etoks21

Wow, I SO feel you. That is, in a nutshell, why BLs resonated so powerfully with me when I discovered them two and a half years ago. I am old enough to be these characters' dad, yet I felt somehow I was watching what might have taken place for me if I hadn't been living in a homophobic world at the time.

I welled up at least five times during this last episode, and mostly it wasn't because of any specific line of dialogue; it was because these two actors have a powerful connection and they excel at evoking those emotions you described so that we can feel it as viewers. I was very moved.

This show, especially in this last episode, got me in the gut despite the cliches, tropes, and generally unoriginal plotting. There were a lot of individually touching and funny bits of dialogue throughout, however. It's another J-BL where the charisma, connection, and good acting of the leads overcomes the aforementioned clunkiness.

Also, there were definitely moments and vibes of physical attraction and burgeoning sexual desire that led...nowhere. It's sort of important to know whether or not they did the deed after the hair-drying bit. And if not, why not? Any two normal teens would definitely have gone for it. This is where the fluff of this show smothered the heat of this show, which was definitely there. The director chickened out.

I know the MDL prude crowd loves this kind of unrealistic storytelling, but teenage boys in love don't float around on pink clouds of cotton candy, crocheting sweaters for each other. And if they did, they would definitely take time out to do the deed a couple times a day. Sex is the most powerful, tactile means of expressing one's love. Hearts entwined lead to bodies entwined. I wish there weren't so many western BL fans here who see sex as dirty and unmentionable. I don't need explicit sex scenes, I have porn for that, but I want an indication that things got physical, as humans do.

It's because of the show's overarching clunk, fluff, and false chastity that I'm not rating is as highly as I otherwise would have.

7.5/10 but highly recommended.

ummm...in reality, there are thousands of indie movies out there featuring zero characters who are prostitutes. Watch them and you won't be sick anymore. :)

Wow. Excellent study of how the Asian tendency toward stuffing one's feelings for appearances can destroy a person from the inside out.

Nakano Taiga should be a star. His performance here is brilliant. The stifling repression he forced upon himself made me ache to the bones at times.

Atsuhika and Takeda should hook up and form a family with Suzu.

Highly recommended.

9/10

What did you make of the ending?

It's a very good film, but be prepared: It is also a very dark film. I have a thing for those.

Exactly. They could have used a lot of different methods to create a hump under his hoodie. It wouldn't be difficult to figure that out. They have shown the wings droop, and also rise, but you're probably right that they can't be folded all the way together in the back.

It's such a glaring omission, I can't believe the director ignored it.

Yes, the 2017 film "A Stray Goat," is excellent, as is his acting in it. That's the only other film in which he's had a lead role. He's done quite a few K-dramas, but I don't watch dramas in general.

No problem. :)

Thanks a lot for the tip. I'll go back and watch the scene you mention. It's a lot to ask of the viewer to believe that through all the time he spent with Ilwoo at the detention center, and even after they began to cooperate with each other, he wouldn't have told Ilwoo what he knew.

Well, you may be right, but trying to tear down the bars between him and the counselor seems like a strong reaction based on just a hunch. Maybe you can help me with something: How was the friend so sure it was the counselor who was banging the other twin? It seems like he said he saw it, but there was never a scene like that in the film, and I still don't feel like I understand that part of it.

And if he knew it was the counselor, then how could he be so calm and collected in his presence in the prison?

oh...I am a big fan of Jonghyun and Jonghyun-era SHINee. I've heard of GOT7 and Jackson Wang, but haven't followed their work. Somehow I missed in Jinyoung's bio that he had been in GOT7. He is a tremendous actor, not just some talentless pretty boy idol an agency is trying to promote, as so often show up in K-BLs.

Mainly an immensely sad demonstration of what happens when people skip appointments with their therapists.

This was my third watch of this film. I've had it on my Top 30 Gay-Themed Feature Films list for two years. However, each time I watch it I like it less. During this watch, I mostly thought, "what the hell was I thinking?"

This time around, I came to dislike the protagonist more than before too. A glutton for punishment, he is attracted to men he ultimately can't have. I'd guess it's because he doesn't think he deserves better. Despite his unflappable exterior and loads of friends, he doesn't seem to like himself much. The manner in which he cut the first dude off without a word when the inevitable happened, pissed me off. At the end, it seems that was the one he truly loved.

Anyway...I like the way the film tells its story, its choices in cinematography, direction and style. However, every character puts me off so I had no one to root for.

Long story short, I'm glad I've seen this enough times to finally notice it's a pretentious mess. I'll lower my rating and take it off my list.

6/10

Pretty sure there's a lot more to it than that. I just don't know what it is. :)

Park Jin Young is phenomenal in this role. I had no inkling of the other role he was playing until I looked at the cast list above after I watched the movie; that's how good he is in this part. A fave among young Korean actors.

Kim Young Min is likewise indispensable here as you know what. I have now seen him in enough films to know he is extremely versatile as an actor, and not afraid to take on distasteful roles along with sympathetic ones. One of my fave, established Korean actors.

How did Jackson Wang introduce you to Park Jinyoung?

I feel you. THIS is exactly how I felt the first time I watched this film. Blown away by the final reel.
I just watched a second time, wondering how it would effect me, since I'd go in knowing the ending already. Of course, most of the suspense was gone, but knowing beforehand made many of the scenes throughout the movie leading up to that revelation much more meaningful and powerful.

I think it's a very good movie, but there are a couple of plot holes.

An autopsy on Jo Woo's body would reveal the presence of semen in his butt, assuming the counselor climaxed while he was smothering him. Thus, it would reveal he was being molested, and dna would indicate none of the guys who beat him up were the rapist.
If there was no semen, trauma to the anus and rectum would reveal forcible sex at least, though it wouldn't prove who the culprit was.

I find it hard to believe that the counselor's gloved hand over Joo Wo's mouth and nose during sex would be sufficient to deprive him of all air/oxygen, plus he didn't have his hand there very long. People don't die of oxygen deprivation after 30 seconds.
Plus, the counselor pulled his hand away at that time. At most, Joo Wo would have passed out, not died.
Perhaps we're to believe trauma from the earlier beating combined with the brief oxygen deprivation killed him. Either way, that element should have been better written/directed to be believable.

How did the friend know what was going on with the counselor/Joo Wo, and why didn't he tell Il wo a lot sooner?

I say and ask these things in response to your statement that the film includes a "...meticulously made story." It's a powerful film with some great acting and intense scenes, but it's far from meticulously told.

I think the friend DID tell Ilwoo about the sex thing. That's why Ilwoo went nuts and tried to break through the bars AND the plexiglass at the prison to get at the counselor when he came to visit him.

ugh. 15 hours of gay-bait, satin pajamas and flying around in the air.

Dropped.

1/10