This review may contain spoilers
STORY: I really liked the cute, little moments that made up their lives, and that they were added throughout the film. It definitely conveyed the love they had for each other, that even in the middle of a crisis, they took time to reaffirm their love for one another. That's just so nice, something a lot of other BL dramas get wrong or miss out on.ACTING/CAST: The fact that the kisses were cute and not two-straight-actors-making-kissing-look-awkward. It's something other series could learn from. It came across that they had been together for some time and weren't afraid to be intimate. (my big gripe against other shows that still make the boys all coy when it comes to intimacy)
MUSIC: There's a theme, but frankly I forgot it already.
REWATCH VALUE: I will watch it again, now that I know the ending was happy.
OVERALL: My only fault with the story is that it's so short. The ending is a bit abrupt and rushed. I would have liked to see a bit more of the brother's motives and coming around, instead of just the phone call. As always, please support the studio and watch their other stuff so they keep making the best Korean BL!
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This review may contain spoilers
A brother's visit disrupts an established couple's life
Overall: It's so refreshing to see an established couple instead of the pursuit part of a relationship. I wish this was a whole series (but that they don't pretend to be roommates for too long). The couple can become more spontaneous/carefree and the brother can learn to be more responsible/pick up after himself.Content Warnings: none?*
What I Liked
- an established couple
- the sound effects and music enhanced the story
- I laughed at several parts like the suitcase falling down the stairs, the brother listening in at the door, etc.
- always happy to see supplies for safe sex :)
Room For Improvement/Questions
- disliked when the brother *slapped his brother, it's fine to be angry but don't punch/slap people and he didn't even apologize
- I wish the phone conversation at the end was a bit more clear, I think "couple" was supposed to be translated to "partner" or "boyfriend" (the later would have made things very clear)
- is a 1 bedroom apartment in Seoul only $420 USD per month? Or maybe Taeho is paying less than half? Or is it a subtitle error?
- did I miss the reference to another Strongberry film? I noticed that "Sweet Curse" has a reference to "Some More" which has a reference to "Long Time No See" which has a reference to the Strongberry website... It's always fun to spot the references.
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1This review may contain spoilers
Lovely, With Heart-Warming Plot Twist.
The plot twist is easily missed because the translation of a word at the end is ambiguous in English! When the word "couple" is said during a phone call, think of it as "life partner" or "romantic partner". That will clarify the twist. This is based on Stongberry's (the production company) responses to viewer's comments here & on other platforms.20min. Loved this, only wish there was more, but it ends at a good spot. The 2 leads actually interact like an established couple. It's realistic and so cute/sweet. The arrival of the brother leads to both humorous and emotional moments. The twist at the end made me rewatch the film immediately and I enjoyed it even more!
Yes, the brother is rude and annoying when he arrives, but there IS a reason for this that the shift in perspective at the end explains. (Details under "spoilers" below, but I highly recommend watching the movie first.)
A nice comment from Strongberry on Vimeo said, "Sometimes we argue, but I think trying to understand each other is a true family. This movie wanted to show that kind of family."
Watch the movie first, then, if you still want clarification on why the brother acts as he does, I've shortly explained it then pasted another viewer's comment below that summarizes the situation AND Strongberry's response confirming it:
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SPECIFIC SPOILERS
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At first, the brother is rude on purpose to test out his brother's partner. At the end, a month has passed and the way all three of them walk up the hill with arms around each other shows they have grown a strong comaraderie, which indicates the brother doesn't stay unlikable.
Comment by estar:
"This was so sweet - especially when u get to the end and u "get" that the mother and brother know all along, and are just checking up on the big-brother's partner to make sure he is an "ok" worthy person. Yeah at the start Yeong Min is a total abrasive brat, that u wanna punch - but "getting" that he's not being a d*ck just to be a d*ck, it was a sweet conclusion to a otherwise fun, well thought out plot."
Response by Strongberry:
"...You have a good grasp of the meaning of this movie. Thank you."
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This review may contain spoilers
Entertaining, lighthearted short
The premise doesn't sound all that original at first: a gay couple pretend to be roommates when one of their brothers visits. But if you are expecting the short film to be about the couple trying all sorts of ways to hide their relationship until they give up and come out, you would be wrong.The couple is loving and cute throughout, and their relationship isn't strained by one getting upset with the other because they have to hide the relationship. This makes them really sweet and lovable. In a way, the joke is on them (not in a cruel or nasty way) because, ultimately, they don't realize that they really do no need to hide their relationship. This is also a way of making the statement that a gay couple can be a perfectly normal, loving couple, and the stigmatization of gay relationships is really unfortunate.
A good, lighthearted short film that doesn't pretend to be deep or anything. It's simply entertaining and cute.
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This review may contain spoilers
The nasty & rude brother's intrusion to a couple's happy and peaceful life.
That was short—freaking short! It could honestly run for another 20 mins or two and I would never ever mind. It was a cliffhanger in the most annoying way possible, I would say. I almost didn't even enjoy that... It felt like I brush my teeth longer than this extremely-short film.Anyways, I still wanna say that I enjoyed this short film a lot. I find it really amusing how K-BL industry is now more open when it comes to providing us with this level of interactions and intimacy.
Kissing Scenes was surprisingly intense... something I didn't really expect at first. Although I've known that the past few years has really brought great changes to the industry; but I kind of still wasn't expecting this to be at 'that' level.
Nonetheless, I'm still highly satisfied on this short-project and I'm also hoping to get an extended version of it somehow.
P.S. I'm really curious whether the brother got a hint already of their relationship. Cause I'm sure as hell he already did.
Story - 9.5, Nothing was actually bad about this. Aside from the fact that it was agonizingly short. This would've been perfect if it was really a bit longer. Gosh!
Acting/Cast - 9.5, Kim Jaeheung did really great. Like there's no hint of any awkwardness shown throughout his portrayal. Park Jongho on the otherhand felt a bit unstable and inconsistent. Specially with the slapping scene. I find that very awkward. While, Kim Hyunjoon did quite good. Facial emotion's on point.
Music - 9.0, The sounds used are actually quite decent. Find them really compatible with the cute scenes. But nothing just really left a lasting impression for me (most probably because it's very short already and they don't wanna waste anymore time just to play some actual songs). It was like a good dream I immediately forgot after I suddenly woke up.
Rewatch Value - 9.5, I'll probably watch it again since it doesn't really waste any of my time. I just wanna avoid the disappointed I have had when it suddenly displayed the ending credits.
Overall - 9.0, This short-film truly delivers. If we're looking on how they address same-sex couples reaction when someone unaware of their sexuality suddenly barges in to mess things up in their happy life, then they really did great. I was just dissatisfied on the fact that they spent time to create this only to left the viewers hanging. Above anything else, this one's a Must Watch still.
IF you find my review helpful please let me know.
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The way the character of the younger brother behaved, I found it less likeable at first, and as an older brother I would have slapped him. But I respect the story. Otherwise, everything else was ok, even slightly funny at the end.
Jak se chovala postava mladšího bratra, tak to mi bylo zezačátku takové méně sympatické a jako starší brácha bych mu nafackoval. Ale respektuji příběh. Jinak vše ostatní bylo ok, na závěr i mírně vtipné
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