Antique – Movie Review

Jin Hyuk is a wealthy heir who recently quit his corporate job to open a pastry shop instead. Despite his aversion to sweets and desserts, Jin Hyuk envisions his store will attract many lovely female customers. His first employee is Sun Woo, a talented patisserie with culinary knowledge from overseas. However, Sun Woo has a notorious reputation as a "devilish gay" with seductive allure over men.

Jin Hyuk and Sun Woo shared history together as high school classmates. Years ago, Sun Woo confessed his love to Jin Hyuk. However, Jin Hyuk rejected him with a harsh and homophobic response. Despite the failed confession, it liberated Sun Woo from the closet to live openly as a gay man. Since then, Sun Woo followed a lover to France, where he picked up his culinary skills.

Initially, Jin Hyuk and Sun Woo were the only ones working the store. Their next hire is Ki Bum, a former boxer who didn't care about the job at first. However, he tasted Sun Woo's delicious foods and begged for employment. The fourth employee is Soo Young, Jin Hyuk's roommate and childhood best friend. Although Jin Hyuk looks intimidating in his dark sunglasses, he's pretty clumsy and goofy.

Business is going well at the pastry shop, which is finally attracting a steady stream of customers. One day, Jin Hyuk's mother visits her son's store for afternoon tea. However, she is disturbed after recognizing a familiar face from the past. It unleashes painful memories from Jin Hyuk's childhood, ones that he had repressed until now.

My scathing review of Antique could be an unpopular opinion, because the movie is generally well-received among the BL community. Yet, I think it's an incoherent, boring, and homophobic mess. After revisiting the film recently, I dislike Antique even more than my first time watching it. The storylines are nonsensical, the characters annoy me, and the surreal humour doesn't land. For the record, I adore the Antique Bakery anime and prefer it as the superior adaptation.

Antique is a sleek production with handsome actors, stylish settings, and slick musical numbers. Beyond the aesthetics, there's little else to recommend. The fast-paced narrative is uncomfortable to follow along, rushing from plot to plot chaotically. Those unfamiliar with the source material might feel confused by how poorly the story events and character dynamics are explained. The scenes don't occur organically, like they are ripped from the manga and tossed into the movie without context.

Antique relies on its lead Jin Hyuk to carry the film. He's supposed to be a cheeky yet lovable rascal, but I find him so unbearable and obnoxious. Jin Hyuk spews homophobic comments like rapid-fire, constantly mocking Sun Woo because of his sexuality. He also mistreats his employees for "comedic" effect, even though his abusive conduct is thinly veiled workplace harassment. Jin Hyuk is such an unlikeable protagonist that I can't connect with his emotional arc in the film's second half. The journey into his trauma feels hollow and falls flat.

Don't look to Antique for positive LGBT representation. Sun Woo is a gay character defined by his sexuality and barely anything else. His predatory behaviour around men feels problematic, perpetuating harmful stereotypes as he pushes unsolicited advances on Jin Hyuk. His romance with Jean-Baptiste is conveyed through shallow interactions and awkward kisses, hardly developed with passion or nuance. The BL content in Antique is disappointingly minimal with a gruesome conclusion to the gay relationship.

I suspect a large part of Antique's popularity comes from the famous Korean actors in the celebrity cast. To be fair, all the performers are vivacious, charismatic, and propel the movie with boundless upbeat energy. If you like the actors, maybe it will delight you to see them interact in this campy gay-adjacent film. Otherwise, their collective star power isn't enough to salvage the dire storytelling or shallow characterizations. I'm sorry about the overwhelming negativity, but Antique just isn't that enjoyable for me.