More a slice of life drama than a romance
This was one of the most anticipated BL dramas that I wanted to watch in the past year. The story, and the actors that would be playing the parts, really intrigued me. The storyline that involves organ transplantation, specifically the heart, is not a new idea, but it certainly hasn’t been overdone either. There were many parts of the drama that lived up to my expectations. The acting, the cinematography, the dilemma in the story of someone else’s life being sacrificed for your own. And overall I really liked the themes that were presented of camaraderie , family, friendship and living a simple contented life.However, to call this a romance....is a little generous. I would call it bromance more than anything. I did not feel romantic chemistry between the main couple, though they had good acting chemistry. I know it may be petty, but I was extremely disappointed to not get any kind of affectionate overtures from them until the last episode. And until the last minute they didn’t even kiss each other! Now I understand culturally there is a difference in how romantic couples may show their affection. As well as the characters personalities. But you also have to sell me on some kind of physical attraction in order to believe that these two seemingly heterosexual man all of a sudden are romantically interested each other and want to spend their life together. I would be interested in reading the book and seeing if it differed in this way. Maybe they were trying to keep it rated “G” in order to appeal to a larger audience on television?
That said, I don’t feel like I wasted my time watching it. The child actors were very good and adorable. I liked the themes and the general storyline and how one can change their life for the better. But I would not watch this again, and I definitely would not recommend it to someone as being a romance. It’s more like a slice of life drama.
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Loved it
This drama just proves you don’t need kisses and sex to appeal to people. It’s such a cute story line with great actors. A much more mature story to the majority of BLs I have seen in the past and I think I preferred that.Towards the beginning I was very tempted to drop it as I thought it would all be rich boy lifestyle but it wasn’t and I’m so glad I kept going to the end. The ending was an absolutely perfect way to finish such a unique story .
Definitely a change from a university/school :)
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One for the BL history books
Didn't think I would find a BL better than I Told Sunset About You, but this show proved me wrong. I waited over a year for it and I'm so glad it didn't disappoint. If anything it surpassed all my expectations.Let's start off with the story. The pacing of the show was really good. It wasn't rushed or dragged, and the build-up for their romance was perfect. The show's concept is fresh and it's always nice to have a breather from the typical cheesy college setting we see in BLs.
The place they shot Pha Pun Dao village added a lot of color to the show and made it very realistic. It gave a good sense of how life is like in these villages and the problems they go through. This was what made it stand out so well from other shows.
Besides romance, the show had also taught me so many good lessons when it comes to personal growth. I enjoyed each and every episode and I'm going to miss getting excited for Fridays!
Next, acting. I thought this was going to be the weak point of the show since Mix is pretty much a newbie, and I was never a big fan of Earth's acting. But, they definitely proved me wrong. The amount of emotion and tension I felt from watching was amazing. Mix's acting is extremely impressive and Earth's acting had improved a lot as well. Overall casting and acting was good and there isn't anything for me to fault.
Lastly, music. I am not one to care about soundtracks/music in shows. But the music in this show really hit me hard for some reason. I wasn't tearing up in the last episode until the music started playing, and I ended up becoming a sobbing mess.
To summarise, I would 100% rewatch this show again and would definitely recommend everyone (not just BL lovers) to watch this. It's a really beautiful show. It has raised my standard for BLs and has proven that you don't need many kiss/sexual scenes to pull off a fantastic BL. Good job to everyone who worked on this!
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Masterpiece
Another masterpiece was ended. Never forget the lessons we have learned with this series. Contentment, Love, dreams, family, friendship, patience, and forgiveness. We only have one life to live so live your life to the fullest.We all waited for a year to make this happen and the production never fails to give us the. hundred percent
I never thought that I cried so hard for the final episode especially the airport scene and when Tian bid farewell in the village. I hate goodbyes so this kinda broke my heart. My heart is overwhelmed with happiness at the latter part. They gave us the sweetest ending that we all wanted.
I cannot stop smiling at the last part. They act like a married couple! I wanted to see more of this because they look good together!
The instrumental music was everything. It always gave me chills whenever it's playing. It makes the scenes heartwarming and emotional which gives me a signal to start crying.
I remember how emotional I am with SOTUS, UWMA, and ITSAY. ?
We can all agree that the acting, music, production, and direction were superb! Everyone will probably demand for another season. #ATaleOfThousandStars #ATOTS #ataleofthousandstarsFinale #EarthMix #phupha #Tian #PhuphaTian #GMMTV #alaiwaph
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This review may contain spoilers
A turning point for GMM BL series, but not a masterpiece
Most people loved this series, but I don't like it so much. One of the main reasons is the acting. Many people might hate me for saying that, but Earth's performance is far inferior to Mix's. I really cannot feel much sympathy for Phupha. I don't hate him, but I don't like him either. He causes me indifference, which is a problem in a series that depends on its main characters so much.Although people say 1000 Stars is a mature series, it looks like more a fairy tale. When I think about a mature movie or series, fairy tales don't come to my mind. A mature series explore real issues faced by adults. This series is not like that. The main purpose here is to make the audience emotional to Tian's redemption story. It is true that we are presented to the struggle of the poor villagers, but this is more to develop Tian's character other than denouncing or reflecting on North Thailand's social issues. If they had explored the social problem more seriously, maybe we could consider it a mature series. Poverty here is portrayed in a very romanticized way. It doesn't seem real. The plight of the villagers are not developed and the difficulties faced by Tian in the village are there to emphasize his redemption arc, not to give life to any hidden social dilemma. All the community's suffering is more a background to the development of Tian & Phupha's romance. Even the conflict with the weapon/drug dealers is easily solved. If the solution was only calling the police and leading an armed attack on the bad guys' settlement, why have they never done this before?
But it is ok, a TV show doesn't need to be mature to be good. I just expected more from 1000 Stars. The production is better than other GMM series, but it is still inferior to Nadao, for example. Some scenes are embarrassingly unrealistic, such as the drowning of the school kid in episode 2. Other scenes are simply cringe, such as the episode where the villagers and Tian observe a sexual performance inside a wooden house. This kind of comedic moments were a turn off. I would have preferred if they explored more the psychology of the characters. Phupha, for instance, is an unidimensional character. It is difficult to develop a realistic romance when one of the characters is so plain and shallow.
Finally, I disliked a lot the way they treated Tian's crimes. He organized a street race and gave his car to the killer. According to Thai law, he should be prosecuted. I have the feeling that the plot justifies a very bad underlying moral in Thai society: the rich ones only need to make a "social work/charity" to get away with their crimes, no matter what they did. No one ends up behind bars. If you are curious about what I am saying here, search for Orachorn “Praewa” Thephasadin's case. It happened in 2010 and it is a very good example of how rich young Thai people can do whatever they want and get away with it .
If you pay attention, the main ideia here is: a rich boy causes someone else's death. Through a series of criminal tricks, his family gets the heart of the girl who was indirectly killed by their son and gives the boy the heart of the same girl the boy helped to kill. Then, the boy gets away with all his crimes, devotes part of his life to help the poor villagers, pays for his karma and gets a price: a hot boyfriend.
No justice for Torfun at all.
In sum, it is an interesting GMM series. Much better than the average for a series from this TV channel, but not the masterpiece it could have been.
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Highest quality of any BL
For sure this is the best yet of the Thai BL's. Bravo! I can't remember even on episode that I thought the story was off track or they were stalling or going on a tangent. The story developed out from start to finish logically. There were some twist and turns but not too much and not too fantastical to be believable. Earth for sure was the best actor award. He was believable playing a stern and difficult part. All of the actors including the kids were believable and likeable. That again is a great accomplishment without being too cheesy. I will really miss this one. Maybe I'll feel better about the rewatch value after a while but because it is a story with a they live happily every after and no want of a season 2. The Dr (Nam) is also an honorable mention. He needs his own series.Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Classic BL
Yup. You read it right. It's a CLASSIC BL for me. From the story up to the cast and crews. I want to read the novel of this story.Story....
I really appreciate the loved the series itself. Eventhough some says that there are some changes that they made in the series, it is still very much appreciated. Well because first the setting itself is really lovely. I love the nature. It is first time for me to see the nature of thailand, the flow of the story is really refreshing - as an inter fan - , the different culture/believes/place in thailand, the simplicity of the group that lives and protects their place, they've shown it clearly - because the story sets on the northern part of thailand, based on the interview videos that i've watch, correct me if i'm wrong. It also shows the conflict and the power between the poor and rich people, and how they've solve it one by one. It is not just focus on the bl genre but it focuses as a whole. Every episode is a must see, the story itself has a lesson.
Acting/casting....
All of them did the great and lovely job, they we're really into their roles especially the main couple Earth and Mix Captain Phupha and Tian) Earth really improve in this series, those eyes, i really love those eyes, they we're somewhat talking, Earth don't need any words to speak because his eyes we're the one's who do the talking (?) Mix is really did a great job in the series, it is not obvious to him that he is a newbie, he's like a pro. I love their body language. Their emotions will really touch your heart. The supporting actors (best friend of Tian, Dr. Nam and the forest rangers), they we're really support the main, in their love story, they let them loved each other, the children, i really love them, they we're cute (they we're look like the daughters and sons of Captain Phupha and Teacher Tian) the words of wisdom that comes from the elders, and lastly the crews, because without them this series won't be alive/won't be shown it tv/internet.
Music....
I love the theme song. First time i've read the english translated version of it in the series it made me cry, because of the flasback scene. Knowing the message of the song because it was translated/subtitled in english and the tone makes me understand more the series itself. And it is classic (the tune of the song makes it old eventhough it is new, it is refreshing.)
Rewatched and Over all value...
Since it is finished, i will watch it all over again. It is really worth it. From episode 1 up to 10. Years of waiting from the first trailer that been shown in yt and until now, it is worth it for those who were waiting for it.
Classic? Yup it is classic. Because the story, the setting and the music itself makes it classic. And how they connect classic to bl genre.
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The series long awaited and we all needed
Like the title says this series is the one that made us wait a few good months, but that was not for nothing. I've already fallen in love with this series concept back in 2019 when the 1st trailer was released. Literally everything from the story through the music to the cast intrigued me. We have waited quite a long time until we got the 2nd trailer of this series. It was slightly different, but the most important was that the series was said to finally happen. Then the release day finally has come...Going into the 1st episode I was freaking excited. After it finished I was totally enchanted by every aspect of it. The plot was smooth and at the same time detailed. I felt that my expectations were met and kept my hopes up for the remaining episodes. As the plot had gone further I could feel totally involved in this story. The scenes following each other made every time sense without having any unnecessary scenes (okay maybe just one scene but that's only one out of hundreds). I don't want to spoil the ending of the series but it is was executed PERFECTLY. To see me getting emotional while watching a series is quite rare and the last episode made my tears flow quite frequently. Wonderful job P'Aof! That's why I want to give this series a perfect 10 for the story telling.
I think we all will agree that the chemistry that Earth (Chief Phupha) and Mix (Tian) had was one of the best that a Thai series ever served us. Of course the fact that they knew each other for a long time beforehand and that Earth recommended Mix for the role of Tian is the main factor for the chemistry. What matters is that they managed to get into the role despite their characters in real life. First of all, we have Mix who played Tian. No one would be able to handle Tian's role the way Mix did it. It was his debut and he nailed every single scene. He put his whole heart into acting as Tian and it totally paid of the effort. On the other hand there's Earth who portrayed Chief Phupha in an amazing way. At first cold and bossy he kept on getting warmer towards Tian. The way he kept being serious throughout most of the time and smiling once in a while in an episode made me totally feel the role he played. Such a lovely and non-toxic relationship growing episode by episode. Also shoutout to the actors who had amazing supporting roles and the kids who did great job. I have to give them all a 10 for their HUGE effort.
Music made me feel every time so good. The OST did fit very well in the trailer. I'm very glad they picked such good songs for the whole series. I'm very happy that the actors took part in it as well. Both Earth and Aye did great job covering the song. Actors should always have some cover or a song and I'm glad to see that often in Thai series. Also shoutout to Earth playing klui which was very comforting. Furthermore, the song "Lom" (Wind) in episode 10 made me cry instantly. It fits so damn well there! The only thing I regret is that they didn't use the song from the 1st trailer at all. That's why I have to cut off a half star so the music gets 9.5/10.
To be honest, it's hard for me to tell anything about rewatch value. I love this series the most of all the series, but it's just too early to elaborate on that. I'm certainly gonna rewatch it soon, but I don't know when. This series is PURE and with this word I want to end my review.
PS. I certainly want to recommend this series to everyone who want to watch something genuine, educational and beautiful to the core as an escape from our reality.
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One of the Best BL
I almost waited for this BL for more than a year and finally, I am sad that today is the last episode.It's the best BL I ever watched. First I started this for Earth but Mix's acting skill blow me away. Because of his acting skill, you can feel it more and more into it. I like the fact that this is not related to any college love story as is a completely different story altogether. I really don't want to make any spoiler here but it's definitely worth watching this series and will recommend this too.
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YOU MUST WATCH IT AND RATE IT FAIR!
Omg. I’m speechless.This was one beautiful one I found after I almost gave up on gmmtv and thai bls.
WHAT A MASTERPIECE.
THERE IS NOTHING NOT TO LOVE.
EVERY SCENE IS MAGICAL AND IS SUPER SOOTHING.
THE CINEMATOGRAPHY IS TO DIE FOR.
THE ACTING IS INCREDIBLE. ESPECIALLY EARTH’s. I wish they didn’t make mix cry so much but other than that THIS ONE IS IT.
IM GONNA WATCH IT EVERY NIGHT.
AND LET THAT MAGICAL MUSIC - (NO WORDS CAN DESCRIBE HOW BEAUTIFUL THE OSTS ARE) PUT ME TO SLEEP.
I have one thing to tell you.
WATCH IT.
AND HELP THEM BRING BACK ANOTHER SEASON.
<3 #phapundao #showsomelove #its time to give credits to such good bls. Cause it’s not fair when ones which are barely good enough gain so much popularity when these kinda good ones stay underrated.
THIS IS WORTH IT. Love y’all!
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One of gmmtv’s best bl
This is one of gmmtv’s best if not best bl. Mix did such a good job for his first lead role in a series. Wasn’t the BEST acting, prob where mix can improve is his crying scenes. Seems like he has a tough time finding that spot to start his water works but other than that, for his first lead role he did amazing. The music is always on point. And can I give props to the kids. They did a great job! The cinematography was really a step up in this series compared to other gmmtv’s bl series. Story in this is really nice and different. Because it’s different it’s nice and refreshing. Not too sure on the rewatch ability on this series but having said that, you def have to watch this. Won’t be disappointedWas this review helpful to you?
It's down-to-Earth and a Mix of emotions
No I will not apologize for the puns.In all honesty, this series is well worth the wait and goes beyond just two people falling in love. It's family, aspirations, friendships, the rise and fall, the process of life and self-reflection. There is so much jam-packed in these ten episodes. It is such a journey to watch from beginning to end.
The story is so unique and has many messages to reflect on.
The acting is some of the best I've ever seen in a series.
The romance is many feelings wrapped in one; a beautiful path leading all the way to the final episode.
If you have this on your watch list, or haven't heard of it until now, this is an immediate, top-of-the-list watch. You are pulled into the story, the characters, the conflicts, and the romance. Standing ovation-worthy performance told in ten episodes.
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