Shoot Me in the Heart: What Makes a Movie Gay?

Though it retreats from a satisfyingly manly kiss at the end, for me, Shoot Me in the Heart is definitely a gay romance. The two leads — a bad boy (Lee Min-ki) with violent tendencies who's been institutionalized by his greedy stepbrothers and a long-haired semi-mute (Yeo Jin-gu) who everyone at the psych ward refers to as "Miss Lee" — definitely have a courtship of sorts going on as the dom of the relationship constanty flirts — and even climbs into bed — with the same-sex sub who eventually comes around to his handsome bunkmate's charms. Even those around them — hospital staff and crazy inmates alike — recognize they were made for each other!

But can these two caged lovebirds survive the physical brutality of this particular institution? Will electroshock treatments leave them brain-dead and, in one case, blind? Can they possibly escape to freedom and what might they do when they're finally out? Instigate conga lines to Chubby Checker's "Let's Twist Again" at the local karaoke club? Mun Je-yong's love story might not lead to the desired lip-on-lip action (or grip-the-hip either) but it could've and should've. Who wants to discover they're best friends instead of friends with benefits? Not me! One wonders whether the censors came into play or the director had homophobic mass appeal on his mind. It's possible the screenwriter didn't know his own inclinations but at this point in the 21st century, I wish the unapologetically queer story weren't resisted. We're well past that. Succumb. Succumb.