works through this rocky road is the essence of the film and to discuss the ending would be to destroy the impact of the film. Every aspect of this film - writing, directing, acting, lighting, music, editing - is first rate. No one who sees this film will be able to escape the impact of the characterization by Young- hoon Lee: his screen presence is magnetic and his range of acting is solid. He definitely is a rising star. As for writer/director Hee-il Leesong, here is a man who not only knows the art of story telling but also the sensitive insight as to the parameters of both economy and exposition when each element of the story calls. Highly recommended. Grady Harp