Love in the Big City (2024)

Meravigliosa!

"Love in the Big City" è una serie che cattura l’essenza dell’amore in una metropoli frenetica e vibrante. La serie esplora le sfide, le gioie e i dolori delle relazioni in una città che sembra non dormire mai.
Ciò che colpisce di "Love in the Big City" è il modo in cui riesce a bilanciare momenti di profonda riflessione e sentimenti con situazioni divertenti e scene che fanno sorridere, offrendo allo spettatore un’esperienza emotiva completa. Il gruppo dei quattro amici è veramente fantastico.
Le interpretazioni degli attori sono assolutamente notevoli: ognuno porta una naturalezza e una sincerità che rendono i personaggi credibili, soprattutto quella di Nam Yoon Su è stata superba.
Nam Yoon Su riesce a portare sullo schermo una profondità emotiva rara, mescolando vulnerabilità e carisma in un modo che cattura immediatamente lo spettatore. La sua capacità di esprimere le sfumature dell’amore, della confusione e della crescita personale è impressionante, rendendo il suo personaggio incredibilmente realistico e facile da amare. In ogni scena, l’attore dimostra una presenza magnetica che mantiene alta l’attenzione, sia nei momenti più romantici che in quelli di introspezione.
Uno degli aspetti che rendono "Love in the Big City" davvero speciale è la sua capacità di rappresentare l’amore in tutte le sue sfumature: passione, tenerezza, incomprensioni, tristezza, mancanza...

PS
Questa serie è meraviglia! È stata una continua onda di emozioni.
Le mie altissime aspettative sono state superate. L'ho guardato tutto di un fiato.
Nan Yoon Su è stato superlativo nella sua interpretazione. Ho adorato il rapporto d'amicizia fra quei 4.
La relazione che ho amato di più è quella con Gyu Ho, quella di meno con quel bacchettone di un filosofo...grrrr

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Cazzo che bello

L'ho guardata in un giorno e non ho saltato neanche un pezzo. La storia ti prende da morire sono saltata dalla sedia tantissime volte per non parlare dei pianti che ho versato. Un episodio è cosi pieno di emozioni che pensi che l'episodio sia durato molto di piu' . Tratta argomenti seri in maniera veritiera. Cazzo se oddio quanto sto povero attore debba subire insulti omofobici, è una serie fatta benissimo, vincerebbe anche molti premi se la società coreana non fosse così omofobica. Spero che questo attore raggiunga successi enormi perchè selo merita proprio. Bravissimi anche gli altri protagonisti che hanno esposto personaggi molto differenti tra loro; ho avuto emozioni diverse per ognuno di loro.

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Learning to Accept Love and Live Without Regret

The story was written quite well I feel and overall had solid acting from all characters, major or minor. In a time where many k-dramas feel they have grown formulaic, this one felt fresh in many episodes. I felt that it had a strong strong and somewhat flat but overall appropriate ending for the story's meaning and purpose. The few qualms I have with the drama are easily ignored as it truly shines with Go Young's internal monologue and how it never drops the original meaning it wants to convey.

I'm truly glad that the ending did not result in a rush to mend Go Young's love life with the perfect guy and end off with a happily ever after. The eight-episode format as well significantly improves the drama's quality and its ability to convey all it has to say in a timely manner. By the end, it was nice to see Go Young grow as a person and understand that while he has changed so much from all his experiences with love, he's still learning. However, he doesn't let his regrets consume him by the end, whereas a more naive version of himself may have.

However, as mentioned earlier, there are a few minor points where the story can feel a bit weak. Particularly, Go Young's friend group's hangouts occasionally. While I'm glad they don't slowly disappear in screen time and the supporting characters have depth to them, it can feel empty watching some of the scenes and seeing nothing happen or be said. This is true with a lot of these pocketed scenes across the plot, where it feels like 5 minutes just passed by and nothing, even in the overall episode, was contributed.

But, again, all of these are more than made up for in the acting, the story overall, music and great depiction of a variety of gay men and how they'd actually interact.

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Yeong's worst enemy....

This series had me until episode 6 and then it just was a dull hum until the end. It's was a beautiful realistic story. One of the greatest joys was watching Yeong move from being self indulgent over exhuberent college kid to a self aware realist, a published writer. This is also the greatest sadness. He drew on his experiences, his environment and poured it into his writing. Along the way he lost his sparkle.

Gyu Ho and Nam Gyu both suffered the same fate. Yeong's inability to accept love without expectations caused him to lose two people who truly love him. It seems all his relationships were doomed due to his desire to have the razzle dazzle fireworks to continue throughout, without being able to accept the mundane. Only after they were over, would he be able to see what he truly lost and regretted. Not knowing his true self and his inability to be alone encouraged two relationships that should never have been. Habibi and Yeong Su came with hidden baggage, one abusive and the other just sad. Yeong Su lived in shadows and manipulated Yeong's niaivete to live in his internalized homophobia. Habibi, with a hidden wife and child, embarks on a journey with him, hoping to capture a bit of Yeong's sparkle to relieve his boredom. Seeing him too drunk and overworked, Yeong chooses himself and walks away. Both relationships were poor choices to facing a life of solitude and expected failures.

His mother is shown to have moved from denial, abhorring, to knowing, to minimally discussing. She doesn't accept his life but still loves her son.

The real charmers, the electricity powering his life, were his close group of friends and roomate Mi Ae. Yet, even with them, some bits of his life were closed. His HIV status is only shown to be discussed with Gyu Ho, who loved him enough to truly accept him as he is. Gyu Ho, after the cowardly way Yeong breaks up with him, never contacts him again. Though, through the bartender at their favorite spot, he let's Yeong know, he is still loved. Not yet ready to make any contact, in the end, it is his friends that he is seen enjoying the fireworks.

The story was beautifully told, and with flashbacks in the last two episodes, we get a fuller history of the reality of his best relationship, Gyu Ho. The sad part for me is that he began to let his status have an effect on him and as he took stock of his life, became more subdued. The last two episode felt like a gradual slide down from the high.

Every character was skillfully brought to life. Yeong was a free spirited over the top whitty self accepting non judgemental dreamer who was scared to dream and Nam Yoon Su killed it. This is a must see at least once.

Note to directors and editors at large:
Flashbacks: This is how it's supposed to be done. Ever flashback should reveal something new and actually propel the story being told.

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A Different Take On Love

I'm not really into BL dramas, but, this one got me curious and gave it a shot. First, I really like the realistic approach. As far as I've seen, Korean entertainment is starting to loosen up their conservative side in terms of doing this type of genre, which is a good move I may say.

For the story, I got hooked on the first 6 eps. of the story. It was a roller coaster of emotions. I honestly liked Go Young's character. Not only he is cute, literally, but has a pure heart as well. The friendship he made with Mi Ae was truly priceless. I really loved the strong bond between these two. Though, at the back of my mind, I was hoping they would notch up there friendship beyond sisters. Still, the bond remained inspite of pursuing their different track in their lives. And yes, Mi Ae's wedding was so heartwarming to see. The song between these sisters show how bonded they really are.

Go Young's squad was another epic characters in this drama. Having friends through thick and thin are truly priceless. I'm just not sure if he was able to open up with them about his sickness. As far as I remember, he was too cautious for them to learn about it after seeing their reactions of one person they know who was infected.

The sad fate of Go Young's mom was another heartwarming moment in this drama. Though, I know there are times that he needed to vent out by going out to the club with his friends while his mom was being taken care of by a caregiver. It just felt a bit off. Like, thinking his mom was suffering and there he was clubbing. But, yeah, as youthful as he is, probably that's really his way to ease out his burdens. It's just sad that he never admitted to his mom his preference but yeah, his mom learned about it through the photo and yes, when she gave her full savings to Young, it's a sign of her acceptance. Am sure it was a really tough decision for the mom knowing she's active in Church based on the background given.

And yes, for Go Young's series of relationships, the first cheater boyfriend who eventually gave him the virus on the latter part of the drama. And the very serious, Nam Gyu, the photographer who also ended up in a sad fate. In which, Young was really not into him. Then, there was Young So, the hideous activist. Really not the right partner for him, though he was very passionate with Go Young. The real deal Gyu Ho. I really liked how they met at the bar. and I think, GH was the one who truly cared for him. Accepted as who he was. Yet, they have different paths to take. I guess, their love for each other wasn't truly enough.
I was a bit confused with Habibi's character. He suddenly popped at the last 2 eps of the drama that felt drag for me. I probably missed how he met Habibi as I tried to forward some parts. Am not sure how he was related to Gyu Ho. And it seems he met him in a dating app I think or social media page, this I'm unsure of. But, his character seems just a filler towards the end. Nothing significant since he has a family and his work confused me as well. He is Japanese but speaks good English. He travels a lot I presume since they met in Korea and also in Thailand.

Anyways, the ending is just okay for me. But, not what I'm hoping for. The relationship of GY with his dad is another complicated story. Overall, it was a good drama. Actors absolutely nailed their roles specially, Nam Yoon Su. The steaminess in this drama were very well portrayed. It made me believe that it is their gender preference in real life. But like I said, the final 2 eps. simply drag for me. Lots of flashbacks of GY and GH that I find irrelevant since their not even getting back together.

This is really recommendable who's really in to BL dramas. Not really my cup of tea. But, the actors are truly commendable, honestly.

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Unenjoyable Art

This is ART, no doubt about it. Stellar acting, exquisite editing & script and gorgeous, breathtaking shots. This Korean BL shouldn't be called just a "BL". This is "the BL" of the year for sure. This is the result when the directors & scriptwriters finally took its audience seriously. It's a near-perfect series. Beautiful & honest. But as it stands, I could NOT wait for it to be over.

STORY & CHARACTERS: It's painful. The whole story. And no, I'm not talking about the heartwrenching scenes. I'm just saying that it drags. GOD, it drags. Painfully dull. I bet that the majority of the people here who rated this a perfect TEN for a rewatch would never watch this again. Because the story is all the same. It's a repetition of self-sabotage. The MC Yeong jumps from one guy to the other and sabotages the relationship himself. Honestly, it's one disappointment after the other. And here lies the pain. It's too realistic that it fails to be enjoyable anymore. I can't even root for the MC because he's a raging asshole. He' a hypercritical, pretentious coward who demands so much from his partners but in the end, he's the one who's going to run away. And I get that this is a drama and supposed to show an honest portrayal of relationships but it just feels dismal and almost cruel.

The ACTING is at least superb. I must say, the casting is so good. Everyone really stepped up to the plate. I just want to give Yeong's gay friends a shoutout too. They stole the spotlight for me. Their shenanigans are very entertaining and very real. Speaking of them, I should mention that whoever wrote the summary for this BL is tripping. What a misleading summary. Thought for sure the girl BFF, Mi Ae would be there for the MC throughout the whole series. Made it looked like she'll play a huge role too, but she was barely there.   She was not even there for Yeong's mother's funeral. Why put her in the summary at all? The summary should've mentioned Yeong's very loyal and wonderful gay friends instead! Not the hetero girl who barely did anything for Yeong. She even outed him just to save her boring-ass relationship with the judgmental guy.

MUSIC: Could not remember any memorable bg music or soundtrack for this BL because I must have fell asleep halfway thru. (Not kidding).

REWATCH: Obviously 1. Would not touch this again. It's not a waste of time. At least I learned something. There were a LOT of memorable quotes and nuances. The scriptwriter really did a great job with MC's lines and POV but they're not just enough for me to care at this point. MC should just be single forever. He's perfect alone. He has great talent and have such great friends. I don't know why he has to feel like he needs to be in a relationship just to feel happy or feel complete.

Bottomline: Most definitely NOT a love story. It's ART & a critical success for sure, but its hopeless and bleak, and awfully unenjoyable. It's like a painting you'd admire for its details but will never keep.

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Passionate romance that heteros don't get

Most heterosexual plots simply don't get an exclusive passionate romantic plots like this one. They usually have a bunch of other things going on and a bit of romance thrown in. Not here. The focus is on the ML and his journey to discovering love and himself. And it does make me a tad envious because they really don't beat around the bush in Love in the Big City. They explore friendships which are mostly wholesome and endearing.

The show is not all roses and sunshine though. There are some dark topics explored. However, most of the show tries to be positive because the male lead is a cheerful individual making the best of difficult circumstances. Maybe even a little toxic positivity that can be frustrating or concerning for others around him at times.

The beginning few episodes were funny and enjoyable but somewhere towards the end, the show started to feel slow and dull. Not sure if that was intentional. Overall the characters and situations are mostly realistic.

I wasn't too happy about the way the series ended especially since the last 2 or 3 episodes weren't as interesting.

The opening theme is nice but the OST in particular did not stand out to me.

For the most part it is an easy binge watch with good cinematography, interesting characters, good acting and a job well done by Nam Yoon Su.

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A Vivid Portrayal of Queer Struggles against Heteronormative Society

“With or without it, you’re still you.”

I should warn you now: this review may not make much sense. I’ve just finished Love in the Big City, and my thoughts and feelings are a bit scattered. But isn’t that what Love in the Big City is all about? It’s about thoughts, regrets, and emotions that seem all over the place, yet somehow come together in a relatable and bittersweet culmination of life’s chaotic realizations.

Adapted from Park Sang Young’s novel, Love in the Big City is less a love story and more a journey of finding peace and acceptance with yourself and your circumstances. It follows Ko Yeong (Nam Yoon Su), a gay man navigating multiple relationships, from his best friend Choi Mi Ae (Lee Soo Kyung) to his mother Eun Suk (Oh Hyun Kyung) to his lovers—Kim Nam Gyu (Kwon Hyuk), No Young-Soo (Na Hyun-Woo), and Gyu Ho (Jin Ho Eun)—all while coming to terms with his HIV diagnosis, which he refers to as “Kylie.”

It’s a story about failure, success, and facing the parts of yourself that’s been through both.

Read the complete article here-

https://the-bl-xpress.com/2024/10/23/love-in-the-big-city-series-review-ep-1-to-8/

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An okay drama that could've been better

This "queer" story falls short of the heights of excellence. Among its flaws, none are as detestable as the violation of a gay male space (a gay club) by a "straight" identifying woman (31:59 of episode 1). The sanctity of a gay male space is not to be disturbed, it's a space for men of like mind and heart to be unabashed in their same-sex desires, away from the harsh gaze of the heteronormative society. Entering a single-sex space with the intention of pursuing someone of the opposite sex to carry back to one’s bed reveals a lack of understanding of, and respect for, the space's true purpose

What was that sudden, unceremonious reference to HIV? HIV isn't a gay disease and a character's sexuality doesn't warrant the inclusion of HIV in a storyline

The doctor's assumption that the main character's HIV was sexually transmitted is inconsistent with his assertion that the chances of transmitting HIV through sex are low (39:50 of episode 5). The main character's life was unaffected by the disease, and there was no reason why he should be among the rare cases of sexual transmission. HIV is being used for dramatic effect

The narrative device of "straight" identifying female characters befriending gay male characters and becoming the medium through which gay stories are told is tiresome and troubling. Why a "straight" identifying woman, and not a gay woman, a fellow member of the community who shares the same struggles and experiences of discrimination? Can't a gay woman and a gay man get along and be depicted as friends for once?

The conclusion isn't a happily ever after; it's more of an anticlimactic question mark, tinged with the bitterness of an uncertain future. Sad or open endings are a trademark of most "queer" stories, their writers seem to have a vendetta against gay happiness

I find greater comfort and warmth in BLs/gay stories that celebrate the joy of the romantic fulfillment and validation denied to gay couples. They surpass their sad or open-ended "queer" counterparts

Although "Love in the Big City" isn't a masterpiece, its depiction of a gay person's life prevents me from rating it too low. I've decided on a score of 8 that acknowledges the value and the flaws of the story

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A Journey Too Late

This was originally 2 different comments I made on the message board that I have slightly reformatted to make a review. I get it lacks some of my normal wordsmithing and is brief, but it gets the job done easily enough.

Watched entirely in 1 sitting starting at realease time to around 6:30 am in the morning in my neck of the woods. I wont go too in depth here.

So let's quickly breeze over the strengths.

Great acting, good intimacy, some strong chemistry, appropriate realistic skinship, 3 dimensional characters, some real-world struggles, heartbreaking moments, and adorably cute moments. Directing was strong, cinematography solid, texture and feel to the series was complete and both realistic yet simutaneously dreamlike. Hour long episodes in a Netflix-like 8 episode dosing with a decent budget and a cast with some recognizable faces and not just no-name-this-is-their-start actors.

I do want to interject here that our main lead Nam Yoon Su gives an outstanding performance. He brings the character to life and doesnt hold back allowing our Ko/Go Young to be a fully realized being. He should be proud of his performance, and more than any role he has yet had, shows his acting chops.

I also want to give a shout-out to the deft Jin Ho Eun. He is a true chameleon on screen. He has a sturdy list of shows under his belt and has skillfully shown how to be both a monster to, as in this series, a cute as a button bright eyed engenue. I feel he is overlooked a lot as he has delivered strong performances one after another and again doesnt dissapoint here. I also am happy to see him in a role that actually highlights how attractive he can be.

HOWEVER, it has some flaws and shortcomings which hold it back from being an exceptional experince. Which I'll list in a spoiler tab below. Thus, it's held back from being great to instead being a solid good show. It is worth your time but its real world approach and overall sad and depressing ambiance and general story will keep it from being most peoples favorite or go to series.


BELOW WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS

The flaws:

1) Usage of time.

There are a lot of missteps in how the 8 episodes covers almost 10 years of the main characters life. This is aggrivated by how they break the story into 2 episode mini stories, thus the 8 episodes tell 4 different love/encounters. Making large swaths of time defaulted and inserted inbetween the blackout of 1 story and the fade in of the next.

Since they only have 8 episodes many of the significant relations come and go very quickly and are delt with too clean and neatly. Our main character's relationship with Mi Ae seems little more than a blip on the radar with no lasting significance. Same goes with the loss of his complicated relationship with his mother, who if you add up the time jumps had a very slow march towards death over at least 3 years. The main characters childhood is told in blink or your miss it clips that bring up some serious trauma and issues that are mostly left unexplored or dealt with but seem just to be reasons for his bahavior, sadness, and state-of-mind.

Also, the clothing, accessories, look of the world and characters doesnt change from begining to end...which for a decade of time...especially for hip 20something city boys, is not realistic.

The final 2 episodes are dreamlike in their delivery and feel like a very different show compared to the previous 6 which make it a pain point that this is where we end our journey with these characters. In a weird sexual depression fever dream while having an affair with a married man who takes our lead to various hotels around the world while he recalls the love of a relationship he had ended, as far as i could tell less than a year ago, these episodes are supposed to symbolize the end of this era in our leads life, but they are so whimsical and non-concrete, it comes off more like a mental exercise than true substantial growth and a solid seal to this slice of our pritagonists life. The relationship that plays in our Go Yeoung's mind didnt yet seem to hold the gravity and importance it should as it was still very fresh. Youd expect this type of story after many years have expired and with age you look back and realize that was love and you lost it. The wisdom of old age making you see your regrets. It was further exacerbated by the relationship being mere minutes ago in the viewers mind as we had just spent 2 episodes moving through it begjning to end and seeing many of the scenes already...again a failure of how they use time

2) Stunted emotions and growth.

Possibly it was just the time limit but a lot of the emotions came and went with the wind. Like mentioned above in the time problem, it bleeds over here into a stunted growth and emotional problem. Our main lead has many revelations but changes very little of himself due to them. He deals with major life altering hurtles, death of a lover, death of his mother, suicide, and of course contracting HIV, but all of it comes in a scene and leaves in the next. This could be a societal issue, yet other Korean shows do not operate as such. This could be a character issue, but then the whole point of the show is about the emotional and mental growth of our lead andnwhat he wants and expects out of life which makes this here then gone approach to the story feel misplaced. It may be the fault of the writer of the original work or the writer of this adaption, as in they all have Peter Pan complexes, much like our lead, and thus do not know how to write true explorations of healing, moving through trauma, overcomming, and changing ones life. Instead its shed some tears then run to the bar and get trashed and then never talk about or deal with it again. Its solved, the emotions were let out...

It makes a lot of the issues, which are devstating and hefty, feel skin deep and easily managable. When he is driven to suicide by a toxic closeted self hating lover while trying to mend the broken relationship of his mother dying from cancer who has the same Christian damnation outlook on him...it grows until he tries to check out...but then wakes up saved, gives a thumb heart to his friends, and then moves on never talking about it again. Like well he didnt die...lets go get drunk....and party. And this his how the show handles every truly emotional milestone. As if acknowledging it happened is the same as healing through it.

3) The HIV card....

It is the gay plague after all...even though world wide, it is more prevelant in heterosexuals than homosexuals since the late 90s...but still this is a gay story, we must have HIV.

For Korea, and where they currently are on LGBTQ+ representation and stories, as well as real laws and overall societal view of homosexuals, I can see how having a realistic story that represents the trails of a realistic homesexual and what he faces including the taboo HIV seems bold and groundbreaking....

As a westerner this is 30 to 40 years too late...this whole series was reminiscent of a 90s gay story. From the film Jeffrey to the show Queer as Folk to even the 80s independent film (which too has a splattering of famous male leads) Longtime Companion. Let alone award winning Angels in America...which is currently being performed by famous Korean actors in Seoul as I type this.

At least they didnt make him die in the end.

But Korea has had films, that have dealt with these themes already, and are much older, let alone the western stories that can be watched. It made the story seem archaic and out of place. Made too late.

This is exacerbated by the fact the story would not have changed at all, if the character DIDN'T have HIV. It affects nothing. It is even brought in only half way through as an almost suprise twist. His contracting it is a brief monologue. He tells only 1 person that he even has it, he has no health issues because of it. It does not cause him to loose any relationship or sexual encounter. And it is little more than a plot point. Thus, simply having him NOT have it was an option as its only point is for him to say its with me till i die. Again it feels superficial and a stunted and an unneeded poor use. Thus, just as point 1 bleed into point 2, now point 2 bleeds into this point 3.

Last note on this, the way they introduce the HIV was confusing..as in did he contract it between his mothers dying and meeting this new boy. But then he meets the boy on the night of his mothers funeral. And it has only been 1 year since his last relationship...and then he says hes had it for 5 years...and then your like...did i miss a time jump...there are alot of them...and then you relaize wait...this happened b4 the show started. Hes been HIV positive since the first frame. And it slowly sinks in that you watched him have sex with mutliple partners and carryon two meaningful relationships without telling anyone involved that he is HIV positive. He then has more partners and doesnt tell them...this weirdly, at least for me, makes the HIV have a detrimental effect on the character. This is a serious sexually transmuted disease and he selfishly and irresponsibly goes around and does whatever he wants while hiding it so he wont be stigmatized or ostricized. He pretends....and it kinda makes him a really bad person.

8.0 = B+, 4-Stars. A solid all around entry that will likely not disappoint.

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