This review may contain spoilers
Gentle movie about biological and found family (minor spoilers)
Overall: this reminds me of God's Own Country with its countryside setting and sparse dialogue. Things are subtle (maybe a bit too subtle at times); I wish I could hear a director's commentary as I'm sure I missed many things. Watched on Amazon Prime Video, also on Gagaoolala in some regions.Content Warnings: homophobia, side character death
What I Liked
- the foreshadowing, double meanings, subtle hints, for example when the grandma was mixing and said to watch it and wait it out, and also that pregnant sheep
- the countryside setting
- production value was good overall
- realistic flawed characters who made mistakes and apologized/tried to change
Room For Improvement
- maybe a few things were a bit too subtle and we could have used a little more dialogue to tell the audience what the characters were thinking
- it was odd when that female friend was yelling around the house that the guys wouldn't have woken up
Was this review helpful to you?
Meaningful Overall
This is a very slow moving movie. One thing I will say, is the acting is the best I’ve seen, especially the child. The story, although slow, had a deep meaning that involves acceptance of yourself, and how much it means to you. It left me with mixed feelings. I didn’t particularly like the ending, although I read it as the characters moving on in their life. Like of a re- birth, so to speak. It is worth watching it for the superb acting. But as I mentioned at the outset, it is VERY slow moving, with many conversations and scenes that should have been shorter. I would call it a BL, but more implications of a BL. But if it was more physical, it wouldn’t have fit the story.Was this review helpful to you?
Steady
I saw a few comments that this movie was slow but I don't think so. It didn't jump in but it didn't drag it out either. I thought it was an even pace. I enjoyed it more than I thought cause it wasn't some random story that was too cliché or cheesy, it was realistic. No matter where you go people will talk and the only thing you can do is remove yourself from that toxicity. I had a few different emotions which tapped into the realism of the story. It's not something I'd recommend cause this theme isn't for everybody but it's not something I'd turn away either. If you're looking for lust you won't find it here! The little girl was an amazing actor and so cute. Just like in any household, I'm sure it's tricky for all parties growing up with homosexual parent(s). I hope more people can learn that even if YOU don't understand what it's like, hurting others won't make it anymore understandable.Enjoy...
Was this review helpful to you?
A story about a distant place, where you go to get away
It has a slow pace a quiet, somber undertone. I really liked it. Maybe because it felt all too relatable, living in a very small town in the countryside. Being queer. The cinematography was amazing, and no overbearing music. Like you really got to immerse yourself in the silence and the scene. If you are a person who needs action, this is probably not for you. This movie has long scenes with lots of silence. It feels very real, as if you're really there.I like how the directors trust the audience to read between the lines. The movie is aimed towards an older audience not for it's explicit content, but for it's mature and collected framing of the story and dialogue. There is no excessive exposition or any unnatural sounding dialogue, where the characters state things simply for the audience to know - not because it's natural for them to say that.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
A reality
A calm yet tremendously heartbreaking movie that talks about escaping the world full of homophobic individuals to finding a certain place that someone will welcome you despite your gender identity. A small family that showcases that love and acceptance can make one person's life happy. Very realistic approach to tackle a life of a gay man who suffers from the harsh feedbacks of those people who's only good on commenting about other people's life. This drama is an impact; from the tragedy of the nanny, the breakup of the couple, to Seol being lost, and the ongoing life of the rest of them from the farm are such a ride.Was this review helpful to you?
This is good Movie
The flow of the story is relly good but its relly detailed so you need to understand everyting. The casting is so good and all of them did so well. I like how the story of the 2 flowed in the movie though they gave an open ending. I dont really know if they continue to seoul or something but I wish the two male lead will meet, while watching the movie I just realized that, Indeed, Goodbyes that aren't said are the most painful goodbye, I was really hurt when hyun min leave like that but I understand his reason... I was ready to cry when seol was leaving because Its really sad that those people that are left behind wouldn't able to see you in a long time but yeah, in the movie they didn't continue what happened that night. I read a comment that the lamb that gave birth is a sign of hope so maybe ther is still a hope for their story, I wish they give us continuation. Overall I love this movie so much, I learned a lot!Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Many films tell stories. Few, however, ask questions. (my opinion)
A Distant Place belongs to the latter category. And perhaps this is why so many viewers come away unsettled: they expect a linear drama, a love that either endures or breaks, a definite conclusion. But Park Kun-young chooses another path: he leaves gaps open, lets silence speak, and offers not answers but possibilities.At first, it looks almost like a pastoral dream: Jin Woo, a sheep farmer, lives in the countryside with young Seol, whom he has raised like a daughter, and with Hyun Min, his partner and lover. Their daily life is made up of small gestures, glances, quiet routines. Everything seems stable, as though distance from the city might shield them from the pressures of the outside world. But this peace is fragile, and the return of Jin Woo’s sister to reclaim the child reopens wounds that had never fully healed.
And here the questions begin. What is a family? Is it the one you’re born into, or the one you choose? Is it truly possible to protect those you love, or will life always find a way to take them from you? There is no clear answer, because each character embodies a different part of this tension. The sister who wants her daughter back is not simply an antagonist, but also a mother reclaiming her role; Hyun Min is not just a wounded lover, but a man challenging his partner’s immobility.
The film works through symbols. The little girl and the grandmother, often shown together, represent the beginning and end of life coexisting in the same space. The sheep, especially the newborn lamb at the end, symbolize birth, fragility, and hope that persists despite pain. And the farmer’s words, reminding Jin Woo of the meaning of staying, weigh against his desire to leave. Every scene suggests that life is never a single direction, but a constant oscillation between opposites: leaving or staying, holding on or letting go, belonging or separation.
Many interpret the argument between Jin Woo and Hyun Min as a definitive breakup. I don’t see it that way. There is no farewell, only hurt expressed in harsh words, as often happens in relationships when anger takes over. It isn’t an ending, it’s a suspended fracture — unresolved, left hanging. In the end, we don’t know whether Jin Woo will follow his sister with Seol, seek out Hyun Min, or remain in the countryside. What we are left with is an open ending that resolves nothing but instead hands us a question: “Where do we truly want to be, to belong — and what does that mean?”
And this is why A Distant Place became a film I loved deeply. Not because it comforts, but because it dares to leave us in uncertainty. It doesn’t narrate abandonment; it reveals the difficulty of choosing, the fear of staying, the weight of love when it isn’t enough to guarantee stability. It is a film that doesn’t shout, doesn’t explain, never fully reveals itself: it remains distant, as its title suggests, and in that distance it forces us to look inward.
This, I believe, is why many viewers expect too much and walk away disappointed: they look for certainty, closure, a moral. I instead found in its openness, its symbols, and its silences a deeper truth: life rarely provides definitive answers, only possibilities we must learn to inhabit. And A Distant Place reminds us that between leaving and staying, between attachment and absence, between birth and ending, what matters is not the answer but the question we carry with us.
Was this review helpful to you?
life changing
eu percebi que eu estou tão inserido em uma bolha lgbtq+ friendly que as vezes a homofobia parece algo tão distante. e derrepente, eu paro para pensar e vejo no quão eu preciso tomar cuidado. é muito cruel o sentimento de estar sempre se sentindo aflito com a possibilidade de descobrir quem a gente é, nós abrimos mão de tanta coisa e sacrificamos nossa própria felicidade em nome de uma "segurança". até que a gente encontra a felicidade e as coisas parecem que vão começar a dá certo. você se permite sonhar, até que algo te lembra que as pessoas não te querem por perto, não importa o quanto você se esforçe e no quão generoso você é com essas pessoas. no final do dia, você é ainda o galho que nasceu fora de ordem e precisa ser podado. é um sentimento de exaustão constante, mas tá tudo bem, você sempre pode recomeçar em outro lugar :).eu estou muito surpreso com o filme, foi uma montanha russa de sentimentos que terminou em um lugar muito triste. toda a questão técnica do filme é impecável. eu sinto que vou carregar ele comigo a partir daqui e mesmo lembrando de uma história triste irei lembrar que houve felicidade no meio do caminho.
Was this review helpful to you?
Very Realistic story telling
I really liked this a lot! I think my favorite thing about this was the directing. The weird camera angles made you feel uncomfortable the whole time and almost made you feel like what they were doing was wrong, even though it wasn't. The actors did a great job as well! Loved seeing Kyung in this type of role!Was this review helpful to you?
Tento typ filmů mám rád, ale v tomto případě zůstal pro mě jen těsně nad průměrem. Možná bych tentokráte malinko prostříhal první polovinu snímku, kde se nic moc neděje. Děj se začal hýbat až v druhé půli a celkově jsem nenašel nikoho, kdo by nějak výrazně herecky vyčníval
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Love in fearful world
Distant Place” isn’t a grand romance story, it's about fear of being seen different, growth and being with someone you love.One scene that refuses to leave me is the car scene — a masterclass in emotional restraint and silent heartbreak. Jin Woo’s outburst isn’t about Hyun Min. It’s about the years of internalized fear, shame, and survival. But sadly, he unloads it on the person he loves most.
Hyun Min’s calm response? It’s the kind of quiet ache you only see in mature love. He wasn’t asking for the world — only to be acknowledged. And that’s what broke me.
I see Jin Woo as a reflection of so many people shaped by rigid, conservative structures. Not everyone can fight back loudly. Some people only realize what they’ve lost when it’s already slipping through their hands. His arc — from silence to accountability — is one of quiet redemption.
The symbolism at the end — with the lamb being born — felt like a quiet metaphor. A beginning. A moment of standing up. Maybe for himself, maybe for them. Maybe both.
The cinematography is stunning, the emotions painfully real, and the storytelling — honest.
Watch it if you wanna see a man fearing to love, learning hard way and slowly trying to stand up for their love.
Was this review helpful to you?
Great cinematography and acting, storyline confusing and unsatisfying
This BL, much like its main characters, is very soft and quiet in its expressions of gay love. The movie is 2 hours long, and it could have made much better use of the time. A lot, and I mean a lot of scenes are way longer than they need to be, probably to give the sense of how slow time flows in the small town where the movie takes place. Even still, there is little happing during these prolonged scenes. In other BLs, the main characters would glance at each other and the time the scene takes makes you feel like something is happening. In this movie, it feels more like the movie is paused and you are waiting for the next scene to take place. Another gripe I have with the movie is that the scenes shown and the story told are confusing. What I mean is that I don't feel the depth that the director wanted the viewer to feel. The feelings of the main character and what goes on inside his head remain a mystery, and the ending is open and feels very incomplete, like there is no ending.The acting overall is good and the characters are recognizable and deep. The lighting and the camera angles are satisfying as well. I wish that the movie was stronger. So either, have a stronger emphasis on love or a stronger emphasis on dealing with homophobia and feeling rejection from society. The general sense I got was: main character has daughter and moved to small town because he is gay and rejected by his surroundings, he has a lover and wants to be together with him but feels uncomfortable that he will be seen as gay and rejected again. I don't understand what the main character wants other than being accepted (not expressed directly) and living with his daughter. Interesting watch I suppose but not as deep and meaningful for what it's worth. Still, nice to see a more manly Korean man in a gay role like this in a Korean BL, most are or look like idols so this is nice for the larger gay population in Korea.
Was this review helpful to you?
