If you’re in need of a somewhat calm and lighthearted BL romance film, you might be interested in this film.
Tell Me That You Love Me (directed by Kim Jho Gwang Soo) follows Kyoung-ho (played by Lee Woong Zae) who reluctantly sells his beloved camera to Kyoung-il (played by Jeong Si Hyun) because he needs money urgently. Despite already making the decision to sell the camera off, Kyoung-ho is initially reluctant to let it go, trailing after Kyoung-il as he leaves. After they eventually part ways though, the two end up meeting again by chance, as if they were always fated to meet…
[WARNING! SPOILERS AHEAD]
For anyone who is familiar with the BL genre, it tends to lean heavily towards toxic relationships. But thankfully, that’s not the vibe of this film. I mean there are moments of angst and hints of previous toxic relationships but it’s not the main point of the film.
The film begins with Kyoung-ho playing around with his camera, pointing his lens at Kyoung-il… before moving to a scene set in a hanok (traditional Korean house) where we see Kyoung-il still playing around with his camera. Kyoung-il enters the scene looking lost, prompting Kyoung-il to tell his camera that he looks like his new owner, since he appears to be looking to meet someone he isn’t familiar with (i.e. Kyoung-ho). After a lengthy exchange about Kyoung-il’s reasons for buying the camera, and how to take care of the camera, the two make the transaction, and part ways.
…only for Kyoung-ho to follow Kyoung-il as he leaves the area. Weird and creepy vibes much? Insisting that he’s not following him, Kyoung-ho ends up walking in front of him and is stopped by a tarot card reader who tells him that the reading will be free if her predictions are wrong. At this moment, Kyoung-il also walks past and is also persuaded to join the tarot reading. Kyoung-ho and Kyoung-il are asked to pick out 2 cards each, and after picking the first card which represents their current self, both of them end up picking the same second card, refusing to let it go. When the reader asks for payment before continuing, the two walk off, and we see that the second card they had both picked was… can you guess it… THE LOVERS CARD. Quite predictable.
Anyway, the two of them end up heading to the same next destination because Kyoung-ho is the new member of a basketball interest group known to be queer-friendly, which Kyoung-il is already a member of. Fate? Coincidence? Anyway, after a competitive game, Kyoung-il ends up bringing Kyoung-ho out for a welcome lunch since nobody else in the team could make it. Things start escalating from here because they end up bumping into Kyoung-il’s ex-boyfriend who was making a scene, then the two end up in a karaoke room where emotions run high and they end up kissing, and somehow Kyoung-il brings Kyoung-ho over to his place.
The movie’s only 73 minutes but so much happens in that time, and you learn so many different things about the two main characters that you can’t help but feel for them, and empathise with their situations. There seems to have been a lot of emphasis on character development – we see how almost obsessively health-conscious Kyoung-ho is, and we learn the reason behind Kyoung-il’s seemingly cold demeanour. I should probably also mention that there was a sensitive issue in the film when Kyoung-il finds out Kyoung-ho is a minor. That bit was uncomfortable for me since, as you might guess, things happened in Kyoung-il’s house…
Other than that revelation though, the film was quite an easy watch. It’s basically a typical rom-com, complete with misunderstandings, some angst, some tension, and most importantly, a happy ending.
A random fact about the film which the director shared is that a queer-friendly basketball club actually exists, which just warms my heart. It’s sad that we live in a society where we have to explicitly mention “this is a safe space” but at least there are these safe spaces! Baby steps.
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This film was screened at the 2025 Jeonju International Film Festival.
