In this blog post, I will analyze the film ‘No Regret’ from the perspective of the melodrama genre, calmly examining how love denounces certain social oppressions and norms beyond individual emotions.
Defining Melodrama and Its Genre Characteristics
Long ago, I heard this saying: Film both reflects society and constructs it. It reflects society’s most intensely debated issues, yet these issues are reconstructed through the filmmaker’s subjective lens and presented as a new reality. It was also emphasized that film is an art and industry predicated on audience empathy; stories that fail to resonate cannot succeed commercially. So what is the most fundamental theme, universally relatable and recurring across all eras? It must be the emotion of love, present everywhere and in everyone.
The film genres that deal with love are romantic comedy and melodrama. Both genres handle the same emotion of love, but they are distinguished by whether that love culminates in comedy or tragedy. This article will examine the tragedy stemming from love—melodrama. In its dictionary definition, melodrama means ‘a dramatic narrative where emotional effects are musically structured.’ In other words, it is a narrative form combining music and drama, a specific stylistic system where various elements are meticulously arranged to create powerful emotional impact.
The melodrama genre emerged during the silent film era and has actively utilized background music to emphasize emotion. In fact, music played such a crucial role in this genre that theaters often employed organists or pianists to provide live accompaniment. Melodramatic films typically center on popular romantic narratives where pure individuals or couples become victims of oppressive and unequal social environments, such as marriage, career, or the nuclear family system.
In early film history, comedy was a film style with a relatively clear narrative, which gradually evolved into romantic comedy. As romantic conflicts were addressed within sexual or familial conventions, it expanded into the subgenre of screwball comedy. Similarly, the melodrama style during the silent film era was also gradually refined into a narrative containing romantic stories. The combination of specific formal and ideological elements led to the development of a unique archetype that distinguished it from other genres.
Whereas characters in romantic comedies or screwball comedies mock and subvert social etiquette, melodrama characters are dominated by social conventions and institutions. Whereas in comedy, anarchic lovers ultimately unite as self-sufficient married couples in ways diverging from their society’s norms, melodrama repeatedly depicts protagonists ultimately surrendering to the constraints of social and familial traditions.
For this reason, melodrama has long been the target of ridicule and contempt. During the period when film critics studied cinema primarily to answer the question “Why were these films made?”, the focus of criticism was largely on their connection to social issues. Melodramas were dismissed as tearjerkers for women and devalued because they concentrated on personal love stories rather than addressing social problems.
However, with the rediscovery of director Douglas Sirk’s works in the 1950s, melodrama began receiving new recognition by the 1970s. It came to be recognized as a distinct genre with significant cultural-historical meaning, and the social oppression and ideological structures inherent within it became subjects of critical analysis. Within this context, melodrama possesses certain genre-specific characteristics.
The most central conflict in melodrama originates from marriage issues. The choice between marrying the person one loves or marrying someone offering socially advantageous conditions is presented as the primary conflict. The film “Picnic,” which I watched long ago, is a prime example illustrating this. Melodrama primarily constructs its narrative around the tragedy of love thwarted by family conflicts or forced marriages.
Furthermore, melodrama presents two types of endings. One is a happy ending where the protagonist achieves their desired dream, while the other is a tragic ending culminating in family disintegration or personal ruin. Based on these genre characteristics, this blog post aims to examine how melodrama is realized within films.
Application of Genre Characteristics to Film
The 2006 film “No Regret,” directed by Lee Song-hee-il, is a melodrama depicting the love story between Sumin, who grew up in a rural orphanage and began life in Seoul with dreams, and Jaemin, the son of a large corporation’s vice president.
Character Analysis
Two men appear in this film. Jaemin, who possesses money, honor, and social status, and Sumin, who grew up in an orphanage, possesses nothing, and was cast out into society simply because of ‘regulations’. They stand at entirely different starting points. Jaemin possesses everything, yet he is a lonely being who cannot possess the one thing he truly desires—love—and is not even granted the freedom to choose it. Unable to properly express sexual desire, a significant part of human longing, he has been forced to deny his own sexuality and turn away from true love. He faces pressure from those around him to choose an unwanted marriage.
Sumin, on the other hand, grew up as an orphan in a children’s home, thrown into the world alone without any social safety net. He started out completely alone from the very beginning, and in this harsh reality, even the possibility of escaping his current circumstances is rarely granted. After being laid off from the factory, the only place he can choose is a gay host bar. For him, where survival itself is urgent, love is a luxury, and a form of love rejected by society is even more so.
Plot Analysis
The Meeting of Two People
It is not easy for two people already standing in different worlds to meet. The special occasion given to them was driving for others. Sumin, who has just started life in Seoul, works as a non-regular factory worker by day and drives for a ride-hailing service by night, living a tough yet dream-filled life. Jaemin, on the other hand, has everything yet enjoys no freedom, relying on alcohol to get by. Drunk, he calls for a ride-hailing service and meets Sumin. The two feel an inexplicable first emotion toward each other.
The Beginning of Their Relationship
What started as a simple ride-hailing transaction between driver and customer leads to a second encounter at the factory. Here, they meet as a factory non-regular worker and the son of a large corporation’s vice president. The gap between Sumin, who can do nothing even when fired, and Jaemin, who could reverse that decision with his influence alone, is stark. Faced with this reality, Sumin feels a rejection of Jaemin, both class-wise and emotionally. Yet Jaemin, having realized his love for Sumin, continues to seek him out amidst the confusion between love and reality. Within their constantly misaligned relationship, Jaemin gradually translates his obsession into actions, and within those intense actions, Sumin also begins to waver.
“Can’t you just see me as a human being for once, not just as money?”
The Beginning of Love
Sumin, who had been constantly wavering, becomes certain of her feelings upon seeing Jaemin come to the host bar, even enduring violence to find her. She realizes this is love, and that he, too, is experiencing genuine love. The two finally share their feelings of love and become lovers. Their love unfolds through scenes of going to see the sea, visiting the office, and dancing the blues.
The Beginning of Conflict
Yet conflict finds them too. Jaemin’s mother, knowing he is in love, forces him to marry his fiancée Hyunwoo, deeming his love socially unacceptable. As the only son of a conglomerate vice president, Jaemin isn’t even granted the freedom to choose love. Their relationship, condemned by society, leaves no room for resistance. The reality that he can do nothing for Sumin only deepens Jaemin’s anguish. The insurmountable barriers of reality and societal disapproval become his greatest conflict.
“Is it because I’m ignorant? I’ll study hard. Is it because I’m dirty? I’ll live only for you from now on. Is it because I’m poor? I’ll work hard. What is our relationship? What is our relationship?”
Resolution of Conflict and the Conclusion of Love
Ultimately, Jaemin chooses stability and leaves Sumin. Compounded by the tragedy of Garam’s death in a traffic accident, Sumin contemplates an extreme choice. He kidnaps Jaemin with Jungtae, but ultimately cannot bring himself to bury him. After being struck on the head by Jungtae and falling into the ground together, Sumin, after the night passes, heads to Seoul with Jaemin in a car. “Hello, Jaemin,” Sumin says, proposing they start their love anew. The film concludes with a scene implying their love has indeed begun again.
Style Analysis
Films tackling similar themes have continued to be produced steadily up to the present day. While works like “The King and the Clown,” “Maison de Himiko,” and “The Genie of the Lamp” depicted love through relatively static imagery, “No Regret” shows the characters’ love in a more honest and direct manner. It doesn’t dwell solely on imagery but reveals the characters’ physicality and emotions, visually expressing the difficult nature of their love and reality through a dark screen tone.
While the overall screen atmosphere is dark, the love scenes that appear intermittently are rendered with clean, bright visuals, highlighting the beauty of their relationship. The filming locations—Jaemin’s officetel, Sumin’s rooftop room, and the seaside scenery—also effectively convey the emotional tone of each scene. Furthermore, the inserted music helps the audience feel the excitement and pain more intimately. Music acts as a medium for emotion, guiding the audience to listen to the characters’ stories and empathize with them.
Theme Analysis
Why did the director make this film? The reason is simple. It is for their love. In this world, countless people exist, and countless forms of love exist. All are love between people, differing only in form. The song ‘The Origin of Love’ in the musical film “Hedwig” tells of three children at the beginning of time. The child of the sun, formed from two men joined together; the child of the earth, formed from two women joined together; and the child of the moon, formed from a man and a woman joined together. Fearing the power of humanity, Zeus split them in two. The myth tells how love began when the separated halves recognized each other’s wounds.
Man and man, man and woman, woman and woman. They are all halves, and it was inevitable that they would recognize each other’s wounds and fall in love. Yet for so long, we have been taught this is wrong. We have been socialized under the norms that men must be masculine, women must be feminine, men must love women, and women must love men. Deviating from this was seen as wrong and unacceptable.
To change this distorted social perception, the director sought to convey a message through this film. To those who view homosexuality negatively or perceive it solely as overly sexual, the film aims to show that it is also a form of love, just a different kind of love. It is a request to acknowledge that their love is no different from ours. Through this film and many others tackling this theme, societal perceptions are gradually shifting compared to the past. More and more people are recognizing their love and accepting that they experience love just like us.
The Evolution of Melodrama: From “Romeo and Juliet” to “No Regret”
Melodrama is a genre that has been continuously produced since the dawn of silent films. Because love has always existed, films about love have also continued unabated. The love depicted in early melodramas was primarily the tragic love between a man and a woman. Like in “Romeo and Juliet,” pure, self-sacrificing love ultimately ends in tragedy when external factors, such as feuding families, prevent the lovers from being together.
However, as time passed, the forms of love depicted in film gradually expanded. The film “Oasis” portrayed the love between two people with physical disabilities, bringing a story once unimaginable to the screen. “I’m Fine, Thanks” depicted love in old age, showing that neither age nor societal views can limit the possibility of love. In this way, subjects previously unaddressed or unaddressable began to be recreated in film through new perspectives.
The subject of homosexuality is also part of this continuum of change. Once considered abnormal or improper, it is now increasingly recognized as a different kind of love, but love nonetheless. Films reflecting this shift are being made, and audiences are accepting them with a different perspective than before. Cinema functions as a medium that accelerates this change in perception, helping more people reach new perspectives more quickly.
My Personal Review of “No Regret”
The Unique Strengths of “No Regret”
Despite numerous films tackling the same subject matter, this film’s greatest strength lies in its empathy. We may understand them, but we cannot fully live their lives. Therefore, to convey their reality, it must use situations that anyone might have experienced at least once. This film pinpoints that exact spot. It masterfully balances a story that could easily feel superficial on the edge between reality and fantasy, delivering it with raw emotion.
Furthermore, despite being a low-budget film, the performances from both the lead and supporting actors are remarkably steady. The discovery of actor Lee Young-hoon is particularly impressive. His gaze subtly shifts with each scene and emotion, guiding the narrative’s flow. The supporting cast also immerses the audience in the drama without any awkwardness. Above all, the film’s dialogue is exceptionally powerful in conveying emotion. Lines like “I hope you were happy because of me” and “Hello, Jaemin” are simple yet leave a deep resonance.
Limitations of “No Regret”
However, the film’s limitations are also tied to its strength of empathy. The choice of a somewhat fantastical setting over reality, made for the sake of empathy, creates a disconnect from reality. While a degree of fiction is inevitable given the nature of film as a medium, this aspect remains a point of regret. Compared to “Road Movie,” which deals with similar themes, this film gives the impression of following a more conventional Cinderella structure. This aspect may have caused some viewers to feel a sense of rejection. The impression that it is an extremely melodramatic tearjerker, or a fanfic-like story where only the protagonist has changed, never completely dissipates.
Nevertheless, “No Regret” still holds a meaningful position as a work that demonstrates the potential for expansion within the melodrama genre. At a time when the forms of love are expanding, this film clearly documents one point of that change.
