Individual Circumstances (Movie)

I placed spoilers at the end of this review.

I love doing comparison reviews when a BL series is edited into a movie. It’s just bizarre I had to wait over 1 ½ years to do this one. What is even more bizarre is I had to use a VPN to watch the movie edit of a Viki original series on GagaOOLala. This is especially weird considering that Viki released three other Korean BL series (one of them also a Viki original) after this series which all were quickly edited into a movie within the same year of its release.

The movie/series: This had an interesting storyline. The script was simple but good. I love how they used Woo Jae’s web-based novel to mirror the main couple’s situation. This helped explained both main characters’ feelings. It had nice cinematograph but the flash back scenes in the beginning was a little confusing because it was not clearly marked. The acting was good with the usual exception often seen in Korean BL series/movies.

The movie: The movie has a different starting point because they edited out the opening credits and the first 2 minutes from the series beginning. Overall, the move version was ok. They did a great job editing it into a cohesive movie. However, they made a few poor editing choices with the scenes they cut out. I know this was probably done for timing purposes, but the storyline did not have the same pacing it had in the series. On a good note, it did not affect the relationship and story progression in anyway.

Random Notes:

I strongly recommend watching the series version (on Viki if you can) because the pacing had a nice, even flow to it. Another reason is the movie’s English subtitles on GagaOOLala were very bad (I did not take points off for this).

(Added on 2/14/2025): The movie version is finally available on Viki, well in my region. The English subtitles for the movie are definitely a lot better on Viki than on GagaOOLala.

******Spoiler Alert******

Although it was a bit extreme, I get why Woo Jae left. However, I don’t fully understand why he showed such hostile anger towards Yeon Woo. Especially considering he is the one that left without telling Yeon Woo.

The usual exception of course were the kiss scenes. I don’t need the actors to suck each other’s faces off, but at least kiss with some emotions. if the actors are not willing to do a proper kissing scene, have them kiss each other on the check or them hugging. Again, not every BL series has to end with a big make-out/kiss session.

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Based on a very cliched premise, "Individual Circumstances" nevertheless had the potential to be an entertaining way to spend a slow evening.
A conflict based on miscomminucation, the inability to face your own insecurities, or external influences that stop one of the two main characters to act and resolve the conflict on time: This all has been done before in many, many dramas and novels. So, in order to stand out, you need to be meticulous in the writing and in the execution. The crew for this production was not.

There was much potential in the imagery -- the sterile house vs. the perfectly manicured garden, which Ha Yeonwoo crashes into, vs. the wide spaces of nature. There was good potential in the non-linear story-telling, so that we only get to know of their back story bit by bit. There was some potential in the meta-narrative where the feelings of our protagonists are mirrored in the feelings of the fictional couple.

Unfortunately, none of it was used well. It starts with the writing itself: The meta-narrative and non-linear story-telling interfered with each other and reduced the potential significance of each. Parts of the flashbacks seem at odds with each other -- at first there was something about a sweater, and later about a kiss; and both times I had the impression that this was the last time they had seen each other. Some scenes in the later part added nothing to the story (like when they broke into the museum) -- and considering that the whole runtime is just under two hours, the screen writer should have asked themselves: What story do I want to tell?

And in my opinion, the screenplay is the base for everything else -- if it already doesn't work, then the rest will struggle.
The thing is that "the rest" also doesn't work well. The cinematographer had an eye for nature shots (those were great) -- but that was it. The house, the garden and the world outside had interesting lines and light to use. None of it had any significance on screen.
Scenes were edited to be too long or ended abruptly. Microphones were seen on screen. At times, there were some audio issues. And let's not talk about the "kiss" in the "rain" at the end. (Not that I don't mind closed-mouth kisses per se, but here the camera held and held, until it felt awakward for everybody.)

Most of the time, the actors tried to save the mess, and I do think that their abilities were the only thing that made me sit through this film. But even they dropped the ball near the end -- if you are that uncomfortable kissing your (male) colleague, then you should make sure to either not act in a production that requires kissing or at least make sure that it's not as obvious in the finished product.

Overall, I have the impression that most of the crew didn't want to be there and rushed through everything just to get it done. I wonder if they are able to take pride in the product?



Was it good?
No. There was potential but none of it was used.

Did I like it?
I liked two aspects; the rest was ... meh. It was short, though.

Would I recommend it?
No.

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