[Our thanks to Pat Dahn for the following review.]
Mmmm, what a treat this movie is. Based on the manga ANTIQUE BAKERY, it's the story of four men running a gourmet cake shop. And fittingly, it's a complete visual feast- from the bright color scheme and set design to the beautiful pastries on display (not to mention the four foxy guys), it's just a joy to watch. I'd love to see this one on the big screen.
I found myself catching my breath after some of the musical numbers, they're edited at such a lightning pace with so much detail in each frame, but it eases off in the other segments. Despite the flash, it's the interaction between four characters that carries the movie. There's the troubled, amnesiac owner, his bumbling assistant, the chef- a self-professed “gay of demonic charm”, and his apprentice, a smart-ass former boxer. And while they do sometimes lean on stereotype, it's the way they're treated as real, deep characters that makes the movie.
The running time is almost 2 hours, but thanks to the solid work by all four actors and the quirky, confident production it breezes by. Even later when an unnecessarily darker sub-plot develops, the mystery and tension is presented with the same pop sheen and the tone remains consistent. The NYAFF movie guide puts ANTIQUE in its “Sexylicious” category, and I imagine this movie fits better than any of the others- sexy and delicious.
ANTIQUE screens June 22 and 27
Review by Pat Dahn
I knew this sounded familiar. I remember seeing the Japanese series years ago. I think I enjoyed it... It's been years though, so memory of this is pretty shaky.
Nice review Pat. I'd like to catch it at NYAFF on Saturday if I'm not working.
looks interesting. would definitely look forward to dramas like this
Sounds interesting....Love to see this story in future.
There have already been two Japanese series of it: a live-action one and, more recently, an animated one. The live-action series was known for known having toned down any element of homoeroticism to near non-existence, I think it may have even added a female main character to aid in this. That may seem senseless considering how much of a selling point that element was for the comic (if not actually that essential to its stories) but such changes are pretty standard in adaptations of shôjo manga: the current rule seems to be that only comic relief characters can be openly homo, while anything that happens between main characters can be no more than a brief joke.
Had this movie been with chicks instead of guys I would have been all over this since I love baking (and chicks obviously) but as it stands I'll have to pass.
I must find this movie in the Japanese presentation. I have only seen the Korean film and that was wonderful. I could not find any fault anywhere..not that I was looking for one. This was a delicious effort with a great cast. The actor who played the gay patissier was perfection.
I also like Abe Hiroshi so that will already be a plus watching the Japanese film.
PB
I enjoyed this far more than I expected. The musical numbers really pop and were great fun. It does try and juggle perhaps one too many genres, but hey - that's Korean Cinema for you. Not seen any of the JP source material but this is a lot of fun and you are absolutely right, it is the four characters and their relationships with each other that make the film stand out.