Love in the Big City

I really appreciate how much heart and thought went into this wonderful story between these two kindred individuals. They lived through so much time during college and after college and stayed together as best of friends. I don't think I could ask for anything more from such a wonderful Korean romantic drama. I really appreciated the inter play between the characters and all the ups and downs they shared. I wish there were more romantic comedies that were brought to the US market that were as good as this film. The backdrop of Seoul Korea really added to the film. I look forward to seeing this on blu-ray when it is released for the US market.

Love in the Big City is a serendipitous encounter that brings two kindred spirits who teeter on the fringes of normative culture together, exploring friendship, sexuality, and the comfort of being themselves at a pivotal time in their young adulthoods. An enjoyable, sometimes funny, trek through early twenties rebellion of vices, dating, hooking up, partying, and growing up. Ours protagonists find themselves both escaping from and finding paths of self exploration and reflection. Great to see two very talented actors, Kim Go-eun and Steven Sang-hyun Noh, on the same screen giving all of their energy to these free spirited characters.

I know that this movie was adapted from the novel of the same name and since I didn't read the novel, I won't be comparing them. I enjoyed this movie because the development of Jae Hee and Heung-soo's friendship was well written, and the actors playing them have just the right chemistry to make it work. The story is centered around their friendship and before either of them found romantic love, they found each other. Two outcasts who found comfort and refuge in each other, they became each other's biggest support. Their characters also developed along the way as they grew mature and entered the working world, but their friendship stayed the same. And let's not forget that Heung-soo is a gay man, and in a society as conservative as the one in South Korea, I think this movie is good representation for the LGBT community because it shows the struggles that the LGBT community faces, and that there is absolutely nothing wrong with being a gay person who just wants to love and be loved.

Truly enjoyed it, it left a raw message. Still, it had a light-hearted feeling to it. It enjoyed the focus on the friendship and their growth over the sub plot of romantic attachment, just as it was about their friendship and them trying to find themselves was truly impactful. More so the acting was fabulous.

The 2024 adaptation on love in the big city disappoints by falling back into overused Korean Drama clichés. The adaptation loses lot of emotional complexity anf depth that make the original novel impactful. While the two main actors have a solid performance, the film relies too heavily on predictable scenes and tropes. These elements undermine the story of the film and make it falling into a Korean drama clichés. The film misses the chances to explore more potential about showing the depth of the novel and the lgbt+ themes in more nuanced ways instead it opted for a tiring long film that falls into slow rythm.