Korean BL - BL/Gay dramas and movies from South Korea

Short.

Short of the longer kind.

I was a little bit disappointed in this one... Because I loved the first half. It had full-lenght-flick quality to it, and there would have been material to make a full movie from it, and it would have ended up a lovely, light and spring-like romance story--the type of low-key indie flick I adore.
But IMO, the director made a crucially bad choice and strayed from that feel... 

I'd spoil if I elaborated more than that, but let's just say that there was a plot component shoved in, that should have been left out. Or at least done differently. Even though it was small, and was kind of poignant for the development of the rest of the movie, IMO, it cracked that simple, fragile feel and tainted it with a cliché melodrama-plot device. And they didn't even make use of the whole thing and just brushed it away. 

Sigh... 

Well, despite that--this was one of my fav Korean BL shorts and I absolutely loved the subtle and soft chemistry between the guys. They were just somehow perfect together, in a way I can't quite put my finger on.
The first part--even though it's a plot thing I don't like (music/idol/whatever-industry... who cares...), I still fell for it. The first half I adore. The rest was okay.

Mini-drama. 

I'm not THAT huge a fan, but it's definitely worth a watch. I prefer the slightly altered movie version. 

One of the better shorts from South Korea, well worth a watch. It's not that special that many make it out to be--the focus isn't entirely where it should have been--but it's still good. Just not great.

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This struck a chord with me, to an extent that very few pieces ever has done.
Even though I'm borderline compulsively objective, I just can't be with this one.

That feeling Yeon Woo gets whenever he sees color? I got a little piece of that when watching this. 

I won't call myself an artist, since I totally suck. But I've been glued to pencils, crayons, paints and pens since I was old enough to grab them. Losing my eyesight--losing the world and all the colors in it--would kill me. So the theme... Iget it. I truly, truly get it..
Also, I have sensory hypersensitivity, so I know that pleasure rush of awe.

But this drama has even more than the exceptionally unique story that it is on the surface. Put these guys and the way they experience their world and each other, in a deeper context.
Alienation, loneliness, "lack of color" in a metaphorical sense rather than actual--and the emotions evoked when finding someone who (or something that) normalizes it all. The high when discovering it--and the extreme pain of then losing it.
I truly get this part, too. 

There are profound thoughts and concepts handed out, but it's never written on the nose--it's subtle enough to avoid that trap. Some scenes are just exceptional. Like the one in school when Yoo Han is trying to convince Yeon Woo by talking about color theory and showing him the color chart. To be able to make such an innocent scene so sexually tense--one truly is a hell of a script writer... The effect is awesome, and shows us just how tempted and mesmerized Yeon Woo really is. 

The drama is so solid, so well told, and so well acted, that it became an instant fav of mine--even though I usually prefer to keep away from anything that even slightly resembles fantasy-themes.
Sure, it has a few flaws. Sometimes, the editing is a bit stupid and some parts of the plot are left hanging--but overall, this is a great, great, great little piece of art. 

Short.

Mini-drama.

Part of the "Gay Out Soon" compilations of short films.

Short, of the long kind. (About 1 hour runtime). 

Short.

Short, of the long kind. (About 1 hour runtime).

Short.

Part of the "Gay Out Soon" compilations of short films.

Short.

Part of the "Gay Out Soon" compilations of short films.

Part of the "Gay Out Soon" compilations of short films.

Part of the "Gay Out Soon" compilations of short films.

Part of the "Gay Out Soon" compilations of short films.

Part of the "Gay Out Soon" compilations of short films.

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Movie adaptation of the graphic novel with the same name, written by the director of the movie.

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Short of the long kind. (54 minutes).

Short.

I LOVED this. If you liked "HIStory 3: Trapped" and similar bad guys vs. cops or other clandestine enemies becoming lovers-themes, you will too.
Here, the feel is much darker, though. But not dark as in depressing--just more thriller-esque.
This is paired up with sweet romance--and those two shouldn't mix well, but they do...  

For such a short drama, it's very well rounded and feels like a much longer story due to good planning and directing. (What I would give to see this in the episode count of "Trapped"...) Thoroughly entertaining, interesting, exciting and has some squeal-worthy moments including a classy and sweet love-scene.
Acting is nice, production great, it's just really well balanced for such a contrast in main themes. 

Short.

Supposedly has gay character(s?)

Mini-drama. 

Not actual BL, but imagined such--through the eyes of a fangirl.

Mini-drama.

Hmm. For some reason, I didn't like this. I enjoyed the other recent Korean mini dramas more, even though they were less qualitative... I'll give a decent rating because it's pretty well produced and there's nothing WRONG with it--it just didn't hit home with me. I get annoyed with unrealistic plot/relationship developments--and here, it's too much for me. Sure,when talking about BL--realistic stories are rare. But as long as it's built up and elaborated from the haphazard meeting/hook-up, it's fine. Especially if it's the sillier kind of BL. 

But this isn't silly--so it becomes awkward. And the relationship dynamics are fuzzy and somehow... the characters keep their feelings and thoughts to themselves. There is no need to write it on the nose, but some kind of outreach, explanation, voicing out what takes place in their minds and hearts--is kind of crucial to make us believe what happens on the screen.
This doesn't. 

It's cute and all that... but it's flat. The characters are flat and the story is told in that shallow and "let's show a little bit of this and a little bit of that, screw the fluidity" kind of way.
Which is a pity, since the plot premise was kind of unique. 

Acting was fair, but not in any way exceptional. 

Random cred; The far-from-acceptable dancing by the MC, was edited quite cleverly and smoothly and almost pulled off fooling an experienced and critical eye.
Tech work was quite nice with some extra lovely shots. 

And above all; Cred to South Korea for developing their BL, and managing to dig out a path of their own, with a distinct flavour that differs from the Japanese and Taiwanese productions, even though they have similarities.

This was one of the most fascinating things I've seen in a while. (Why have I ignored it until now?!)

I have to rewatch it, since I'm not sure if I got everything right in terms of dynamics. I'd say that definitely was an intentional move by the script writer--to enhance the theme of reality and play blurring. Ingenious--as well as confusing. But thought-provoking and exactly what made this such an intriguing watch. Is the audience, along with the lead, duped by the seemingly innocent character, who is truth was a splendid actor already to begin with? Or was he indeed innocent, but learnt too fast and too well--ending up outplaying his teacher?

Mysterious, hypnotic, demanding one's attention. But its true strenght lies in the exceptional acting, atmosphere and score. 

Not entertainment--but psychology wrapped in art.

Short.

Special connected to the drama "Mr Heart". Basically, just interviewing the actors. Not good, not bad. Just not relevant unless one wants to swoon over the actors...

Mini-drama. Also available in  compiled movie format. 

Set in a university track-and-field team, this is a light-weight and innocent, but quite adorable little drama. Well worth a watch.

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Another Korean short worth a watch. However, I don't like it as much as many others do. It's good film-making, but the story just isn't entertaining enough to make me fall for it as hard as many seem to have done.  

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Part of the "Queer Movie" series of shorts of varying length.

Part of the "Queer Movie" series of shorts of varying length.

Part of the "Queer Movie" series of shorts of varying length.

Part of the "Queer Movie" series of shorts of varying length.

Very long short--or very short full lenght movie. Depends on how you see it. (1 hr 6 min).

Historical BL--not all that common. Not my fav, but I'll definitely take a look when it airs. 

Upcoming spring 2021.

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One of the best BL shorts to come from South Korea, IMO. A simple little story, but with a lot of heart and a very nice, summery atmosphere. Worth a watch.

Short.

Umm... the MDL rating...
What...?

I haven't got the slightest clue how people can rate this so high, because this isn't good. It's acceptable, but far from the quality it may seem to have if one trusts the rating. 

It's completely unoriginal--which in itself would be fine, if it was made really well. But it isn't...
It's flat, completely lacks any depth and is just a run-of-the-mill short that one will forget as soon as it ends. It lacks artistic quality and doesn't make use of it's time--which are crucial keys to making a good short film. In 20 minutes--it tells less, and with less emotion, than the super-short "Summerdaze" (also a Korean one) tells in just 2-3 minutes. That says a lot.

It's not BAD. I'm just completely baffled over the 8,1 (as of right now) MDL rating.
Like... seriously...?

Short.

This is so beautiful--visually as well as emotionally. Just a little glimpse, like a poem or a memory, yet it tells a big story considering the runtime of just a few minutes. You get it. 

The cutting was a bit too rushed, I would personally have chosen to have fewer scenes but a few seconds longer--if they had to keep it under those few minutes.
But very beautiful. I would have loved to see a longer version.

Short.

Compiled movie version of the mini-drama.

I wasn't very impressed with the latest Korean BL mini-dramas, but this was by far better than the much higher rated "To My Star". 

The synopsis made me suspicious, since i expected something shallow "idoly", but it wasn't like that at all. A simple and straight-forward little love story that was quite adorable. 

It's lacking in depth, and that's definitely because of the short runtime, but it makes up for it decently, with a beautiful score and OST, good acting and a nice production with many beautiful scenes and atmosphere. 

Nothing I'll remember for a long time--but definitely not a waste of time.

Part of the "Gay Out Soon" compilations of shorts. 

Short.