The Time of Fever - Definitely a prequel; no doubt about it.
Production - 2/2
Writing - 2/2
Acting - 2/2
Intimacy - 2/2
Music - 1/1
Special 10 scene - 1/1
Total rating score - 10/10
This movie gave me feelings similar to the ones I got from Your Name Engraved Herein and I Told Sunset About You. The chemistry was strong. The acting behind the portrayal of this story was so good that every emotion was palpable. They portrayed this coming of age story between high schoolers so well that the tension, desperate need of each others embrace, and love felt real and relatable; definitely not fairy-tale but stone cold reality. They managed to capture every nuance of young, timid, fragile, and oppressed gay love between two teenagers within a conservative society.
Make no mistake this movie did what only a few recent K-BLs have done; it broke barriers and tested limits in how conservative K-BL romances can be when it comes to kisses. You felt their kisses to the pit of your stomach with how hungry the kisses were but also how apprehensive they were.
The acting was excellent. The actors seemed to have had a solid understanding of the characters they were playing and thus brought those characters' feelings out on screen in such a raw manner.
For me there were at least 3 special 10 scenes but the one that hooked me the most was them saying goodbye when Dong Hee was leaving for university. That hug, what Dong Hee said and the tears were a wicked combination to cause the audience to experience the emotions with the characters.
Now, the ending was just perfect for the story to pick up in Unintentional Love Story. I want a third and final instalment of their story to see how they progress beyond the open ending we were left with in Unintentional Love Story. A special episode would be lovely.
I always feel good giving out 10s and this time is no different. There are so many songs I want to quote to close this review but at this moment I cannot find any of them adequate enough to capture the emotions that were poured out on screen just now so just know that this movie has made its way on the best K-BLs of 2024 list; easily!