Korean film based on Fumi Yoshinaga's comic called Antique Bakery which was the basis for Japanese TV series and an upcoming animated series. its concerns a man can't stand cake who opens a bakeshop, his chef who went to high school with him and who is love with his boss, the son of the owners former house keeper and a young man who answers the help wanted sign and is training to be a chef. How the quartet interact and how they build their business is the story. And what a story it is. It mixes comedy, drama romance, food (lots of food- enough you'll want to raid a bakery after finishing it) and musical numbers all together into a frothy confection that makes you feel good and smile from ear to ear. I've seen the film now more or less three times and I find myself smiling from ear to ear every time thanks to the interaction of characters.You like the four men and you care deeply about them. Their chatter between each other is witty and on target and you can't help but enjoy watching them go through their paces. Yes several of the characters are gay but don't let that stop you since the film is all about the people and not the sexual orientation. I really like this film a great deal because it makes me smile. High art its not. Heart warming and laugh inducing it is. As they say in the film How can anyone be unhappy when they are eating cake? this film is the cinematic equivalent of cake and will make you happy.

I must say this movie can be a torture at times, not because it's a bad movie but it really made me crave sweets. Okay so the plot is about a bakery run by gay guys, maybe semi-gay and also has to do with kidnapping and murder which mainly revolves around the character Jin-hyeok Kim. Although it doesn't have pretty actresses playing the main roles, but it is sure to satisfy female and gay viewers. If you're comfortable and sure of your own sexuality you should be able to watch it and enjoy the movie for its own merits. It's a pretty funny movie, but the main positive thing I can think of to compliment about this is the cinematography and creative editing. On the negative side, the creators tried to cram a lot in it's running time to the point it can be confusing sometimes, even if it's based on a manga. So in another words I enjoyed the fast pacing of this film, but also disliked some aspects of it, but enjoyed it more than dislike it. It's a enjoyable and funny movie, if you ain't a super homophobe. And although the building of the bakery is fun to watch with it's creative editing with it's bright and colorful cinematography and all, when it came to the thriller it really did fall into the cheesy territory and not very intriguing. Basically it's a charming film about a bakery run by attractive gay guys, that will give some fan service to girls and gays while also being entertaining to watch for heteros.

7.4/10

"Can anyone be unhappy while eating cake?"

First of all this movie is hard to be "labelled" under a specific category. It's not really a fluffy comedy as the trailer might suggests as it has a thriller element, it's not really a gay movie as the main character is a straight male. Howeever what I do know is that Antique is surprisingly good and leaves a sweet aftertaste.

The movie is pretty faithful to the Japanese manga/comic which it is based, and they try to cram as much content as possible into this 110+ minutes. The only drawback is that the dialogue is so fast (in the first half of the movie) sometimes it's hard to catch up and also that it might not have as much of an emotional impact compared to the pages of the comic book when it's being read slowly. That being said, this movie is the best adaptation out there. Yup, Antique bakery has been adapted into a Japanese TV series (the gay aspect was completely cut off),Japanese anime series (poorly directed mess),and a Chinese/Taiwan TV series.

This movie has all the ingredients (comical moments, thriller, slice-of-life drama, romance) in different proportions and the director successfully turn them into a charming film with a lot of heart. And lastly....WHO COULD FORGET THOSE WONDERFUL CAKES. Trust me there are moments when I can't decide whether I should pick the cakes or the beautiful people. So the judgment: satisfied for now and will be back for more.