This review may contain spoilers
i'm in love with fourth.
disclaimer: it's been a week since the show ended so there might be things i misremember or misinterpret. kindly forgive and point out so i can correct myself.
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things i liked:
1. fourth's acting: his expressions are clear; the way dir. aof keeps the camera lingering on his face reminds me of this one interview i had read on irrfan khan where someone commented that directors often forgot to turn the camera off when it’s on his face because he is just that expressive. fourth’s body language is relaxed and his natural acting is akin to a seasoned actor. tanrak is one of those hamletesque roles - something that can challenge and inspire the best of actors and fourth was a great choice for the role. fourth is going to go places, farther than the places he has already reached.
2. the osts "heavenly" and “tanrak”: “heavenly” is indeed heavenly, esp the last chorus with those adlibs. gemini sounds beautiful in both songs.
3. the cinematography: really impressive in most of the scenes; bested only by boss kuno’s shows as far as thai shows are concerned.
things i didn't like:
1. i wasn't that impressed by gemini's acting. he was good in the teasing and flirting scenes and sometimes in the intimate scenes but lacked the refinement needed for the heavy emotional scenes. esp the one with his mother and father at home, the one where he recounts the abuse at the waterfall and lastly in the prison scene.
2. i had expected the makers to nod to the christian beliefs and the institution of the church as the show had priests as advisors. instead, they tried to chicken out a middle ground by keeping tanrak tied to the faith by separating god and the church. they kept him interested in god but not in the rules of the church which are homophobic and detrimental to his sense of self. i would have been completely okay if they had stopped at that and had kept barth agnostic/atheist till the end. but no, they had to transform barth into a believer. again, separating god and religion. they show the father of the church and kongdech to be benevolent who uphold the "love thy neighbour" idea over the homophobic laws of the church they are very much a part of. it makes sense to people who want a hopeful view of the world but in my parallel woke and ideal world, tanrak could be a gay married man and still be a priest because what does a priest (in a general sense minus the missionary aspect) even do? teach people how to be good: kind, helpful, accepting, civil and overall nice. is a straight unmarried man (the typical priest) somehow naturally more fit to be a priest as compared to a gay married man? logically, since queer people are sidelined and oppressed and have seen the bad side of the world, they should be considered apt to teach people to be kind and helpful and accepting. a straight unmarried man is priviledged enough to lack the bad experience and nuance required to even know why kindness is required in the first place something a gay man knows by heart.
3. kinda overlapping, but all the quotes and the father's speeches were roundabout and all over the place. god is forgiving but you need to repent. what if i am late? no worries, god is patient but you have to turn around. what if i don't? it's okay god still loves you and will forgive you. if god is so benevolent why do we even need laws (re: terms and conditions) to gain his love? technically, we could just chill at home and not go to church or even do whatever we want and god could still love us? if not, that means god's love is conditional and just a specific breed of humans can go to heaven. but then god won't be all-forgiving and benevolent. also, who guarantees what negotiations you can afford? eg, how do the father and kongdech know for sure they'll go to heaven now that they have in a way accepted gay men and hence bypassed the church's laws?
dir. aof has done a good job tying everything together in a neat bow but for the curious, everything-is-that-deep eye, one squint and the neat bow comes undone.
________________________________________________________
things i liked:
1. fourth's acting: his expressions are clear; the way dir. aof keeps the camera lingering on his face reminds me of this one interview i had read on irrfan khan where someone commented that directors often forgot to turn the camera off when it’s on his face because he is just that expressive. fourth’s body language is relaxed and his natural acting is akin to a seasoned actor. tanrak is one of those hamletesque roles - something that can challenge and inspire the best of actors and fourth was a great choice for the role. fourth is going to go places, farther than the places he has already reached.
2. the osts "heavenly" and “tanrak”: “heavenly” is indeed heavenly, esp the last chorus with those adlibs. gemini sounds beautiful in both songs.
3. the cinematography: really impressive in most of the scenes; bested only by boss kuno’s shows as far as thai shows are concerned.
things i didn't like:
1. i wasn't that impressed by gemini's acting. he was good in the teasing and flirting scenes and sometimes in the intimate scenes but lacked the refinement needed for the heavy emotional scenes. esp the one with his mother and father at home, the one where he recounts the abuse at the waterfall and lastly in the prison scene.
2. i had expected the makers to nod to the christian beliefs and the institution of the church as the show had priests as advisors. instead, they tried to chicken out a middle ground by keeping tanrak tied to the faith by separating god and the church. they kept him interested in god but not in the rules of the church which are homophobic and detrimental to his sense of self. i would have been completely okay if they had stopped at that and had kept barth agnostic/atheist till the end. but no, they had to transform barth into a believer. again, separating god and religion. they show the father of the church and kongdech to be benevolent who uphold the "love thy neighbour" idea over the homophobic laws of the church they are very much a part of. it makes sense to people who want a hopeful view of the world but in my parallel woke and ideal world, tanrak could be a gay married man and still be a priest because what does a priest (in a general sense minus the missionary aspect) even do? teach people how to be good: kind, helpful, accepting, civil and overall nice. is a straight unmarried man (the typical priest) somehow naturally more fit to be a priest as compared to a gay married man? logically, since queer people are sidelined and oppressed and have seen the bad side of the world, they should be considered apt to teach people to be kind and helpful and accepting. a straight unmarried man is priviledged enough to lack the bad experience and nuance required to even know why kindness is required in the first place something a gay man knows by heart.
3. kinda overlapping, but all the quotes and the father's speeches were roundabout and all over the place. god is forgiving but you need to repent. what if i am late? no worries, god is patient but you have to turn around. what if i don't? it's okay god still loves you and will forgive you. if god is so benevolent why do we even need laws (re: terms and conditions) to gain his love? technically, we could just chill at home and not go to church or even do whatever we want and god could still love us? if not, that means god's love is conditional and just a specific breed of humans can go to heaven. but then god won't be all-forgiving and benevolent. also, who guarantees what negotiations you can afford? eg, how do the father and kongdech know for sure they'll go to heaven now that they have in a way accepted gay men and hence bypassed the church's laws?
dir. aof has done a good job tying everything together in a neat bow but for the curious, everything-is-that-deep eye, one squint and the neat bow comes undone.
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