A jubilating and a bit ridiculous lesbian story

I am continuing to make my way through lesbian short films and dramas and I have to say that this one is delightful. The story of this short film could really be held in pocket handkerchief as we say in French and can be summarised as two women meet in a restaurant, get disparaging and lesbophobic comments made about them, and decide to read the two men. It could also be summarised as "a metaphor for Youtube constantly blocking queer content and getting a strongly worded email from said creators".

The story is simple, but it fits really well within the limited time period available. It is straight to the point and makes it point well. There is something jubilating about two women dating deciding that actually they do have a place in the public space and that they do not need to hide and that anyone who disagrees can just go away. It is the strength of short films to be able to deliver this kind of content and I am glad to see it being produced.

The production value is quite high (as is to be expected of Korean productions) and the acting is good for the slightly over-the-top story.

In conclusion, it is a bit ridiculous and over-the-top, but it is also jubilating, it is unashamedly lesbian and I would definitely rewatch it to show it to other people. It is only 6 minutes long and you should definitely watch it.

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A sweet (too) short film about breaking up and coming out

Sadly only one short episode so this is more a short film than a drama really, but there is potential even in this very short story. The aesthetic and cinematography is really nice (as expected from any Korean production) with some really nice colours. The music is very classic, but works quite well for the story.

It is very short so there is not much in terms of story, but there is enough for a short film. I am always of the opinion that a good short film story should not be more than a couple of sentences. This is your pitch. The importance is in how you present and develop it. The story of this short film is simple: "Two young women used to date each other, but broke up because one did not want to come out to her family. She realises she cares too much about the other to let her go, but can she come out and will the other take her back?" It is a story that can resonate with a lot of queer people. It is certainly one which I have talked about in other reviews I have written on this website. The actresses manage to show the longing, the regret, to make us understand everything that happened before which is only alluded to.

I liked the use of tarot cards, both for the aesthetic of it and for the way it was used with the cards that are turned to reveal to the audience what happened in the past and the one left unturned because it is what this short film's story is telling us.

Special mention to the kiss in this short film which is one of the best kisses I've seen in the Korean short films I have seen so far and I like that.

In conclusion, it is a little short which limits its potential and the rating I could give, but if you have 4 minutes to spare, this is a very good use of your time.

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Un gros coup de cœur pour cette ballade épique

Certains ont déjà posté de très bons avis sur la série que je vous conseille de lire. J'ai écrit cet avis pour partager avec d'autres fans de dramas sur un forum et je voudrais l'avoir dans un endroit plus accessible pour pouvoir partager mon coup de cœur pour cette série.

L'histoire est remplie de combats (les chorégraphies des combats sont vraiment très bien faites et comme ce n'est pas de la wuxia, on est vraiment ancré dans le réel) et de batailles (présentées de manière très originale et qui m'ont beaucoup plu sous la forme d'images animées, bien mieux que des effets spéciaux tous nuls), de stratégies militaires, mais également d'une vraiment discussion sur les conséquences de la guerre sur les populations civiles (et notamment sur les enfants et les femmes (pas que, mais il y a plusieurs arcs narratifs centrés sur elleux et notamment un très, très bien centré sur la vie d'un groupe de femmes dans un atelier de fabrication de textile)). Il y a une vraie discussion sur le rôle et les responsabilités des gouvernants qui n'auraient pas détonné avec certains romans historiques et épiques de par chez nous. Il y a une vraie attention portée au détail pour rendre le tout réaliste (des conséquences de la guerre et des famines donc, mais aussi dans les discussions des personnages (les personnages passent beaucoup de temps à cheval et c'est l'une des premières séries où j'ai vu une constante préoccupation en ce qui concerne les limites physiques des chevaux, plusieurs personnages féminins mentionnent leurs règles (oui, pas pour rien et ça va avec l'histoire et oui, la série est écrite par deux femmes)).

Tous les personnages sont complexes et vraiment développés. Les personnages principaux, d'abord : Li Changge, jouée par Dilraba Dilmurat et qui est vraiment un très bon personnage principal qui a une vraiment évolution au cours de la série et qu'on suivrait aussi jusqu'au bout du monde, Ashile Sun joué par Wu Lei, le général de la Division des Aigles des tribus de la prairie (car oui, la série inclut autant les territoires de la dynastie Tang que les prairies de Mongolie (et même le désert voisin avec ses tribus)), Li Leyan, jouée par Zhao Lusi, la meilleure amie de Li Changge et l'autre personnage avec une vraie évolution du personnage que l'on voit grandir et devenir plus indépendante et comme disent les anglais a force to be reckoned with. Pas que les autres personnages n'évoluent pas, au contraire, mais vraiment ces deux-là et Hao Du qui vient ensuite ont l'évolution qui m'a le plus marqué (et aussi les autres personnes avec qui j'ai parlé et qui ont vu la série). Tous trois acteurs ont d'ailleurs obtenu des prix pour leur talent d'acteurices par le passé ! Enfin les deux autres personnages principaux, Hao Du, le garde et soldat stoïque, fils adoptif d'un des ministres, que je ne portais pas dans mon cœur au début et qui a su devenir l'un de mes personnages préférés (lorsqu'il commence à sourire après pas mal d'épisodes, rhalalala, son visage s'illumine !) et Wei Shuyu, le rival et meilleur ami d'enfance de de Changge et Leyan, personnage envers lequel je suis ambivalente, mais c'est totalement voulu par rapport au personnage.
Il y a toute une galerie de personnages secondaires tous aussi complexes et intéressants les uns que les autres. On se prend à aimer des personnages qu'on ne pouvait pas voir en peinture au début (certains des ministres notamment) et même les antagonistes (dont je ne révèlerai pas qui iels sont parce que l'antagoniste principal m'a vraiment pris par surprise dans la dernière moitié de l'histoire) ont des personnalités et des histoires développées pour en faire de vraies personnes avec des buts, des sentiments (et des ressentiments) et même sans être d'accord avec leurs buts ou leurs manières de faire, on comprend d'où iels viennent et on en vient même à se sentir désolé.e pour elleux et ce qui a fait qu'iels en sont arrivés là. Il y a de nombreux parallèles entre les différents personnages et comment présenter avec des situations similaires, il y a toujours plusieurs chemins (parfois aussi bons/mauvais l'un que l'autre, parfois l'un plus au-dessus de l'autre). J'étais un peu perdue entre tous les personnages (j'ai mis plusieurs épisodes à réussir à différencier certains des personnages (et l'on m'a dit que je n'étais pas la seule et que de nombreuses personnes ont galéré)), cela dit on finit assez rapidement par reconnaître tout le monde et ensuite de nombreux personnages secondaires sont présentés pour les différents arcs de la série, certains que l'on ne voit que pour quelques épisodes et d'autres que l'on revoit par la suite. Il y a un vrai sentiment que ce qui se passe et les personnages que l'on rencontre ont un importance. Ce ne sont pas juste des pions pour faire avancer l'intrigue, mais de vrais personnes avec leurs buts propres et des vraies relations d'amitié qui se créent et tiennent. Il y a tellement de personnages que je voudrais mentionner et qui méritent qu'on parle d'eux, mais il y en a tellement et on ne rencontre certains que plus tard dans le récit et je ne veux pas spoiler, mais j'aurais quelque chose à dire sur tellement d'entre elleux (Mimi, Mu Jin, Zhenzhu (13 ans la gamine et pourtant déjà !), She'er, A'Dou, Gongsun Heng, Li Jing, Li Shimin bien entendu ! et tant d'autres (la liste sur MyDramaList donne 91 acteurices et je pense pouvoir dire un mot sur au moins 50-60 d'entre elleux). Toujours est-il qu'il y a non seulement une galerie de personnages, mais également une galerie de personnages féminins complexes et avec tous types de caractères et de capacités, certaines qui se battent, d'autres qui travaillent et essaient de survivre, des plus douces, des jeunes, des plus âgées, etc. Il y a une scène avec 5 personnages qui s'avancent dans une rue avec une musique épique et normalement on a 4 gars et une fille, mais ici, il y avait 3 filles et 2 gars, et c'est vraiment un bon exemple pour toute la série sur l'importance constante donnée aux personnages féminins.

C'est une histoire épique, digne des grandes ballades (ça ne s'appelle pas The Long Ballad pour rien) et les romances ne sont pas en reste que l'on parle du couple principal (que j'ai shippé dès le début, iels vont Très, Très bien ensemble et c'est quasi instantanément à la vie, à la mort, d'une manière qui fait complètement sens), du couple secondaire (dès qu'iels étaient à l'écran, je ne pouvais pas m'empêcher de remarquer à quel point iels étaient mignons), ou d'autres couples qui se développent dans les personnages secondaires et qui ont tous une place (comme j'en ai rarement vu parce qu'en général, ce n'est pas autant développé pour les personnages secondaires). Et puis comment ne pas mentionner les amitiés, très nombreuses dans le drama : Celles qui se forment au cours de l'histoire, mais également celles qui la précède (Li Changge et Li Leyan, mais aussi Sun et les autres hommes de la Division de l'Aigle qui forment assurément mon groupe préféré dans la série, j'ai beaucoup aimé tout l'arc narratif qui se passait dans la prairie parce que leur amitié et leur engagement à la vie, à la mort crée une vraie cohésion du groupe, malgré le nombre important de personnages).

L'histoire est vraiment solide, c'est rempli de rebondissements et je ne savais pas où l'intrigue allait aller à chaque instant. Plusieurs fois dans la série on voit les personnages jouer au jeu de go et cette série, c'est vraiment la même chose. On est surpris, mais jamais parce que les retournements de situation ne font pas sens, au contraire ! Les personnages ont des réactions sensées et sont tous suffisamment intelligents pour qu'on comprendre comment iels sont arrivés là où iels sont. Il se passe tellement de choses en 49 épisodes qu'il est impossible de faire un résumé succinct, mais je peux simplement dire que l'on ne s'ennuie jamais ! L'intrigue est rapide, mais pas trop, ça va à la vitesse qu'il faut avec certains arcs plus courts que d'autres, mais encore une fois, cela fonctionne. Ce qui a besoin de plus de temps en reçoit plus et ce qui a besoin de moins en reçoit moins. (Attention comme tout drama chinois et encore plus pour un drama historique, il y a des morts, certains auxquels on s'attend (mais ça ne m'a pas empêcher de pleurer, notamment vers la fin de la série où j'ai pleuré à grosses larmes) et d'autres qui nous surprennent (dont une à laquelle je ne m'attendais tellement pas que j'ai arrêté l'épisode pendant 30 min parce que je n'arrivais pas à me remettre du choc).)

D'un point de vue technique, la cinématographie est très belle et bien faite et c'est un plaisir à regarder. Je mentionnais les combats bien faits et l'utilisation astucieuse de dessins pour les batailles et autres moments qui nécessiteraient des effets spéciaux plus tôt, mais je les rementionne ici parce que c'est pour moi un gros point fort de la série, non seulement par son originalité, mais aussi parce que le résultat n'aurait sûrement pas été aussi bon si ça n'avait été qu'effets spéciaux. Mention spéciale pour les costumes et notamment les costumes de la tribu Ashile que j'ai personnellement beaucoup aimé ! Et puis la musique !!! La BO instrumentale qui accompagne la série fonctionne très, très bien et les quelques chansons de la BO sont aussi extrêmement bien faites (et les avis sur la question semble unanime). J'ai quelque fois sauté le générique de début et de fin (environ 2 min chacun) pour aller plus vite, mais sur la deuxième moitié de la série notamment, j'aimais tellement les deux chansons que je laissais les génériques défiler juste pour les entendre.

Sinon en moment ???, il y a une scène de danse folklorique dans un des royaumes du désert avec une musique moderne et une choré reprenant les gestes barrières contre le covid (distanciation sociale, lavage de main, se moucher et jeter le mouchoir) qui m'a fait réagir en mode ??? tellement c'était incongru et je me suis mise à rire pendant 5 min.

Rhalala, j'aurais tellement à dire sur ce drama (notamment en allant plus en détail dans les spoilers), il s'y passe tellement de choses, il y a tellement de personnages intéressants, j'ai passé un si bon moment, mais j'ai déjà écrit 1800 mots et il faut savoir s'arrêter. C'est un vrai, vrai coup de cœur que je ne peux que conseiller à tout le monde. Vraiment ne vous laisser pas effrayer par le nombre d'épisodes, ça vaut vraiment le coup. Je sais que je la reregarderai assurément (et je suis déjà en train de la reregarder) et en attendant je vais aller écouter la BO en boucle !

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Should a film be good? Can it not simply be enjoyable and fun?

Should a film be good? Can it not simply be enjoyable? This film is a true example of the answer to those questions. For one of my weekly groupwatches, we decided to watch this film in between two shows because it looked fun and like it would have good fights. And dear reader, it did deliver on both of those.

The story was difficult to follow at times, jumping around way too fast, not developing anything and just dropping exposition in a perfect example of telling instead of showing. The investigation for who killed the convoy at the beginning and where the mysterious young woman that our hero must find it gets solved very quickly. But it is after all a 70min film. The costumes looked cheap, my cheap training sword I have for taichi which I bought for 300SEK looks less cheap than some of the swords they are using. The acting is not always the best and this film sadly makes use of some tired racist stereotypes (the evil people are from the steps, you see). If you just make a list of everything that is not right, it feel like this should not be a good time.

But the fact is that it is. The fights are enjoyable to watch (we joked that they had put all of the budget into the fight). The main male character is odd and fun. The main female character appeared on screen and we instantly said at the same time that we loved her. The side kick duo of silly assistants are, for once, women, which is both enjoyable and making me want a comedy GL centred around those two.

So is this film good? No, definitely not. But I also neither regret watching it, nor would say it is not enjoyable because it very much is. And this is why this is getting a 7.
In the words of one of my friends who watched it with me: "sometimes low budget trash just hits the spot"
So find some friends, gets some popcorn and a blanket, and watch this next time you want something fun that you will forget in no time, but will have a good time watching and laugh a lot at.

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A beautiful short film full of truth about coming out and homophobia

This film was originally made by its creator Margo Manalo as a thesis project. It has been part of the official selection of several festivals (including 2 French ones which makes me very happy as a French queer person that this film is being recognised by my home country) and I can absolutely understand why.
I cannot speak for the full truth of it as I do not come from an Asian family, but if I am to believe the Youtube comments under the video and my own conversations with my Asian friends, it hits the nail right on the head and it is very true to life. And it does reflect some of my own experiences because casual homophobia is something that knows no border.

As the summary explain, this short film is about about Alee, a young woman still in the closet whose coming out plan does not go according to plan. The way that Margo Manalo manages to flesh all of the characters in the 14 minutes of the film is really well done. We can understand Alee's struggles, the way she has to hide herself and yet cannot completely do it, the way she wants to get out and show who she is to the world. We can understand her mum, a good teacher, a loving mum, but someone who is still homophobic in actions, words, and microagressions, in her relationship with her daughter and others. This film manages to touch upon the topic of homophobia, of gender expression, of wanting to be yourself, of the fear of not being accepted by your loved ones, of the way others look at us. It hits true. It reminds me of my own grandma's reaction and words, of her love and yet her fear of what others will say and think, of my own realisation that I know all of this, but I still want to live my truth regardless of the hardships because I am happier out than in. It is still rare to see stories that do not centre on romance and which do not necessarily end up in a completely happy ending. But this story is true. It is more reflective of the world even as it improves every day. It is not a sad ending, it is a bittersweet ending. It had me crying for the last few minutes and past the credits because of the accuracy of it all (I would use the word "justesse" which cannot be fully translated into English).

It is a quiet film with loud moments of Pride. The acting is very good and the production values are high. I am always impressed by the quality of short films made as thesis projects and this one definitely fits into that category.
I am very happy that this film exists. I am happy that it got recognised by festivals around the world. I do hope that many more people will watch it and I do hope that its creator will create more projects in the future.

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Two girls on a date, but backwards

The story of a date, from the end to the beginning and then back to the end. This very short film is more reminiscent of a music video than an actual short film. Still it manages to a story through its images alone as the audio track is just an instrumental piece. It is so short that there is not much to say, except maybe that it makes you want to know more, to see more than just snippets of this date that brought the two girls all over the city.
The directing is trying something, the fact that the film is mainly told via rewind with the images going backwards and yet forwards at time. The editing is really nice too. The warm colours of the images add to the atmosphere. It is not quite a dream, not quite a memory. It feels warm and not just because of the country's heat.
In short, if you want to spend some nice 3 min, why not watch Swirl.

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A solid and cute short film about two best friends and a first kiss

I have been making my way through wlw short films for the past few evenings because I need more wlw content in my life and we still have to make do with very little. Often the quality is not there and the writing especially is lacking. Luckily for me, Korea and in this case 234 deliver.
The story is very simple, two teenagers, two best friends, two girls are chatting one afternoon and they are both stressed about their first kiss and one decides to take matter into her own hand to have some practice before her first kiss with none other than her best friend. And then, you know, feelings. The story is simple, but the film is short. A short film, especially one that short never works better than when it has a simple idea and doesn't try to do more than exploring that idea.

This film succeeds at that. It manages to be realistic about two teenage girls' experiences, about a baby gay panicking, and also to be very funny at times (one decides to play "the guy" who hits on the other girl and wants to kiss her). The actresses manage to do a good job (especially the scene mentioned in the previous bracket, I was smiling very hard).

The location is simple, a bedroom, but the production, as is expected of Korean productions, even the smallest ones, is pretty good. All in all, a solid short film if you're looking for your next wlw watch.

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A very important, touching, and wonderfully made show

This review will start with a spoiler-free section before moving to a more spoiler-y section so you can read it even if you don't want spoilers.

You know when you start watching a show or reading a book that resonates with you on such a deep level that you keep thinking about it when you go to sleep, and it is still on your mind when you wake up the following day? This show is one of them and I did not expect it to be. I will go more into details as to why exactly in the spoiler-y section but suffice to say here that this show completely exceeded my expectations. We (myself and my viewing partner) went into it expecting a well-produced BL drama that we would enjoy. We got that, but we got so much more.

Firstly, the production values are quite high when compared to other dramas we've watched. This is my first foray into Filipino dramas, so I do not know whether it is standard or not, but the job is really well done. The director, JP Habac, who is starting to have an impressive CV and whose film work I will definitely check out, is doing a great job with a very limited setting. This was filmed during 2020 with everything that implies, and they've used their almost single location (everything mostly takes place in the main characters' flat and building with only a few scenes in other places and a lot of conversations happening over videocalls) and limited cast in a very effective way. I do not know whether the show would have looked the same in a different year (maybe it would have) but suffice to say that they've used the limitations in a very effective way regardless. It is only when reflecting on the show after having finished it that we started to think that this might have played a role. There is a very effective use of texts and videos on screen as we have come to expect it in shows nowadays. The only thing, and it is not a criticism more something I want to note just cause, is that Karl really need to think about getting glasses because every time his laptop screen is on screen, it is at 300%. In short it was very enjoyable to watch visually and in terms of sound.

And related to this, I want to give a special shout-out to the playlist for this show which is amazing. I am of the LiveJournal generation, when I would download fanmix curated to fit a fandom with the lyrics printed on the back cover for each song for maximum feels power and this show! This show! Just absolutely deliver with its song choices. Every single song is not only a bop, but the lyrics are there and translated on screen (with the subs) and they all fit SO well. It makes some of the heartbreaking scene even more heartbreaking. I do not know whether Juan Miguel Severo is the one who selected these songs, but whoever it was did a stunning job. I always pay particular attention to the music and it brings me such joy when there was clearly a lot of thoughts that was brought into it. You can find the official OST on Spotify if you search for “Gaya sa pelikula”.

Next, I am moving to the characters and actors. First things first, I loved them all. I am always a good audience and I really want to get attached to the characters that are presented to me and this was the perfect show for that. The two main characters, Karl and Vlad first, are played Paolo Pangilinan and Ian Pangilinan respectively. When looking for this review, I discovered that this was their first acting credit for the both of them and I am absolutely floored. Whoever is the casting director who discovered them should be thanked! Ian seemed to have done theatre extensively and this makes me love his interpretation even more (theatre <3). The both of them have amazing chemistry together and they just work in a way that feels completely natural and believable for their characters. Both characters are really touching, fragile in their own way as we get to know them more and more throughout the series. Judit, Vlad’s sister, is such a good character. The way she always wants to protect her little brother. She is larger than life, she wants to be an ally, she randomly says words and phrases in foreign languages for no reason. I feel like I have met her before. She is archetypal, but in a very real way. Anna, the neighbour, who becomes part of the trio and ships it so hard, who hasn’t as large a part to play, but still gets to have a story and an arc and is also so touching. We only see Sue, Vlad’s best friend, for a few videocalls, but she manages to steal the show for both of those. And finally, Karl’s uncle, who is introduced at the very beginning as “the gay uncle”. While he only appears at the end of the show, the couple of scenes he has with both main characters are some of the most moving and important scenes in the show. He is such an important character for someone who is only in the show very little. I will go into more details about the characters in the spoiler section but suffice to say that none of the characters felt like they were just cardboard cut-out there to only play a single role and deliver line. Even if they only had a part to play in our main couple’s story, they all felt like well-rounded characters with a life outside of this little bubble. I do love good sibling relationships and good friendships and this drama delivers on both of those points so well. Characters start as archetypes and gain very quickly and more and more as the drama goes a real depth.

And finally let us talk about the story. Without going into too much detail here, this story resonated with me in a way I did not expect when I started watching a “oh my god, they were roommates” fake dating story. I expected pining, I expected caught feelings, I expected teasing between them, and I got all of that. But I also got discussions on microaggression, reflections, discussions, and story arcs surrounding internalised homophobia, shame, coming out, expectations that are put on us by our parents. Even some of the ideas and storylines introduced that I would want to be developed more were just right for the 8-episodes of 25-35 min format they were going for. It has a bittersweet ending that works so well and fits the characters and the story arc perfectly. But I desperately want a season 2 because there is so much more I want from those characters. I will be happy with the story I got which gave me everything I wanted and more if this is all I get. But I will be overjoyed if I get a season 2.

/SPOILER SECTION/
Now I will not go into too much detail, but I do want to touch on some spoilers concerning the characters and the story as an addendum to the review above.

There is a tag for this show on this website called “Death of a Sibling” which I will be honest, I did not see coming. The whole scene around this particular topic and the ensuing conversation is a very powerful one and they add so much depth to both characters, outside of their own relationship with one another. I very much want a second season that explores some of the themes developed in that scene.

One of the true strengths of this drama and something I truly did not expect going in was the entire discussion surrounding homophobia, that of others, but especially the one inside of us. I do not always expect BL drama to have discussions about it, but even when I do expect some discussion, I never expect what I got here with one of the best representations of what it feels like to be gay and what one’s journey might look like whether we are talking about Vlad who has always felt like he was gay even if it took time for him to realise what those feelings were and who has been out and proud for a while and does not want to hide anymore, who patiently teaches and listens to Karl. Or whether we are talking about Karl who must face his parents, and especially his father’s expectations for his career and life, and who is deadly afraid of what they might say, who has such deep internalised homophobia, internalised shame, internalised fear that he cannot even be open to himself about what he feels. As someone who is both of these characters, who is out and proud in my daily life and still cannot use the word gay/lesbian to describe myself when talking about it with my mum, I was not expecting to see some of the same feelings and difficulties I feel. I do not think I’d ever seen this particular duality represented on screen so well before. It was a “sans faute”, a flawless performance and this is what we mean when we say we want people behind the camera who understand what it means. Who understand that the journey to accept yourself is a long and difficult one and that you sometimes are not at the same phase of your journey and that does not mean that you do not love each other. Gosh do I want a second season to explore this journey more.

I also want to mention the importance of Karl’s uncle, Santi, who presents the point of view of an older gay man and a support to both leads. His discussion on the differing journeys that different people have when it comes to their identity that I mentioned in the paragraph above is something that I have not seen in fiction before. The focus is always on coming out, on living your truth to the world, and this drama very much is about this also, but it is important that this happens on one’s own timeline and when one is ready to live their truth in the open and not as soon as possible to please allies. I could write pages and pages on what it means and how important it is, but I am so happy that a show for a teen/young adult audience is presenting such a true, beautiful story and I desperately want more of it.

In conclusion if you have made it this far, please watch this show! It is SO, SO worth it and it deserves to get the largest audience possible.

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Low budget lesbian short film about the end of a relationship

Why is it that no one ever finishes their food in fiction? That is a real question I have, but it is not at all the central question in this short film which manages to tell a lot with few dialogue lines and few scenes.
'Are we really done?' is a little short film that is queer without being a rom-com. It's centre point is the question in its title 'are we really done?' Are the two best friends who were dating in all but name in high school, who were always together, and who might have thought that this time would never end, are they done? Is their history over? Is that time in their life, this shared romantic moment over? It does not have time to develop this to a very large extent because of the low budget and short runtime, but it provides one answer. It uses flashbacks quite well to give us their backstory in few words and the actresses do a good job at sharing with their eyes everything that is left unsaid. Both asking the title question and answering it.

The production quality is lower than might be expected from Korean short films which usually have very high production values, but it's also nice to see more amateurish productions. The filming and directing is decent if simple. The sound is sadly too low throughout which can be a bit annoying and the editing could be better. But overall, this is a very decent short film and one that I would recommend you watch if you have 10min and want something else than the traditional romcom short film.

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A good idea that falls short in practice

I haven't seen the original version so I cannot compare it to this reboot. I always try to be nicer to low budget short films and shows because there is only so much you can do with a limited budget. But I do still expect a coherent script. This show had the potential to be a neat little show, but while the basic idea was decent for a short film (girl likes the slightly older student tutoring her and tries to figure out whether the other one likes her), the editing was confusing. I had difficulty telling what was the present, what was a dream, what was a flashback or a flashforward. It jumped around a bit too much in a way that many it was hard to get a coherent story. The actresses, especially the one who's supposed to be the younger one, looked too old for their roles, something but aided by the make-up, which took me out of the story even more. It's a shame because as I said, the storyline is simple enough that we could get a solid shirt film out of it. I wouldn't discourage you from watching. After all, I'm all for giving views to small lesbian creators because it's only through those that they can get more funding for better project and is only 15min total, but it's not a recommendation either.

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A lot of good ideas and thought-provoking scenes that sadly fall short of its potential

I first heard about this show on Ladyteruki's blog (which I highly recommend if you read French) and it touched on two things I am passionate about and also have experience with both practically and academically, youth involvement in politics and politics, especially municipal politics.

This show is highly uneven when it comes to its story and characters. It starts a lot of things, it has a lot of ideas, it even has several genres. That's a shame because it feels like it's starting a lot of threads, but never bringing them to their ends. The beginning and middle bits especially are very thought-provoking, especially re: our real life. The last two episodes are way more about the drama. Before I talk about the characters, I want to talk about those first few episodes. Because my thoughts when watching them was that this was the kind of show I'd love to study with students. I don't agree with all of the points made in this drama when it comes to administering a city for the future, but I think it is a great start for a discussion. It is asking a lot of important questions that we need to ask ourselves too. When watching this show, what do you agree with? What do you disagree with? What can we do about people becoming disenchanted about the current political system? What about corrupted politicians? How can we ensure that both young people and older people are integrated and have their voices heard? How do we integrate communities when we plan our cities? How to reconcile municipal development and traditions? Just how far should we integrate technology and AI in our political systems? Those are some of the questions I was asking myself when watching this show.
As I said, this drama is very uneven and it doesn't necessarily go far enough in exploring those questions, but it feels like a good starting point and I hope that more dramas will look at those questions. That is the benefit with TV shows looking at a near future, it calls back to current events and push them a little further to see a possibility. It is what I expect from anticipation as a genre (talking of a reference that maybe one other person will get, it reminded me somewhat of the French TV show Trepallium from a few years ago).

But as mentioned, the latter part of the show feels way more dramatic and less about those societal questions. Which is also interesting, but because of the structure and the length of this drama (only 5 episodes), it also feels undeveloped. It has interesting characters, but they're all mostly underdeveloped. I would have wanted more in-depth scenes with the main characters, more development of the young ministers (I really want more about them), just more. I wasn't as invested in what happens at the end because of this unevenness of the plot. Which is a shame because there's lot that could have been done there.

That being said, some things were actually on point. The cinematography was top notch! The CGI was constantly present, but seamless. I could totally believe all of the technology they had. It felt futuristic while also being something we could have in a few years. (The glasses very much reminded me of the glasses from the webcomics Space Boy.) Finally, the music was really good! It fitted very well with the drama and I need to go and see if it is available anywhere because I would like to add it to my playlist.

I think the conclusion I have is that this drama tried to do a lot of things, had a lot of good ideas, but by trying to do too much, it didn't manage to go through them all which is a shame. The production quality was nevertheless really good. It is still an interesting drama that I would recommend, especially if any of the questions I asked earlier interest you, even if only to make you think. I am glad for the NHK World putting it on their website so I could watch it. If you're reading this when the episodes are still available, go and watch it. It is only 5 episodes of 50min.

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If you like Frank, Drake, trope-y teenage shows, watch this. Otherwise, don't bother.

When we started watching this with my viewing buddy we did not have great expectations. We started watching it because we'd enjoyed Drake and Frank in 2gether. We thought they had great chemistry together and wanted to see something else they'd done together.
Before I start my review proper, I want to warn future watchers about a TW which might feel important to potential future watchers. There is a scene in one of the early-ish episodes which is essentially sexual assault. It is resolved in a way that is somewhat okay and made us feel like they'd at least realised what was wrong with it and that we could continue the show, but a friend told me they'd stop watching the show then.
Now to the review proper. There are some good things about this drama and there are some bad things about this drama. It isn't one I would recommend except if you fall in a few very specific categories for several reasons.

First about the bad things:
When I watch this kind of drama, I don't expect the same level of quality as I do for other types of drama or shows in general, but I do expect a minimum of quality. I don't think a single episode was colour corrected which left us with some scenes where every change of camera (with often back and forth) showed a different brightness with some shots overexposed and some under in the same scene which does distract from watching somewhat. But the most problematic technical thing for me was the sound issues. For some reason, the director decided to have a lot of scenes take place on a bridge at night, a bridge with a lot of cars going past, cars which made a lot of noise. Which would not have been as much of a problem if they'd had clip-on mics, but I'm hypothesising here that they did not. It sounds like they did try to solve the problem in post, but the result is quite a few scenes (including important scenes) when we can barely make out what they say, which is an issue even if we have subtitles.

Similarly, I don't expect the script to be the most amazing work ever written, but it felt really disjointed at times with really bad dialogue. The scenes and moments that felt the most natural and good felt like the improv moments. Once again, I don't expect greatness, but this felt like below the threshold of what I hope for, even in a cheesy, trope-y teen drama. (Plus you know, that one TW I mentioned earlier which I could have done without.)

Second about the good things:
We started watching for Frank and Drake and they were definitely one of the plus of this show. Drake's character's Mork especially is endearing even if he makes a lot of mistakes. Khaotung who plays Mork's best friend's Au and we had already seen in 2gether deserves a special mention and I particularly liked his arc. The two actors and characters who stole the show (especially at the beginning, I have more issues with their story arcs towards the end of the show) are Neo's Gord and Phuwin's Morn. They are very wholesome and if I am to believe the comments on Youtube, I am not the only one to think so.

This drama is very true to life and it truly felt like watching real life's teenagers which was refreshing.
There was also a whole discussion on homophobia which I felt was handle quite well. I definitely recognised patterns of thoughts and reactions I have encountered before. The whole arc with Tee's mum in particular hit really close to home.

This drama and the characters are endearing enough and manage to grab you in in caring about the characters just enough that you want to know what happens after and that is what made us continue watching despite the poor quality of about everything else.

In conclusion, we didn't regret watching this show, but wouldn't necessarily recommend it. If you have seen Frank and Drake in other shows and want to see them in something else, watch this. It truly reminded me of the French and American teen shows I would watch as a teenager in the 00s and 10s so if you liked those, this fits in the same category. If you enjoy really this type of cheesy and trope-y teen drama, feel free to watch this.
But otherwise, passez votre chemin as we say in French, go away and use your time in a more productive way by watching some better drama.

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