Henry Edward L
Miami Beach, U.S.A.
The acting is good, with performances by the main characters that are inspiring - although at times they seem a little awkward... especially towards the beginning of the movie. But the performances soon take off. Their best scenes are the more intimate ones towards the end of the movie when they share thoughts, advice, and a few heart-wrenching confessions. Their acting, in fact, gets progressively better to the point where towards the end of the movie they can make you cry.
The story is the movie’s strongest seller. It is well developed, down to earth, touching and moving from beginning to end. The editing moves the viewer seamlessly from one scene to the next; the flow is natural... it almost feels like real life. Perhaps because the movie is life itself: full of things that apply to real people... the stress of family conditioning, the expectation of parents, the stress of young people who have endured some kind of abuse... who hasn’t suffered one or more of these vicisitudes? It is a movie from which we can all learn something in our own particular way.
The rewatch value is among the highest I have seen. It is a comforting movie showing two men of different backgrounds and inclinations coming together to be a comfort to each other and in that sense it is the kind of movie I would want to see over, and over and over again.
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A serious drama with a cotton candy ending (sadly).
A serious undertaking - for at least 75% of the time, before it turns into a soapy melodrama in the last fifteen minutes; or rather, more like a fairy tale. Japan is great with dramas in general - as Thailand is playful with LB series... and this production is no cotton candy... even when the end is sheer nonsense and unadulterated fantasy.The acting is good - on occasion, it becomes extraordinary; and, although there is no electric chemistry between the two main characters, there performances are very convincing.
Music and rewatch values are high... though the latter category remains meanigless and obscure to me (but being a request from the administrators, I never fail to mention it - sigh).
The plot is flawed, however: it starts out strong, with a sweetness typical of adolescence. Then, it grows into something quite dramatic and poignant towards the middle, injecting a dose of reality one associates with Japanese productions: punget, real, sometimes painful.
The problem, as I see it, is the Disneyland ending: too happy, too much of a fairy tale... as if they had changed writers and hired Mrs. Heart to write a happy ending and adorn it with curls. A truly disconnected ending which to me ruined the production - though it must have made ga-ga watchers twirl!
Had the producers stuck to the expected heart-broken, life teaching lesson... this would have been an excellent real life drama. It is still worth while watching it - specially if you are all about happy endings, no matter how fake.
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Anyway, the acting is the best part of the movie: My compliments to all of the performers inside a movie as complex as this one. Unfortunately, I cannot say the same the music since I don’t understand Chinese and the lyrics escaped me completely; but, it didn’t quite sound very complementary of the different scenes.
Perhaps I will come back to see this movie again and try to make a little bit more sense of the different shifts and time and place… although, a movie shouldn’t be turned into a detectives’ game and one shouldn’t have to put it together like a puzzle.
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1. An uncomplicated plot which is easy to follow.
2. Not one but TWO perfectly charming couples of incredible chemistry.
3. A ‘bad’ guy (à la James Dean) turning good who was good from the beginning.
4. And a perfect world where all of these gay affairs take place in friendly settings and surrounded by a cadre of supporting friends.
And best of all, in the middle of all of this high-apple-pie-in-the-sky kind of dreamland, the series somehow makes one forget that reality is anything but and the entire story strikes one as real: as if the world had been turned upside down. And all of it without leaving out some heart wrenching scenes between crisscrossed lovers that would put many Mexican soap operas to shame... lol. I mean... this is my dream script come true!
Oh, and to top it all off… check episode 4 for the most ardent and passionate kiss between two guys I have seen in anyone of all of these BL stories. And mind you, I do not watch BL stories for the physical display; I get my fill of that without any need for celluloid... LOL. It’s just that this one is so hot and yet so tastefully done.
I seldom ever give a perfect score but...
The Story is a 10 because you will enjoy it from beginning to end without a drag.
The Acting is a 10 because in spite of their age they act as if they had been acting for ages.
And the rewatch value is a 10 because this is, in fact... the second time I watch it!
Lastly, the series also carries a strong message with a few pearls of wisdom that would put most conservatives, and many Christians I know, to shame. When asked if he believed in genderless love and could like a man, Qiu Zi Xuan answered: “The key of ‘like’ is ‘like’ itself.”
BAM!
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This review may contain spoilers
This is somewhat of an unconventional review; more an opinion than the standard format I usually follow.What Wayo did to Park inviting him to the movies and feeding him popcorn to get Pha jealous was despicable; it left a very bad taste in my mouth and I lost all respect for the duplicitous little angel (Wayo) and watched the rest of the series with great displeasure.
What was the director thinking including a scene like this one… what did it contribute? For all I know, Park may have been a good guy turned bad by Wayo’s unconscionable behavior (at least in the movie - I understand the novel portrays him in a very different light). Park - no doubt - did wrong posting compromising pictures of Wayo, but Wayo did worse using him in such self serving manner while at the same time posing as the tender little hypocritical angel he turned out to be.
And some of you will say, “Wayo was only trying to make Pha jealous”, to which I answer: You’re missing the point! Wayo malevolently used a human being who was expressing interest in him and had until that point tried to make amends.
For all of Wayo’s defenders out there, there is a saying: “Don’t label an angel good who has managed to awaken the devil”.
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•••
A punch is never worse than when not expected. This is the most heart wrenching and gratuitously cruel ending I have seen in years. It is beyond sad, beyond sorrowful; it is just plain upsetting.
The supporting characters, Tin and Can, eventually take over the drama while the main characters fade into the distance and turn rather insipid. But while the main characters achieve the cheesiest of romantic endings, Tin and Can end up in total devastation; one which caught me by surprise and really upset me because there was no anticipation, no purpose, and nothing other than a cruel knock out to what appeared to have been, at first, a movie about redemption and hope.
A drama that promised to be one of the best LB stories of the year turned out to be a nightmare of frustration and disappointment. Tin portrayed one of the most traumatized characters I’ve seen in this type of drama, one that could have taught viewers the values of recovery and redemption. But, instead, the writer opted to cave in and give prevalence to the cowardice of Can destroying any redemptive quality this ultimately very uninspiring plot may have had.
When viewers are tricked by an exaggerated twist of fate working alongside a false sense of hope the manipulation becomes disgustingly obvious and very irritating. I consider such manipulation a sadist approach to scriptwriting and a disingenuous sense of the dramatic: in other words, this movie is a bad high school novel written by a teenager. I would not recommend it to anyone taking film-making seriously.
I must mention though, that the fault lies with the writer, producer and director. The acting was beyond good; and on occasion it was, in fact, amazing! But the story and re-watch value are worth a negative number - something below zero... which, unfortunately, this site does not allow.
In conclusion, this drama is about Can caving into negative social pressures and becoming a closeted case bringing Tin down with him, who was painted in terms of exaggerated martyrdom for the sake of an audience of masochists (or suckers like me) who must have ended the series with a horrible taste in their mouths. A drama made for Xanax and in the service of the anti-depressant pharmaceutical industry, no doubt... XD.
I have made note of the director’s name to remove every single movie he has made from my watchlist - like I would any movie made by manipulative, frivolous, and callous writers with an exaggerated sense of the dramatic and a pitiful sense of resolution. Gratuitous pain is not welcomed; I find it trite!
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The story is convincing; there is a great deal of social awareness in situations describing the different reactions (both negative and positive) to their condition as a gay couple. LGBT issues are handled with a great deal of sensitivity and realism which makes this movie a cut above the rest. The end however, falls into a very different category and there is a strong discrepancy between the largest part of the movie tackling everyday problems realistically (from unwanted pregnancy to parental rejection), and the abrupt ending turning very mystical and transcendental. The script needs to be polished because the change is much too abrupt.
But this shortfall can be overlooked by the mostly excellent acting of its main and supporting characters. The acting is natural, not contrived as in so many of these movies with a social agenda. Both sets of parents play a wonderful role. Pay close attention to Nuer’s parents and their Buddhist background... it is the key to understand the entire movie. It is a movie that can be seen more than once since it has multiple layers of meaning and most of it is found in the understanding that Buddhism has of love as an expression independent of sex and gender.
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Mind you, my problem is with the lazy and disjointed writing of episode 10; the entire cast and its performance, on the other hand, was outstanding - from Wayne and ChuanChih, to the entire Xiang family, and the ZENREN homies - all of it was top-notch.
However, it is horrifying to me to watch nine episodes of a carefully crafted series where one is witness to the blooming of love, the growth of one character inspired by the support of another, the working together towards a common goal in spite of all adversities… just to see everything unravel in a senseless and meaningless tragedy abruptly thrown into the mix as if to wrap everything up quickly and hush-hush.
This is the first time I wish I had not seen one of these stories. And not because of the sad ending, do not get me wrong: I am not against sad. I am upset at the gratuitous cruelty of this very inept writer. Episode 10 (finale) has all of the classic signs of an abrupt ending resulting from an administrative decision other than what the plot naturally required. This was not a car veering off the road… this was a train wreck!
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The story is very cogent... with a number of necessary flashbacks - all of them tying in nicely without disrupting the main story. The editing is a little loose, with a few jumps between scenes which may have been the result of censorship but which definitely left a hole in an otherwise easy flowing movie.
The acting is very good on average; the two main characters play their parts well, even to the point of inspiring trust in the unsuspecting viewers. Though I must make special mention of the villainous character, Black Rose, played by Kim Mying Hwan. He plays his part exceedingly well... the viewer will grow to hate him.
Sound and music works well for a movie of this sort with plenty of ominous soundtracks and with regards to its rewatch value, the movie is indeed interesting enough to watch again in a few years.
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This review may contain spoilers
I wanted to write this review in support of the countless numbers of gay Chinese who have to endure the censorship of a couple of obtuse misogynistic old farts in power who still carry their heads up their behinds at the beginning of the XXI century. A sweet little film, not without its faults, but with a positive message repeating what most enlightened people have been saying for millennia: ‘Love’ does not respond to gender. That which does is simply called sex! ‘Love’ per se is in a diffeenret plateau all together; far away, above and inaccessible to the undeveloped spirit.
The story is short but rich and well developed - considering the limitations of time; the acting is neither here nor there - yet courageous; the mother is a model of pure humanitarian spirit; and... would I see it again?
No need. I will carry this message in my heart forever.
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The movie had incredible potential. It had multiple plots, action and thrills, good acting, and good chemistry... BUT: China is doing a number with censorship! After the Chinese Inquisition (i.e. the Chinese censorship office... lol) finished cutting out what it deemed unacceptable, it left us with a film in shambles. Scenes are interrupted and cut short, there are countless abrupt endings to conversations, characters appear out of the blues with no background, or explanation... but the strangest and weakest failure is in the script itself. This movie has the most fatuous, pointless, and disconcerting (not to call it ridiculous) ending I have seen in all of Chinese cinema. It cheapens the entire movie and feels as if the ending too had been removed by the offices of the Chinese Inquisition and replaced with a finale designed by kids for the middle school play.
Like I said: Do not waste your time!
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A feel-good, be-happy, world-as-it-should-be... movie!
Do you want to watch a feel-good-movie? Or, are you in for a reality check from which you come out pensive and troubled?The answer is important; you see? Because… this is a feel-good-movie without pretense; a flicker that makes you happy; a sitting you get done in an hour and a half; and, after which, you will feel wonderful - as if the world could be like the movies, parents could be that accepting, and friends could be that nonjudgemental ... hehehe! If you agree with these surreal values for the sake of a good time (like I do)... then you will have a wonderful time.
The plot is light-hearted; with a few little punches here and there and a mafia-like father, whose worst punishment is exiling his son to England (not the Gulag).
The acting is really, really good - and the chemistry between all of the actors contagious. This is perhaps the best reason for the movie’s / series’ popularity... and my favorite category.
Music is good - highlighting a few sad moments... and the re-watch value (a notion that has always befuddled me) is high; provided a couple of years go by before seeing it again.
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The plot was as silly as it gets and the editing came out of a third grade student. The flashbacks were the worst: confusing and some of them irrelevant.
The acting was gracious on occasion but mostly flat the rest of the time. And there was no chemistry between actors - everything looked forced.
Although I do not go by generalizations, in this case I have to mention that the reviews, overall, have been largely negative and the series did not build up a large number of followers - like other more successful ones: TharnType, Dark Blue Kiss, etc.
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The story is very well built, with no loose ends and edited such that it is easy to follow in spite of its complexity; the flashbacks are seamless and the plot is as dramatic and spellbinding as that of larger and more polished productions.
The acting is also a wonderful match to the story; the chemistry - such an important element in this genre of movies - is there across the entire cast... between the two main characters and among all of the supporting cast. The performances of Jiang Chang Hui and the younger Hang Zhang are particularly striking.
The music didn’t strike me as particularly noteworthy, but now then the movie didn’t really call for a musical background a great deal; it rested mainly on the performance of its protagonists. And with regards to its rewatch value, I have seen this movie twice already; the movie’s redeeming values and general good feel makes it a joy to watch it twice.
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A good watch - inside a surrealist taking.
The one basic tenet of this action-packed, though surrealist, series is: ‘Gay life is commonplace and two men kissing will call absolutely no attention to themselves’... lol!LOL... well, we all know that is not true! But, movies are just movies, and - as it turns out - this series is quite enjoyable if you manage to accept that surrealist premise.
The plot is acceptable, though on occasion it becomes exceptional… especially during those intimate confrontations between father and son, or between the two lovers. All of it within the limited scope of what a 10 episode series allows, of course. Not a lot of time to develop a masterpiece of scriptwriting. Very little patience to wait before scooping up the profits – I guess: LOL!
Acting is good, and again: exceptional during certain scenes. The crying scenes are moving but the conversations about right-and-wrong are perhaps the best. Very good acting overall, the more one thinks about it.
With regards to Music, it is carefully thought out and does a great job supporting the plot. Lastly, rewatch value is high: the movie is complex enough that it would entertain a second watching at a later time.
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