Rate 10/10 for fun and 1/10 for storyline

All the rave reviews, mad fans in love on comments, all the hype - I am weak willed, I succumbed to KP mania and ended up binge watching it!
First and foremost this series is a COMEDY, to be more precise, it is a spoof of all mafia movies! It takes place in a country called BL-land where they speak thai and sometimes english for no apparent reason but to sound cool! Parents in this country are all straight and they only have boys who are ALL gay! The main economy of this country is managed by the elegantly dressed mobsters! The police and the hospital do not exist: mobsters kill each other with impunity and the doctors and nurses treat the patients at their own homes in their king sized beds!
It took me about 8 episodes of incredulity to finally understand that this series SHOULD NOT in any case be taken seriously! I was so frustrated until it dawned on me that I am supposed to be laughing at the unbelievably ridiculous plot! After I did that, what a ride, what a rollercoaster ride it became!

What I liked:
- the comedy: Tankhun is the King
- Porsche's smile
- buttonless shirts
- cinematography (those love scenes were hooooot!)
- Pete (who looks uncannily like Job who played "Nut" in TMOTB so every time I saw his crooked smile I thought of teddybears!)
- Jeff Satur (how can he possibly be be so handsome and so talented?)

What I did not like:
- the eyebrows and the actor who came with them
- plot full of toxic behaviours (Kinn making out with drugged Porsche, Stockholm syndrome Pete & Vegas)
- Kinn & Porsche being so lovey dovey in ep. 11, I was seriously getting diabetes and expecting to see flowers popping around them like in a manga!
- final plot twists worthy of the best US soaps (like Dallas or Dynasty-the classics are still the best!)
- italian mob ripped from Vincenzo together with wine and classical music!

As for the soundtrack, I did not notice anything special about it.

This series reminds me in a way of TharnType with it toxic silly plot and great chemistry between the leads. Would I watch it again? Probably ! When I need something silly and hot to take my mind off of the daily life struggles, this along with TT is what the doctor prescribed! Mindless fun, just entertainment!

Read More

Femme Fatale?

Surprised to see only one review for this drama, I decided to put down in words some of my impressions.

Well, Japanese have done it again: they took an ordinary topic and gave it a typical unconventional Japanese twist.

The story follows a young woman who falls for her neighbour: a kind and sweet office worker. The alarm bells start to ring when she discovers that he is in fact, a rich heir:so why does someone like him live in a cheep rundown studio apartment? But she has already fallen for him, hook line and sinker and she does not want to think about every illogical thing happening around her. Until one day she enters his apartment and realizes he had been following her around, stalking her.

As I said only Japanese find a way to make stalking romantic. Here they did it by comparing him to another stalker. Poor girl, being nice to some men makes them fall in love with her and get obsesses with her to the unhealthy levels. The writers decided to show us two levels of stalking: one is just pining from afar while the other one slides down into violence very quickly. One is redeemable on its own if the stalker realizes the error of his ways. The other is punishable by law. This distinction honestly made me uncomfortable. Stalking is a scary, unhealthy and criminal activity. And even though a person might repent and regret, what is there to prove that he won't start doing it again? I wish they showed us him getting some professional help not just having her talk to him once and him finally being aware of his misbehaviour, to put it mildly.

The whole cast was perfect especially the ML who managed to show us the fine line between the madness and kindness in his actions. Amazing actor indeed!The FL was rather refreshing as well: a strong woman,competent with a tiny chip on her shoulder but knowing what is right and what is wrong and an excellent judge of character, when she wants to. Those who actually stole the show for me were her coworkers, her three friends who encourage her and help her when she needs them to. They can be fun and funny just as they can be serious and fierce when needs be. They are actually the ones who made me finish this drama when I realized the direction it was taking.

The episodes are very short (20min) though I had impression of every episode being at least one hour long: the event were moving on very fast, sometimes too fast. The story is told in voice over by both ML and FL taking turns from one episode to another. I like it since it gives us different point of view of same actions and helps with understanding characters' motivations.

Personally I do not find stalking cute and romantic so I am not optimistic as far as their relationship's future is concerned. They are happy now but for how long?

All in all, a typical j drama. And I love those!

Read More

Father & Son

Not knowing what to watch, after finally dropping about 5 dramas after 3/4 episodes, I started this one because it was on the top of my PTW list. I said to myself: I'll give it a go, the episodes are short! I ended up binge watching it in an afternoon! And loved every second of it.

49 is the number of day a soul wanders on Earth after death. In this case it is the father who became ghost after saving his son in a car accident. The father borrows his son's body in order to sort out some unfinished business with his family. Both son and father get more than they bargained for from this soul infestation. While the father realizes he'd been wasting his life on work, his son discovers the joy of life and friends and being confident.

The drama deals with heavy topics of life, death and grief, love, friendship, school and bullying but it is an easy watch. The father in his son's body goes around with adult's attitude, taking no nonsense from other kids making them respect him and therefore his son. He wants to make his son's life in school better. Soon the father enlists the help of his son's slight acquaintances from school creating a tight and varied group of friends. This is what high school should be but it is not. Therefore the tag is fantasy!!!! But one can dream that kids could be nice to each other and not eaten up by jealousy and envy! Sometimes the watch is a bit uncomfortable especially when the father in his son's body interacts with the mother. The father is full of regrets about neglecting his family just to give them a good life and he still has strong feelings for his wife!

The main actor is amazing: I think he was 17 when he filmed this. The transitions from father to son were flawless and you could see who was in charge of the body just by slight changes in posture and facial micro expressions! Amazing. The rest of the cast is just as good! The basketball team, in order to help the son's sister, create an idol-like group Chicken Basket who perform in a club! They are simply incredible!

This drama is a gem, deftly striking the balance between the fun and the serious! I hope that the main actor has a great career. He amply deserves it! Go watch this, you won't regret it!

Read More

Unexpected quirky

I keep complaining about news articles on MDL homepage and how redundant they are but today one such article led me here! I saw that the main actress recently starred in a romcom movie and while scrolling down the movie page I came upon the link and the rest is, as they say, history! This was just what I needed one cold autumn sunday evening!

I am not particularly fan of either stars of the movie but I actually enjoyed their chemistry and comic timing here.

The story is nothing new! Two young people from completely opposite walks of life, meet, fall in love, get married and then start hating each other with a vengeance until they file for divorce. On the way from courthouse they get into accident and, first surprise, end up with amnesia. Both of them! In order to get their memories back, they start living together again chaperoned by her sister who has to do everything in her power to keep them apart. To no awail: they fall in love again!

The movie is fast, funny (though not hilarious in my book: too much slapstick!). Some events are a "must" in a romcom but they managed to find a novel way in presenting the outcome: rich parents vs. poor son-in-law; airport confession etc. Both main characters have quirky and supportive friends. While his parents, especially the mother, is a cliché chip-on-the-shoulder type, her parents are colourful and funny. Her sister is the quirkiest of the lot, dead pan funny. Last but not least, my favourite support character was the hospital shrink using dramas to explain the amnesia.

The only complaint I have is about the editing: the constant going back and forth, past and present, flashbacks out of timeline...that was a bit tiring to follow. Not impossible of course but confusing sometimes!

This is the kind of movie one can watch over and over again, it is light, not too serious, it's a high quality romcom and it delivers the goods!

Read More

My favourite....

Ever since I saw the series for the first time, it has been my favourite. I rewatched this movie numerous times. In fact, every time I need cheering up, I watch this!
Nevertheless, even though I love this story, I am not blind to its many flaws especially where writing and execution are concerned.
The story is nothing new: two people, an actor escaping from a scandal and a chef barely making ends meet, with opposite personalities, meet but they start on the wrong foot. The second meeting doesn't go much better but since they are forced to live together, actor's cheerful disposition melts the iceberg that is the chef. And there's all, folks!
Both main actors have great chemistry and are really skilled and play their respective characters to perfection.
The dynamic between the supporting characters (agent, journalist, manager) was excellent and often very funny!
The issue I have is mostly with writing. I watched this on Viki so I guess the translation is rather accurate. The story is full of clunky and illogical dialogue. For example: when they meet for the first time in the restaurant, as the actor is leaving, the chef stops him and tells him to stop bothering him and leave. Considering that the actor was doing just that BEFORE being stopped, I do not understand the point of this dialogue. And that is just in the first 5 min! There were few more moments like this in the movie! And don't start me with a few scenes of US fan, completely superfluous and nonsensical (i.e.they are in front of the restaurant but she takes photos of them leaving on a motorcycle?!? or the photo she takes of them in the night looks as if it were taken at noon!) On the other hand, the scandal subplot was treated well!
Production was mostly on the cheep side: empty scenes, no extras, cold and unnatural. It is obvious they did not have a lot of money but that does not excuse ugly cinematography (see Thai Wayufilm Production short movies to realize what a talent can do on a shoestring budget!). To be honest there were exactly two scenes where cinematography stood out: nightime basketball game and walk in the park and the chef's run through the autumn park/city towards the end. The rest of the movie is gray, lit up only by the main leads' smiles! Quite literally!
The movie has two hummable songs, nothing extraordinary!
A special shout out to the director of this movie: she is definitely hugely talented storyteller. I have loved every one of her works: Where Your Eyes Linger was the first bl I ever watched. She is amazing. I hope she will regale us with many more stories in the future and not necessarily BL ones!
To My Star stays firmly at the top of korean BLs. It is a sweet movie, full of clichés and misunderstandings but those are not annoying. It is a must watch for any BL enthusiast but as well for anyone who appreciates a good romcom!

Read More

All style, no substance...

What a beautiful film!!! Literally so beautiful: the cinematographer deserves all the praise! But once you get your fill of aesthetics, what remains? Nothing much, unfortunately!

The plot is basic: a game of cat and mouse between a policewoman (did they exist in late Joseon?) and an assassin while investigating a case of counterfeit money and corruption in high places. They meet a few times, the sparks fly and then they are in love?!?!? I guess... But the case she's investigating comes between them.

The film is a mixture of genres and very often that mixture is not correctly dosed. First of all there is random comedy: a lot of it in the first half of the film. Unfortunately that comedy is not a very funny one: cringy and full of unconvincing and exaggerated grimaces. Secondly, the action scenes were expertly choreographed. So much so they were not action but dance scenes: beautiful and ultimately, for the most part, empty of action. And finally, the romance was sorely lacking chemistry for me. And for that I mainly blame the actress Ha Ji Won who cannot act to save her life. She tries so hard but it is just too awful to watch. I kept closing my eyes and cringing inside so much especially when she was playing the "crazy bitch" at one moment: so much grimacing, twisted mouth and googly eyes tells me someone is trying too hard but the result is disappointing. Kang Dong Woo, the Sad Eye assassin, was almost just as bad: a brooding silent type. Opposites attract and clash, the sparks are supposed to fly: I could not see one single one!

The second half of the film takes place in the winter so there is snow falling constantly throughout this second half. That must have been expensive and difficult to film though the result is stunningly beautiful.

The relationship between the policewoman and her boss was almost a father/daughter one and i wish they explored and gave us more details about it. The same goes for the relationship between the assasin and the Minister: what hold did he have ove the young man. The characters are just superficially sketched.

The praise goes to the director, the cinematographer and the choreographer who decided to paint a beautiful moving picture in which they succeeded. But I need substance as well: a tightly written story and some chemistry between the leads. The music was all over the place: going from classical western music, circus music, tango, modern beats and more ordinary original music. The background score during the final battle between the police force and the assassin was poignant and tugging at heartstrings. The final credits song was really nice.

What about the ending? Did he survive the battle and they live happily ever after now? Is the final scene just a memory or the confirmation of him surviving and now working with the police? I don't know and frankly, by the end of the film, I was so fed up and bored that I did not care anymore!

I do apologize to the fans for not seeing things they love about this movie....

Read More

Baby voice and scaredy cat

DISCLAIMER: This is my own opinion. No harm meant to the fans. The drama is bad NOT the actors!

If it had not been for the Watch Challenge this drama would have ended on my Not Interested list (where I put dropped dramas!) after the first episode. Since I promised to finish it, I used my time while watching to stop and rant which you can find below.

In short, this drama has not aged well and it is only 8 years old. The story idea is good, the acting is stellar, the production values are correct. And the writing is catastrophic: EVERY single character starts and ends as unlikeable (with the notable exception of three kitchen assistants), the WORST character ever in k dramas being the sous chef, a misogynist and sexist (he does not want to employ a married women with a kid! this was never ok or funny, as they used it here!) harasser. He might be a good cook but he is a despicable person. The main couple has no chemistry and the character development for the FL turns out to be the complete character change as in she takes all the traits of the ghost girl's personality together with the annoying baby cutesy voice!The plot is full of tropes, it is highly predictable (the murderer was obvious in ep 3). and therefore very boring.
I never watch anything in high speed so I only thought about ffw towards the end of ep. 15. Too late!

The music was correct, especially in the first half which was supposed to be a comedy and they used a lot of jazzy tunes.

THE RANT
I am spending more time ranting about this drama than watching it. I wanted to like it so much but, unfortunately, it is so bad. Ghost stories, possessions and romance are the tropes I like but here they completely ruined it with extreme characterization!
First of all, what is with this woke title on viki: Oh My Ghostess? I did not know the word existed!
4 episodes in and I am not really liking the drama: not a single likable character and everything seems to be set up as extremes. I guess they need to show the character growth but seems very predictable and cliché. I hope I am wrong....
One FL is a doormat, the other pushy harasser as a ghost but a cheerful optimistic girl in reality, the ML is arrogant, his mother annoying, the cop obviously a bad guy who killed the girl and no one knows how to say NO when even slightly pushed.
This drama is so full of tropes! I really hope it gets better!
Ep. 5 and the ML goes topless in order to put some skincare on his face! Nice; Good opportunity for the ghost girl to make a lot of lewd sexist remarks we are supposed to find funny and cute. Imagine if it were a man doing the same thing? Not funny at all! I can go with the idea that as a virgin ghost she needs to get rid of her virginity (how does that work, I wonder?) but does she really need to talk lasciviously?
Ep 7 we see the original, super shy, introverted and incompetent FL freed from the possession and the ML liking her more and more. Does she remind him of himself in high school when he was shy and bullied? But he likes the ghost as well because she's fun and extrovert, good cook and quick thinking!
A pet peeve of mine when I watch dramas set in restaurant kitchens is that almost always the female characters cook with their hair freely flying around: so un hygienic! I know, a FL with her hair tied or under a bonnet is not very appealing but still....when I see them like that, all I can think is "hair in my pasta" and not "how romantic, falling in love over a pan!"
I like the jazzy music on end credits: they should play it more!
Ep. 8 the wimpy FL asks for the ghost girl's help in seducing the chef. So many red flags rising! If she cannot muster up the courage to be more relaxed and brave, it is only cheating and this kind of cheating I hate, i.e. having someone else do your work for you and pretend it was you who did it all! NO NO NO & NOOOOOO!
Do writers & directors really think that women talking like babies are cute and seductive? The ghost is just being so utterly annoying with her cutesy voice and aggressive behaviour. This has not aged well! She can perfectly well stand up and walk but he insists on carrying her?!? Why do these men insist on treating the adult women as small, irresponsible and weak children? That ML is starting seriously to get on my nerves: it must be his caveman side - he likes the weak female more than an adult and competent one! He really needs to shed this macho mentality. He had a crush on the women for such a long time but never dared to say anything: now she's giving him strong signals to come and ask her on a date, he does not want to?!? What a cretin! Men are really afraid of independent women: how much low esteem does he have!
Please, can we get a likeable character in here?
And that ghost in ep 9? She is beyond annoying? Could not the writers find a middle ground where the fls are concerned and not make them complete opposites? And the ml falling for this behaviour: blowing hot and cold, shy and pushy? Did he really fall for someone with apparently split personality or is he just an idiot? My two cents worth of psychology would say he is still deeply insecure about his own qualities, he never managed to completely get rid of low self-esteem which made him a bullying target in his teens. He still seems to be that shy teen hiding not very deep inside the successful adult!
The extremely annoying ghost is still trying to get into the ML's pants, "seducing" him with baby voice and buckling his seat belt: this is the first time I've seen this in an asian drama. Usually it is the opposite: the macho man reaches over to take the girl's seatbelt as if she is not capable to do it herself (or it is the ml who tries to show his caring macho side).
I am watching ep 9 in short instalments: it is so hard to watch to the point of being unwatchable. The FL has definitely better chemistry with Cordon than with the ML.
So she goes drinking with the kitchen staff and ends up falling asleep in a motel room around 2AM. He gets all panicky and goes to get her, sobers her up and then they go home together I guess around 4AM. And his mother visits at that moment?!? Really?!? Ridiculous!
Ep 11 so the ghost is dating the chef and realized she is in love with him. He used to refuse her demands for sleeping together but now that he is ready to go further she is refusing. She'd turned from an aggressive female to a shirking violet, jumping as if electrocuted at the slightest touch! This dynamic is reminding me of Doom At Your Service which was the same: the FL stopped being forward once she fell in love! Another annoying trope!
I am only curious now to find out how the writers are going to sort this love triangle mess. Who is he really in love with the shy girl or the ghost? But by the end of the episode, the girl has realized that the one the chef likes is the ghost not her and told him that! Finally, some honesty! This is getting interesting....By the way, what happened to the nice jazzy music? Now that the things are getting serious, we are on to the soppy pop music?
So right at the moment when I thought they could not go any lower, the sleezy, creepy sous chef interviews candidates for a kitchen aid position. This is the pinnacle of sexism: do you have a boyfriend etc. and then he dismisses a candidate who is married with a kid! Not funny or cute just humiliating.
No, this is definitely not getting any better: just the opposite!
Ep 14 and the "pearls of logic"just keep coming: the ghost girl possessed the shaman lady but she is still incapable of turning pages and looking at her own diary? !? What is the point of possession? Just to talk?
Ep 15 Surprise surprise!!! The bad guy became evil because he was not loved by his parents! Boohoo! Give me a break! You are really going down that path, Writers, poor little unloved boy?!?!? His deeply buried resentment made it easy for the evil spirit to possess him?
And of course, the girl cannot tell the chef the news over the phone, that would be too simple! They need to see each other which will of course give the bad guy enough time to kidnap her or whatever so she would not tell anyone and bring out the ghost girl! I want to drop this so much! The last time a drama annoyed me so much was And I Married My Antifan!
And of course, the bad guy seems dead by the end of the episode! Why would he stay alive and face the consequences of his actions? Too complicated, right? How about he survives but with amnesia?
Finally, the last episode i.e. the wrap up or "they lived happily ever after" and the ghost girl is gone but she left most of her character traits with the other girl who is now cheerful, confident and speaking with the baby voice. At least the brilliant jazzy music is back.
The most repulsive and disgusting character is that sous chef: harassing the people working under him all the time. I don't understand why no one says anything? Still the hierarchy in the korean society? A person older than you is allowed to insult you and harass you as much as they want?

Read More

Money, Money, Money....

...How funny, in a rich man's world!

Often compared with Black Mirror, this short series is pointing to the absurdities of contemporary society, focused on money. What would you do, how far would you go, how much does it take?

The main character of this drama is just such a person, a super rich man, bored and conducting a social experiment in order to answer those questions. The series tells stories of six people, on surface not connected but whose lives cross paths in crucial moments.

A women finally gets an office job but the work is absurd, mind wrecking and pointless. So she resigns. Her coworker decides to spend an afternoon with his daughter(who found out he was not her father) but while on the phone his car with her inside gets stolen. By a pyramid scheme salesman looking for money. While on a crossroad, the women from the beginning jumps into the car. Down the road they are stopped by a fake policeman who is trying to win money on an internet game led by a righteous justice warrior the salesman's mother was part of. After letting the car go, he hears a police call for a possible murder taking place in an abandoned office. The man there offers him a choice: a meaningless well paid job or the righteous justice.

Each story, with the exception of the last one is left without ending: do their action have repercussions? Probably, logically but we never find out! The stories are well written: succinct and to the point. The acting is excellent: particularly the little girl. The music, jazzy with 70's overtones, is perfect for these dark stories.

We might take umbrage or disapprove their choices but how would you behave in similar situations? I think that the answer depends on your age: the young people would probably revolt, stir the masses on the internet and move on to another crusade of the week. More mature adults would probably weigh the pros and the cons reasonably!

Whether we like it or not, we are all controlled by money. The question is how much?

Read More

Messy relationship & recycling

Wikipedia says: Polyethylene terephthalate (or poly(ethylene terephthalate), PET, is the most common thermoplastic polymer resin of the polyester family and is used in fibres for clothing, containers for liquids and foods, and thermoforming for manufacturing, and in combination with glass fibre for engineering resins.

Basically, PET is the material plastic bottles are made of. In this short series, the main characters liken their relationship to a plastic bottle and its cap: how long does it last and if they are going to meet again after recycling.

The drama depicts a relationship: meet, get together, live together, first glitches and then a major one sending everything up in the air. The relationship is told in short scenes over a period of time. That was the first problem I had with this drama: the timeline is not clear: months or years? Eventually we discovered that it took two years for the relationship to go bust(one moves out!) but it feels like it had taken much longer. Logically! Do you really break up with your boyfriend after a year because he does not want to come out to his family? In Japan? After a few years, maybe.... Moreover, they continue living together and seeing new people and still sleeping together. Messy, very messy but they seem fine with it!

The characters are rather sketchy as we never get to know much about them and their past, friends and family: one is bi the other one gay! They are obviously in love with each other but cannot live together. One is getting serious while the other is still behaving like a teen and throwing tantrums and running off in the middle of an discussion.

Production gives off the indie vibe: real and rough and cold (practically no colour to speak of!). Sets a limited to an apartment and a couple of outside shots. The story is straight forward for the most part though the final part has some flashbacks which are difficult to grasp (same sets, similar situation!). There are a couple of scenes after final credits suggesting that maybe they are not as over as they would like us to believe. The ending is open!

Read More

More love needed....

I don't get it! I really, really do not get it! Why is this drama getting so much hate?

It has everything: hot abs, enemies to lovers, sponge baths, great friends, toxic story, regular pacing, mystery....and it is highly bingeable! It also has a lot of bad acting and some horrible main characters.

And still, I have enjoyed watching this immensely: binged it in two days.

The drama tells us the story of a couple who have been together for over two years. One is a former member of a local criminal outlet and the other is a spoilt son of a car shop chain owner. There is a mystery surrounding how they met and a bigger one as to why are they still together because they seem so incompatible: one is serious and hard working while the other one behaves like a spoilt 5 year old throwing tantrums if his cake is delivered too late. Strange enough, apart from parents, nobody finds his behaviour odd. They have a close set of friends who apparently know their story. One day the serious guy gets into an accident and ends up with amnesia: forgetting last three years and therefore not recognizing his boyfriend as well. They continue living together and slowly he and us, both, we discover the hows and the whys of their relationship.

I have to admit I started watching the cut version of this drama and dropped it halfway through: bad acting, bad filming, bad storytelling and awful subs. Then I discovered that there was the uncut version. A completely different story played out in front of my eyes: the first episode was completely re-cut and re-edited, the pacing was much smoother and more logical, the acting was still bad (someone should stop Frank from acting, please! Or if you have to have him, triple the number of acting lessons!) but the subs were much better and the story was gripping! It continued like that till the end: the secrets were revealed steadily throughout the series, nothing was rushed and we were given explanations needed (though I admit somehow rather illogical but I decided not to care about it!).

There were two side couples, apparently in long-term relationships but they are actually just parts of background for the main story: we find out just tiny bits of information about them since they are here only to act as supportive friends for the main couple. Maybe their stories were covered in depth in two first books.

There is an additional plot involving the spoilt brat's cousin who hates his boyfriend and repeatedly tries to kill him. It is a bit unclear and illogical why the cousin,( who by the way looks completely insane with those eyes just waiting to pop out!) is so jealous of him

The actors were quite cute, did not shy from skinship which looked so natural. The music was good and the production looked like they had a serious budget!

Love Syndrome III is definitely in need of more love from the audience: it is so much better than what we are led to believe here. It is a kind of fun, toxic and sexy guilty pleasure BL. No brain needed, everything is rather straightforward and in spite of illogical reasons, the plot moves on at right speed, right enough to keep us guessing and wanting to watch more.

Read More

Diamond in the rough....

Everything you need to know about this short movie is actually written in comments.

It is a story about three high school best friends, two boys and a girl, discovering their sexuality. Awkwardly. One boy and a girl are dating while the other boy is quietly pining. Until one day the couple fights and are comforted by the other boy. Separately. It is also evident that the three of them are in love with each other.

The story is nothing new but it fits the short movie format perfectly. Under the burning summer sun, the three are feeling hormones raging and emotions that are difficult to put in words. The editing is choppy: it goes back and forth, second half of the movie being actually the first one but with extended scenes. It is a bit difficult to follow the timeline but thanks to the wardrobe changes it is pretty quickly clear what the director is doing. The cinematography is nice, all the warm tones of reds and maroon.

The actors are for once human looking. Very young but real and not the polished sort of usual thai bls and therefore making the story even more impactful and poignant. The scene that I found the most amazing was the wordless confession between two boys: everything was said through looks, intense gazes. Just beautiful.

The ending is a cliffhanger, open. The three of them realize they'd betrayed each other and now they have to decide where to go from there. I like to imagine them staying together, all three of them and not only as friends. That would be a perfect solution....

Read More

Poly? ACE?

Disclaimer: Please do not come down on me like a ton of bricks! Be kind to me! I am just ignorant and trying to educate myself!

If you are not familiar with the terminology or the very notion of polyamourous relationship and the meaning of ACE, you'd better do some research before watching this otherwise you'll find it incomprehensible!
There has been a huge development in sexual orientation terminology within the general population and, I hate to admit it,I did not keep up to date! Recently, there was a thread in the feeds dealing with it, but to be honest, my english being far from fluent, I did not understand much! The same is with this movie!

This short movie came highly recommended so I thought I might write a sentence or two about it since I spent some money on vimeo to watch it!

So from what I saw, please be indulgent of my ignorance, this is a story of three men in love and who live together: two engage in sexual activity and the third one, being repulsed by the notion of anyone touching him, just watches the other two and takes pictures (he's a photographer!). The end!

The actors have really good chemistry and their characteristics come out through just a few phrases. The cinematography is a bit on the dark and colourless side. The music...was there any? Can't remember! Rewatch value is high: first because you paid for it so you rewatch it often(LOL!) and second, in order to see tiny details which help understand the story better.

I would have liked the movie to be longer, to get some back story about the characters. Nothing there unfortunately! This is just a moment in time, when they decide to live together! A short movie which has the privilege, it seems to me, to be the first along with Koisenu Futari, to speak openly about ACE individuals. And as such, it is a unavoidable watch! It doesn't hurt it, either, to be excellent for those 18min and making everybody who's seen it want more!

Read More

Universal story

Can I say I was a bit disappointed in this film? I expected more or different, and I found things I've already seen elsewhere!

Let me explain myself!
The documentary tells the story of homosexuality in modern China (from 1949) through interviews with activists, professors, journalists and artists. And it tells a very familiar story, reminiscent of what the west went through. Homosexuality had been banned, outlawed, punished, people have been ostracized, beaten, pushed into hiding. Slowly the laws changed, society's perceptions changed, decriminalizing sodomy and eventually homosexuality at the end of 20th century. At the same time HIV/AIDS epidemic struck China with its full force and the government had to do something in order to slow it down: prevention, condoms etc. This made the LGBT people more visible. The economic growth opened China, the people were given a taste of liberty and they used it to put forward the idea that gay people (or tongzhi) are just humans like everyone else. Gays and lesbians organized themselves into clubs and then they opened bars and gained more and more tolerance. These clubs were also used to promote protection and prevention from AIDS. There were classes at the universities in social studies about homosexuality, film festivals were organized, art exhibitions as well. The backlash from authorities seems to have been minimal. The movie ends on a high note. By 2008, the acceptance of LGBT community in China was high and they were even fighting for equal marriage (even though the majority of people interviewed here were against it saying why should they mimic heterosexuals?!?!?).

I do not know much about China but I expected this to show us a different story. It didn't! Should it be a comfort to know that we in the west went through the same motions as they did? Maybe! This is just to show that no matter which country, they were all at one time intolerant of different sexuality.

This film is divided in 8 parts, each covering a subject connected with the LGBT history with poetic titles like "From Pitch Black To Light Grey", "From Parks to Grassroots" etc. explaining the evolution of chinese society's views on homosexuality. There are some interesting interviewees: a 70yr old gay man talking about his recent promiscuity or the youngish blogger spending time proudly outing people who do not want to be outed who were the extremes (just to show us they do exist) while the majority were university professors, lawyers and activist.

What happened next? I wager that the story is different today! I would love to see a documentary about the last 15 years in China!

Read More

Be polite or.....

I am trying hard to figure out whether this is a short film or the first episode of a series. The producers are asking for support in order to make new episodes in the multiverse!

The story is simple: when Te wakes up after a nap at the lakeside, he finds out his shoes are gone so he goes looking for the thief. The first person he meets is wearing shoes very much like his own so he gets so angry that that person hits him and he finds himself back in time, rebooted to the beginning of the conversation. The reboot happens a few times until he is politely asking about the missing shoes. Eventually, it turns out that the reboots were just a bad dream!

Parallel universes are an intriguing concept: here the different outcomes of the same situation were shown as if they were a dream. Be nice or you risk to miss out on important things: like a new and solid relationship!

The actors are super cute and they work well together even though they are obviously rather inexperienced which shows. In the end, even though a dream theory is delivered, a doubt remains. The drama is filmed and written well: there is a cute scene when Te trips and falls on the other guy also called Te, we see a heart shaped cloud in the sky! Tropes done well are priceless!

All in all, this is a cute short watch!

Read More

Blast from the past

After the first, rather impressive Timeline movie where the plot actually justified the title, the three directors made a second one. This time it is just a simple omnibus movie featuring four stories. I watched it on youtube in appalling quality but since it had never been officially released, it is better than nothing!

The first story: Mind Reader is a typical early thai bl which takes place in high school and where pretty boys are followed around by fujoshis, girls and trans fans screaming. Amidst that noise, is Sun attracted by Boss's popularity and almost unaware that there is Kit, a boy with a crush on him. It is very cringy but the romance is cute and sweet behind the superfluous cringe. I almost dropped the movie because of it.
It stars Kritsana Boonroth as Sun and Phattaparong Chaibal as Kit.

I liked the second story the best: The Memory on Page 53. Nan is giddy with delight to go on a trip with Phu who had just broken up with his boyfriend. But this trip reveals the memories they are both trying to avoid remembering. They actually dated and broke up 5 years earlier.
This was a beautifully filmed story. The director Artistaya Bangpao filmed nature, their feeling and memories with sensitivity. The actors have great chemistry. The editing is amazing: the past and the present trips mixed together showing that nothing had changed in their feeling. The only issue I have is with the story itself: we never find out why they broke up since they were and obviously still are in love! I would love to see a longer version of this story by the same director with the story expanded and more details given.

The third story, Non-Verbal features a deaf character Ohm who meets the eyes of Tan (Chinoros Duangrat) and their gazes lock. But a misunderstanding almost ruins the beginning of a love story.
This is the shortest story in the movie. Fortunately they did not drag out too long the misunderstanding. The novelty is a deaf character who is on his guard because of his handicap and is quick to jump to wrong conclusion. Tan clears the issue quickly with the help of his doting, no nonsense mother.
Directed by Jitthinund Yodwongsakull

The fourth story circles back to school from the first one. Nine, a boy from that school, gets attached to Nong, a middle aged trans woman who holds a stand selling fried bananas Nine likes. Nong is affected by Nine's attention since he reminds her of her sister's son. Man, a boy from school who has a crush on Nine, finds this relationship suspicious and does everything in his power to ruin it. We eventually find out that Nine is the long lost nephew but the damage has been done and Nong moves away.
This was a good and a bad story at the same time. The good was having a trans main character (when in 2016 trans were just used as screaming over the top comic relief in bls). The very bad is the possible romance innuendo which was never really cleared and the conclusion we get to draw from her reactions in the last part is that there was more in her feelings that met the eye!
Cast: Jennifer Panot Ruangratanachinda as Nong and Natthaphong Charoenchaisombat as Nine. Directed by Passapong Throngprasit

The film was written by Passapong Throngprasit and Artistaya Bangpao. The stories are of different quality and each director's style is obvious. I definitely want to see more of Artistaya Bangpao: his direction is the most accomplished. The music is unremarkable pop songs which have the merit of talking about each story.

Unlike the first movie where the stories ended up being connected on a few levels here only the first and the last stories are loosely connected with the same highschool. As for the timeline, from the title, there is the influence of the past in present in the three stories (not the 1st one which is firmly anchored in the present)!

Read More