etoks21

I feel you. THIS is exactly how I felt the first time I watched this film. Blown away by the final reel.
I just watched a second time, wondering how it would effect me, since I'd go in knowing the ending already. Of course, most of the suspense was gone, but knowing beforehand made many of the scenes throughout the movie leading up to that revelation much more meaningful and powerful.

I think it's a very good movie, but there are a couple of plot holes.

An autopsy on Jo Woo's body would reveal the presence of semen in his butt, assuming the counselor climaxed while he was smothering him. Thus, it would reveal he was being molested, and dna would indicate none of the guys who beat him up were the rapist.
If there was no semen, trauma to the anus and rectum would reveal forcible sex at least, though it wouldn't prove who the culprit was.

I find it hard to believe that the counselor's gloved hand over Joo Wo's mouth and nose during sex would be sufficient to deprive him of all air/oxygen, plus he didn't have his hand there very long. People don't die of oxygen deprivation after 30 seconds.
Plus, the counselor pulled his hand away at that time. At most, Joo Wo would have passed out, not died.
Perhaps we're to believe trauma from the earlier beating combined with the brief oxygen deprivation killed him. Either way, that element should have been better written/directed to be believable.

How did the friend know what was going on with the counselor/Joo Wo, and why didn't he tell Il wo a lot sooner?

I say and ask these things in response to your statement that the film includes a "...meticulously made story." It's a powerful film with some great acting and intense scenes, but it's far from meticulously told.

I think the friend DID tell Ilwoo about the sex thing. That's why Ilwoo went nuts and tried to break through the bars AND the plexiglass at the prison to get at the counselor when he came to visit him.

ugh. 15 hours of gay-bait, satin pajamas and flying around in the air.

Dropped.

1/10

Does anyone else out there think Geun Woo took his own life also? I base this on the scene near the end in which he has his driver drop him off on a beachfront sidewalk. He is wearing a black suit, indicating this is happening immediately following the funeral. The driver gets out of the car, comes to GW, bows to him and gives him a hug before driving off. Then GW starts walking on the sidewalk along the fence separating it from the beach and the scene ends.

I think he drowned himself, which is probably how JH also took his life. In an earlier scene, the camera follows JH from close behind for quite a distance as he walks down to, and then around, a curve in a street. He pauses. And looks slightly to the left. What he sees is what appears to be some kind of industrial area and a cluttered field on the edge of town. I made sure to look into the distance this time but saw no water.

What makes me think JH drowned himself is that later scene with GW, which I describe above. It would make sense for him to go out the same way as his beloved did. Thoughts?

Korea has the highest rate of suicide among industrialized nations in the entire world. Plenty of those suicides are of gay people. Korean society is still generally homophobic in 2023. But yeah, let's help nudge that tragic fact under the rug by not including it in any form of art, especially films. And if a film that includes a suicide in its story somehow gets made anyway, by all means, let's not watch it. Let's pretend gay Koreans don't kill themselves with sad regularity. Let's think happy thoughts instead. That will definitely help.

Art often mirrors reality. A high rate of suicide among gay Koreans is still a reality in 2023, just as it was in 2017 when this film was made. Pretending otherwise is not just lame, it erases the problem and actively enables gay suicide in Korea.

Loving that these two are so different in appearance, age, skin tone, hair color, facial characteristics, height, human/divine, quiet/outspoken, sullen/outgoing, on and on. This yin/yang thing adds depth to their evolving relationship. I like it. The rest of the show is good too. Bringing in a seasoned actor in Uesugi Shuhei was a brilliant casting choice. He is far from being your standard BL pretty boy, which is refreshing. His excellent acting lends authenticity to this situation, which is why I don't mind the silly angel/heaven/moral angle. I'm just willingly riding with it.


Complaint: When Angel wears the hoodie to go out in public, there is no sign whatsoever that his wings are gathered together against his back. Under the sweatshirt, his back is as flat as yours or mine. What gives with this ridiculous oversight on the part of the director and costumer? I considered it might be a deliberate device of some kind, but can come up with no reason whatsoever that Angel's wings completely disappear when he puts on the hoodie. There should be a hump there on his back, and there isn't one, and it's annoying. How could they miss this? Feathers fell from Angel's wings in the alleyway, except that there are clearly NO wings on his back for feathers to fall from. Weird oversight or laziness. Don't get it.

What makes this fluff-fest, with all its cliches and tropes work so powerfully for me is actually pretty simple: Writing/direction/acting. Dialogue is believable, but also moving and funny at times. The director knows what they're doing, and the resulting acting from both leads is truly spectacular, especially considering this is a BL. These seem like real people, who are experiencing emotions from laughter to joy to tears, and all of it shows on their faces and in their bodies, but especially in their eyes.

Hsiao Hung is one in a million. A uniquely gifted and charming performer. I hope to be seeing a lot more of him as his career progresses.

It's impressive to me what the actors, director, and writers accomplished during the 12 minute BL idols romance in part 2 of the first episode.
The characters felt firmly established within a couple minutes, their interplay and relationship became clear, and then there was really exceptional acting and connection between the two of them during dialogue, followed by one of the best, fully-clothed BL make-out sessions of all time. :D

BRAVO!

I wish I could rate just that part. I would give it a 9.5/10.

nah. lol I don't care about the straight parts. But no more BL segments?

Thank you. Where are you watching? The site I went to only has the last 12 min, or ep. 2, I guess? Would this be because that's the only gay part?

I don't argue with 13-year-old fangirls.
No one said you don't have a right to your opinion. However, people-me included-have a right to disagree and to tell you exactly why we disagree. If you can't handle that, don't share your opinions. People might respond with THEIR opinions.
I watched part of this show. It's ridiculously bad. I think you know that, but are an OOO (whoever that is) fangirl, so you're pushing it anyway.
That is my opinion, and I just shared it with you, just as you shared yours.

Enjoy your delusions.

Could someone please enlighten me on the format of this series?
Above details say 8 eps of 25 minutes each, but blparadise has 12 minutes of "episode 2" and nothing else.
What gives?
Speaking of which, that's some of the hottest/sweetest BL kissing I've seen. Yum.

SO good.
The little boy actor broke my heart wide open in one scene about half-way through.
Yoo Ah In is beyond excellent, as is Kim Byeong Seok in his crucial supporting role.

Highly recommended.

9/10

So do you have a list of favorite BLs?

Really? I'm surprised by that, given our exchange on the MDL page of that fluffy Japanese series I dropped.

Yep, very wrong. The lead is as straight as can be. The gay character is a supporting role played by Matsuzaka Tori.

Good god, woman. It's 4am there. Go to bed. :D lol

I dropped this during the first episode.

Well, as you may already know, the tags on MDL are ridiculously inaccurate and subjective. People list all kinds of things that are either hardly there or not there at all, plus tons of spoilers disguised as "tags." I have long wished MDL would put tags behind a "tag" button. Then people who want to see them can do so, but others won't have a list of spoilers staring at them as they consider whether or not to take in a series or movie.

In this particular case, Piece of Cake is lgbtq only in so far as Matsuzaka's supporting character is a gay coworker of the FL who does drag in theatrical productions. He and the fact that he's gay is not a focus of the film but he's great in the role and I wish there had been lot more of him and a lot less of the FL.

What are you talking about? Who said anything about "nc" scenes?

Did someone say a show has to have "nc scenes" in order to qualify as a BL? Not me. I am curious as to why you immediately jump to some assumption related to sex scenes...do you have a hangup about sex scenes? There are very few BLs with actual "sex" scenes in them anyway. The vast majority of them suggest sex will or did happen, and leave the rest to the viewer's imagination. If you know of BLs with real "sex scenes," please share the titles with me. I'd like to see that.

You object to people "saying this wasn't a BL at all," indicating to a reasonable person that you see it AS a BL, indicating you "judge" it to be a BL. Every viewer of every show ever made makes "judgments" about its content and how they feel about it. Kind of comes with the territory of being an audience member. lol

So yeah, of course, if it's tagged as LGBTQ and gay, gay, gay, it probably ought to be those things.

Who said anything about you not being able to "put up your views?" It wasn't me.

Now I'm curious as to who you're even responding to, since most of your reply responds to things I never said.