I haven't talked about a Korean queer film in a long while; mostly because I don't like devoting two hours to a film. I'm more of a TV show or two in the evening...
Anyway, last night I told myself I was going to watch a Korean film. Korean language practice, culture, and entertainment rolled up into one. Add the queer factor, and it should have made a pretty good night. Unfortunately, Road Movie (2002) is a bit of disappointment. The first scene, however, is great.

Korean films do really great sex scenes...

After this first scene, Dae-shik (played by Hwang Jung-min) spurns his lover and goes to Seoul. There, he meets Suk-won (played by Jeong Chan) who has lost his wife and his job and is living on the streets. They start a friendship, fuck some prostitutes, and go on a road trip. One of these prostitutes is Il-joo (Seo-lin) who decides to join them on their trip. She falls in love with Dae-shik, who is in love with Suk-won, and Suk-won wants Il-joo. Pretty complete live triangle.

Poor Il-joo thinks she can convert Dae-shik like so many religious zealots. It isn't that he hasn't found the right woman, it is that he loves cock. As shown throughout the film:

Oops, not a woman he is doing doggy-style

Maybe I've found the right lady!

Nah, I'm definitely bending over a dude

All the man-on-man action may have made up for the mediocre acting and confusing story

The first half of the film focuses on this love triangle, but they eventually throw aside Il-joo. Can't say I was too sorry to see her go; I had no connection at all with her character (though of the three actors, I think she probably did the best job). The rest of the film continues with the Dae-shik and Suk-won's relationship. Though Suk-won has some sort of desire and connection to Dae-shik, he is unwilling to act on it. (Or as Suk-won puts it, let Dae-shik get a taste of his anus).

A good snuggle isn't gay, right?

For me, this was not the most enjoyable film. The story was confusing, the music was dated, and the acting was just average. Also, the characters were really bad at dying. Seriously, how many times were they beaten up by police, exposed to the elements, on the brink of death, only to continue their melancholic life? It was hard to develop sympathy for any of the characters, perhaps because their love stories didn't have the right amount of chemistry to actually believe them. If they weren't madly in love, why were they behaving so senselessly?

One of the cute moments of the movies...

I do commend, however, the director for some amazing scenery. It makes me want to take my own road trip in Korea. The mountains and oceans were highlighted in this film, which produced some beautiful shots.