As three childhood friends grow up, their relationship changes as one splinters off to join a gang leaving “Yong-ju” (Kwak Si-yang) in the lurch and “Gi-Taek” (Jun-ha Choi) being bullied. “Yong-ju” has a bigger problem, though, and that is his affection for his erstwhile pal and the now leader of this pack “Gi-woong” (Jae-Joon Lee) whom he loves from the shadows. With pressure mounting on the young man to get the grades needed for university and his hormones raging, he starts to take risks that soon get spotted by the manipulative “Seong-jin” (Chang-hwan Kim) who sows seeds of destruction and exclusion that are to violently strain loyalties and perhaps forge a new understanding between the two in the face of some fairly obnoxious homophobia. On the face if it, this is just another story of teenage, angst-ridden, unrequited love - but both leading men deliver quite authentic performances as their conflict within themselves, with each other and with their malevolent schoolmates all gradually and quite poignantly come to an head. It’s a story about acceptability, sure, but it’s also one about personality, choices and fear - and though maybe a little slowly paced, it does show just how toxic school life can be for boys struggling to find their own identity amidst a sea of hostility, conformity and even a little jealousy. There’s romance here, but as far distant from an Hollywood style as you are likely to encounter and if you like films that don’t mince their words as they depict coming-of-age from a grittier perspective, then this is a well-acted and potently written example that’s well worth a look.
