In an age in which a film such as Brokeback Mountain wins Oscars and a John Waters musical is remade into a Hollywood summer blockbuster, No Regrets shouldn't raise any eyebrows. The film revolves around two men - one the scion of an industrialist, the other a village boy working as an escort - whose relationship is ripped apart when the former is married off by his family. There's nothing terribly outre about the story. What makes the success of No Regrets so surprising is that it became a hit in its home market of South Korea, where homosexuality is still taboo and on-screen gay characters are conspicuous by their absence. Although audiences flocked to The King and the Clown (about a monarch's relationship with an androgynous male jester), it's set at a safe remove from present- day reality. No Regrets has been hailed as South Korea's first gay feature from a gay filmmaker. But Leesong Hee-il (right) had already made a short with a similar plot five years earlier. In Sugar Hill, his second film, Leesong tells the story of Kim and Lee, gay lovers who are split up when Kim is pressed into an arranged marriage. Kim facilitates the marriage of his sister to Lee to keep his ex-boyfriend in the family. But there's no comedic, happy ending. Instead, it's heartbreak for all. Leesong, who made his first short film in 1998, is now seen as one of South Korea's indie stalwarts and his shorts have won critical acclaim on the festival circuit. Good Romance - made a year after Sugar Hill, about a 33-year-old woman's relationship with an 18-year-old she meets online - won an award at the Vancouver film festival, while La Traviata - about a woman trying to find her late husband's lover - was in competition at the Pusan and Seoul festivals. Leesong's training as a sociologist is evident in No Regrets. He says he made the film 'to explore the themes of desire and class', with two characters from opposite ends of the socio-economic spectrum coming to terms with their sexuality in different circumstances and in different ways. But whatever choices they have, Leesong once again offers no fairytale ending. No Regrets, Hong Kong Arts Centre, ends Sept 30; Leesong Hee-il's early short films, Sept 12, 9.50pm, Broadway Cinematheque (IndPanda film festival)
