Individual Circumstances (Movie) (2024)

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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An overall entertaining drama

This drama begins kind of slow and uneventful, but it doesn't take long to understand what Woo Jae is writing has everything to do with his past relationship with Yeon Woo. It takes awhile for the complete picture of what happened in the past and how it has effected both of them in the present time.
I found it kind of interesting how the scenes are playing out between the man & women in the story being written, while you completely understand who each character is representing on screen.
It's definitely an original approach to a BL drama that I have seen. I thought the actors Joon Gyu & Jung Wan definitely clicked on screen together. It was a bit cold in the beginning, but most bl stories begin that way anyway.
Toward the end, they both gave great performances alone & with each other.
If you want a relaxing drama without too much to endure along the way, this one works.
The movie version is a much better way to enjoy it, rather than the short episodes with breaks.

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