My Biker (2023)

confusing short movie

Overall: I really wanted to like this movie but I did not like one of the lead characters and was confused by the timeline/plot. 35 minutes, aired on Wayufilm's YouTube channel.

What I Liked
- production value
- the actors did a good job
- the ending scene was sweet

Room For Improvement
- the timeline was confusing, the friends met up and Motor had a scar, they went on a ride but then their clothes changed (I think this was a continuity error though), then Motor hung out with his girlfriend and the other guy got unreasonably angry, then there was a flashback to a year ago where the same girlfriend he was dating in the present cheated on him and Motor got into an accident, then in the present (a year later) Motor decided to break up with his girlfriend???
the above would have made sense if that was a different girlfriend but I re-watched and it definitely seems to be the same actress, why didn't Motor break up with her for a year after that incident? or was she not actually cheating and he was just sad that she cancelled plans but they kept dating? but his friend didn't know he was dating for a year???

- didn't like how Gentle got angry at Motor when he spent time with his girlfriend, then Gentle doing the silent treatment and basically threatening to end the friendship, it would have made more sense if we had seen a montage of Motor constantly cancelling plans with Gentle last minute
- some of the scenes dragged a bit and could have been cut for faster pacing
- they seemed to establish both of them as straight with the girlfriend stuff and then talking about never holding a guy's waist before, felt like a 'gay for you' trope

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Motorcycle, love triangle, sexual awakening, indie cinema and for LGBT+ visibility

Who doesn't like movies that portray young loves? It is a cinematographic subgenre that has a special charm, because it is very easy to identify with the characters who experience those first tickles in the stomach and an unknown sexual attraction towards another person.
Who doesn't like movies that have the motorcycle as another protagonist, being one of those in which the good guy is better, the bad guy worse, to save the world, to chase evildoers, to escape from the abyss, and also, of course to fall in love?
Who doesn't like movies in which a guy lets the co-pilot hug his body to avoid falling off the motorcycle?
Who doesn't like movies in which the boy claims he's never hugged anyone before, and the other admits that it's also the first time he's allowed himself to be hugged by another person?
Who doesn't like movies in which from the action on the road to the connection between two people, embraced side by side, they transport us to worlds full of adrenaline, adventure and a deep love on two wheels?
But what will happen if we add a third love interest to all this? What will happen if instead of two guys on a motorcycle, there are three people on two wheels who end up involved in a love triangle?
Starring Fongfong Pathomporn Panfa ('My Star' and 'My Star: Uncut Version', both 2024), as Gentle, and Jo Ronaporn Vipataputi ('My Streamer', 2023 and 'Boy Scouts', 2022, 'My Star' and My Star: Uncut Version', 2024), like Motor, the film 'My Biker' talks about the discovery of sexuality in adolescence, sexual awakening and, more specifically, what it means to accept one's own homosexuality. It is, in essence, a story that supports diversity and also LGBTIQ visibility. Gentle discovers his sexual orientation in a heteronormative world by spending time with his best friend, with whom he establishes an emotional and sexual connection.
'เราและนาย My Biker' is an original short film by Wayufilm Production, in association with Pigeon Pictures, following 'The Internship', 'Monochrome' and their first sapphic short, 'HER'.
Set in Chiang Mai, Thailand, and written and directed by Nitchapoom Chaianun (Nicchi), the short tells us how Gentle and Motor share a vacation before the restart of the new school year, and plan to use their free days to tour the region by motorcycle. and take photos of the landscapes of the places they visit.
But suddenly Gentle's motorcycle breaks down, forcing him to ride behind Motor's big motorcycle, meaning they may be closer to each other than they've ever been before.
After a first outing, Gentle spends a night at the house of the neighborhood boy who, riding his motorcycle, goes through life at full speed, except in the moments when he carries his friend on his back, because he fears he will fall.
There is something universal in the story of Gentle and Motor, and it could not be otherwise, this being a romance like all the others.
The next morning, the handsome young man who seems insensitive to love, meets outside the house with Namwan, his girlfriend, with whom he has made an appointment, and Gentle, from the door, watches them play between laughter and mutual loving interactions. When getting on the motorcycle to go for a ride, the young woman hugs Motor's torso, and Gentle remembers how he did not dare to put his arm around her body the day before.
By silently observing them before being left alone, it is enough for Gentle to discover that he is in love with his friend. Those unique and inexplicable feelings, those jealousy that he feels for the first time in his short life, cannot be anything other than that the attraction he feels for Motor goes beyond friendship. "I want to be close to you always. I want to see your face every day," he will assure her when they meet again.
Gentle will discover that travel and big motorcycles are not the most important things in the world. How will Motor deal with Gentle's sudden confession? Will their friendship go beyond love?
When he has confessed his feelings, both will understand that from that moment on not everything will be as it has been until now.
A textbook 'coming of age' that, however, goes further in this slow-paced film that begins to gain momentum at times, until it shows that its director, the Thai filmmaker Nitchapoom Chaianun, is committed to the need to uncover a a topic that still carries many taboos, such as homosexuality, especially in a country that refuses to recognize equal marriage and, therefore, homosexual relationships.
I like the performance of the two young actors, as I am equally fascinated by the tangible chemistry and the growing discomfort, which feels real, organic, between the two as they make another journey, not on a motorcycle, of discovery and acceptance of sexuality. The new actors especially caught my attention because of their facial expressions and body language.
I have stated it on other occasions: I highly value the works of Wayufilm Production for their good execution, level of acting, filming and production, despite their low budget, for their simple stories that are much closer to real life, actors and a truly passionate production team in each installment, and a firm determination not to kneel before the giants of the entertainment world with their very common mediocre stories interested only in making money, and whose proposals frequently fail, among other reasons, for not taking into account seriously to his fans.
Furthermore, the editing team chose exceptional music to accompany the miniseries.
I also appreciate the tenacity of the creators to not succumb to the dictates and whims of commercial companies, eager to contribute funds to the production of many BL audiovisuals in exchange for advertising their products, something that we frequently criticize in other series of the genre, thus respecting Wayufilm Production its ethics and principle of being a production company that is committed to indie cinema.
'My Biker' joins other dramas authored by Nicchi with which he addresses issues related to sexuality and gender identity, as he has done since he debuted with his first short film 'Fresh' (เฟรชเฉิ่ม), in 2006, which was followed by 'Fresh Cool Story 2' (เรื่องเฟรชเฉิ่ม 2).
Committed to portraying the diversity of human relationships with sensitivity, dismantling prevailing stereotypes regarding what is "normal", and contributing to the struggle of Thai LGBT people, Nicchi, as he likes to call himself, has obtained popular recognition with his films and series BL-themed, such as the feature film 'My Bromance' (พี่ชาย, RTGS: Phi Chai), 'My Bromance 2: 5 Year Later: The Series', 'My Bromance: Reunion', 'Key Love', 'NightTime', 'The Rain Stories', 'Yantra' (อาถรรพ์ยันต์มหาเสน่ห์), among other shorts and series.
I owed my readers a review. He owed me a review. Learning about the upcoming release of 'My Bike 2' encouraged me to watch the short film once again and write it.

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Les difficultés de communication

C'est un court métrage à petit budget alors je ne ferais aucune critique sur la production en elle-même.
Cela nous raconte les difficultés de dire les sentiments, les maladresses d'expression ( Gentle qui se fâche à cause de l' "abandon" de Motor qui est allé à un rendez-vous amoureux.) et les tâtonnements pour se connaître. La narration peut paraître un peu brouillonne mais elle est logique, il manque juste un peu explications sur la relation entre la jeune fille et Motor ( ils ont eu un problème dans le passé : a-t-il pardonné? a-t-il passé l'éponge et rien dit à la jeune fille? ou veut-il continuer coûte que coûte cette relation afin de cacher ses véritables sentiments? Le narrateur nous laisse peut-être le champ libre pour notre imagination. Sinon c'est doux et j'ai aimé que l'on est le temps de voir l'histoire se dérouler.

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