By Nathan Sartain
For his first exploration of homosexual eroticism, Min Kyu-dong added plenty of shock value into “Antique Bakery,” one of the more intriguing pieces of gay cinema. An adaptation of a Japanese manga of the same name, this feature-length flick was invited to the Berlin International Film Festival, rightly causing some subtle praise.
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Jin-hyeok (Ju Ji-hoon) has a fear of cakes. So, it comes as quite the surprise that when some family pressure is applied for him to “settle down,” his first port of call is to instead request that he opens a bakery. Why? Well, Jin-hyeok is under the impression that his customers will all be female, and he can attract his potential true love through delicious cakes.
However, if that fails to pique your interest, there is a catch. Self-confessed “gay of demonic charm, Min Seon-woo (Kim Jae-wook) has the ability to make anyone fall in both love and lust with him. Rejected by resident owner Jin-hyeok back in their school days after a disastrous rooftop confession, Seon-woo forms part of the all-male staff at the bakery as the pâtissier, still somewhat attracted to his childhood crush. Joined in short time by a former boxer, Yang Ki-beom (Yoo Ah-In) who serves as an apprentice, and the hilariously clueless bodyguard/waiter – and childhood “friend” of Jin-hyeok's – Nam Su-yeong (Choi Ji-ho), and it isn't long before the small group of men start to form quite the buzz about the new cake shop, Antique, in their relatively tranquil neighbourhood.
Throw into the mix a tragic kidnapping, a French ex-lover who yearns to rekindle some remnants of romance by head-hunting the pâtissier extraordinaire and plenty of eating, and you've just about covered all the ingredients of this feature length presentation.
Despite it sounding quite dilettantish, “Antique Bakery” somehow works. Min kyu-dong moulds a film that is frantic, with breakneck dialogue that sometimes has you tempted to reach for the remote to rewind. It is also heavy-handed, thanks to some clunky perpetuations of a stereotype that gays are more than pleased to sleep around freely. Additionally, it is clumsy, peppered with musical numbers sprinkled in without warning which, although fun, serve no real purpose. Yet it is still addictive. Despite its rough exterior and uncoordinated sparkle, the film still manages to have you laughing, invested in all of the flawed protagonists (if you can allow yourself to call them that), and somewhat charmed by the bursting visuals of old-fashioned decor and delicious cakes such as the Mont Blanc.
Although there is not a huge struggle any of the characters must face, there's still enough substance to get by without ever risking boredom. Jin-hyeok, despite his rough exterior and brash-mouthed vigour, is just desperate to find out how he ended up the way he did. Similarly, the man dubbed “Korea's representative homo,” Seon-woo, just wants to reconnect with an old comrade, all whilst sharing his love of desserts. While not everyone sees themselves developed to the extent in which they become undeniably likeable, there's a true to life, raw quality to all four workers which adds a tremendous extra layer to the film.
The acting helps, though. Although far from masterclasses, each main role is portrayed with a sense of finesse, adding depth and distinguishing features to their characters. Ju Ji-Hoon is near-perfect as a naive, emotionally burdened owner who can't quite figure out his past, or move forward in his future; Jae-Wook is tempestuous in his endearingly flamboyant personality, bringing vibrant life to his playboy role; Ji-Ho is flawless in his dim-witted delivery of gags which include setting fire to part of a kitchen, dropping bags of flour, and walking into places without invitation. More so than anyone else, however, it is Yoo Ah-In that stands out the most.
It might not be an opinion which shocks those who have seen him in feature-lengths such as “Burning”, or television gems like “Chicago Typewriter”, but the then fresh-faced actor brims with a youthful quality throughout “Antique Bakery”. An archetypal hot-head and former orphan, the actor gives real gravitas to his role as an overly emotional young man. Whether it's berating the oblivious Su-yeong, stuffing his face with leftovers or challenging his boss, there's a layered humour to his character, a grounded edge to his ill-temper and a subtly heart-warming story of finding a way to live a life after giving up on your dream.
To conclude, “Antique Bakery” is a film just as magnetic as it is awkward. An undeniably low-budget affair, with the grainy quality and bland decorations never particularly adding to the film, the reliance is instead on the professionally crafted cakes in which the actors trained in baking before filming commenced. There's still plenty of charm to have you engrossed though, and whilst it may mostly excel in its fluffy, ham-fisted humour as opposed to the more serious, genuine plot of a kidnapper who claims victims after feeding them cake, there is more bubbling under the surface. All four workers have things to work through from their past: lingering thoughts, experiences or feelings. Together, whether inadvertently or not, they manage to reach a fair equilibrium. Without really probing into a question of morals, director Min Kyu-dong moulds a warm, fuzzy flick which, just like when eating a cake, will effortlessly reduce stress.
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Absolutely loved this :)
Perfect blend of whimsical and a dash intense. It’s definitely realistic that Jin Hyuk and Sun woo didn’t end up together, it’d be missing the point which was to show how all the guys and their presences in each other’s lives helped them all get over their pasts.
Jin Hyuk got over his childhood kidnapping trauma and finally learned how to sustain good relationships. Maybe not with romantic interests at the moment but with the other guys, so naturally we can assume that in the future he might be able to tie a woman down. Sun woo not leaving him at the beginning was also a really big deal to him too, more than he wanted to accept and because of all those events he started being more accepting, less homophobic and started to see Sun woo regardless of his sexuality, like they showed at the end. I also love that even though the kidnapper they caught wasn’t necessarily the one that kidnapped him, even when he was faced with a possible description that matched his own kidnapper he was able to just let it go because he had healed from his unnatural obsession and trauma. Progress.
Body guard was finally able to live his own life after making sure Jin Hyuk who was basically like his younger brother became better. He also came to terms with his own mother’s abuse and continued with helping with the shop after boxer left, even after deciding Jin Hyuk was now better which means he probably loved it there too.
Sun woo didn’t seem to have anything wrong with him asides from being heart stoppingly sexy, but I personally think he came off a bit sad despite his numerous relationships. He almost killed himself too when Jin Hyuk insulted him for being gay in high school, so I think despite being extremely sexy and wanted by other men, he never really had a sense of belonging anywhere. The bakery and the guys gave him that sense of belonging which is why he chose them over his old boyfriend, money and his longed-for prada jeans. Because of his new sense of belonging, he stopped being so tense and more comfortable and even stopped being afraid of women which was probably partly influenced by his adulterous mother sleeping with the love of his life. This showed he was able to let that event and the thought that he was being promiscuous because his mom was promiscuous too, go. Bodyguard helped him come to terms with that when he got mad when Sunwoo carelessly said he deserves being promiscuous and getting beat up like that. More progress. And also some part of Sun woo could just never let Jin Hyuk go and I love how the movie leaves whether they get into an actual relationship up to the viewers and their imaginations. They were able to do this by leaving subtle hints Jin Hyuk might be gay too but just hadn’t come to terms with it yet. One of the ex girlfriends who complained about sex with him and the last scene where he says ‘What’s up Sun woo? You want us to go to a gay club? Sure, what the hell!’ So he may or may not be gay but that’s up to us to decide, the point of the movie was showing all of them getting over their pasts through each other’s help. Also want to add that Sun woo is really just an amazing guy, seeing as he kept on defending his slightly abusive boyfriend till the end, saying he was just misguided and just in love and even forgave Jin Hyuk immediately, even though his insensitive homophobic insults almost made him kill himself in high school.
Forced-to-retire-early-because-of-injury boxer found a new passion in baking, fuelled by support from our amazing Sun woo and plus finding a new home with the guys was probably wonderful to him because he’s an orphan. Even if he went to Paris to continue learning, he’d always be part of the gang. So glad he got a new passion because he was devastated he lost his previous passion, boxing.
Loved all the character developments, flawless 10/10.