3
15
1
5
1
1
1
When I first watched this series some time ago, I did not know ANY of the actors (yeah, I don't know how I managed that, either) -- and I still liked it. So, it's not all fanservice here. It does feel like a low budget, Covid-influenced production; most of the scenes take place in or around the house, there's only a small cast of characters, it still manages to tell a good story about six people who find strength and support in each other.
One aspect I am not a fan of is the sub-plot about the father, which was a bit too "lakorn"-ish for me. But it's thankfully only a small part of the series.
I love the credit song and it's text -- it's been stuck in my head since I started rewatching this a few weeks ago, and the text is such a comfort.
A short note on the title, "I'm Tee, Me too" is okay -- but the Thai title คนละทีเดียวกัน is great and has many meanings in one sentence!
Maybe like this: คนละ = to each one, each one differently -- ที = Tee -- เดียวกัน -- identical, same.
Or: คนละ = to each one, each one differently -- ทีเดียว = quite, very; a single occasion -- กัน = each other, together.
Or you could read every syllable on its own as one word each; here's a link, and you can find your own translation http://thai-language.com/?blu=pLnF0LfV4LTVwseh0bkI
All of the Tees get their own story, their own problems they have to live with -- and I like how their psychological issues are not completely healed at the end. In that way, the series takes issues of the mind very seriously. And at the same time, the way the problems and the "solutions" are presented are hilarious.
This good balance of comedy and deeper meaning makes it a drama that is well-worth watching.
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The target audience is definitely much younger than me, but I liked it.
Technical aspects of the production were fine. Overall, the acting was good, especially since the actors are all really young. Directing was fine also -- I always have an eye on how ensemble scenes are done, and I did not notice anything missing here.
There are quite a lot of songs in the series, which is appropriate, since it's about a band -- not too many (and that's coming from me, who thinks that there's too much singing in Disney movies), and all of them fitting the band's general vibe and the plot.
Regarding the plot, it is a slow burn with lots of pining, and I tend to love this trope. Yes, it's a bit ridiculous at times, and also a bit cheesy, but that makes the series so charming. Even though some more serious issues are addressed, it's never high-stakes for the audience.
A lot of the good tropes are used liberally, some are there just to be subverted (an episode at the beach, but the young people get only five minutes to actually enjoy it?) -- and there are none of the trope I hate (e.g. miscommunication because some character is lying, love triangles, traumatic childhood experiences, jealous female characters...).
I also loved that there's so much time dedicated to the bandmates' friendship and the highs and lows they go through as the school year progresses. They are all young boys who enjoy life, and are not ashamed to act silly when they feel like it.
The parents also got some character development, and enough time to show it.
There really only two very minor points that could have been better:
a) I wish there were more female roles. I know it's a BL, and BLs have to have a majority of male characters, but why not have a girl in the band? Or a female Kajorn? Or female MCs? Or a female Yak? (Though, I admit, the last one is maybe a bit more difficult.)
b) I would have liked to see a bit more story for Tinn, whose main role is to support Gun, his love interest. He does have his own insecurities, his own questions about his future -- it's all already there, just underdeveloped and glossed over.
One last thing, because I waited for it but it never came: There is absolutely none of that old and tired top/bottom-dynamic in this show! None of the boys have any characteristics that trope would demand (difference in age, status, experience, body type etc.), none of the "pushy top" and "reluctant bottom", their body language and whole demeanor are always "typical boy" and touches are very much mutual and equal in reciprocation. I hope we'll get to see more of this kind of relationship dynamic in future Thai BL shows.
(They even make fun of the trope at the end when they talk about ship names!)
So that was a very nice surprise.
All in all, the show is light-hearted and funny, even silly at times, with great friendships -- it made me smile throughout the whole series. So I recommend it as something to watch on gloomy days. Characters don't take themselves too serious, and the audience should do the same.
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Compelling -- until episode 42.
Was it good?It was one of the better adaptations for the DaoMu BiJi novels, and well-shot. It's all a bit overdramatic, and tropes have their place, but that's true for all of the Grave Robbers stories. However, the writing (or the editing) made it fall apart in the last episodes.
Did I like it?
Yes, especially the interactions between Ba Ye and the lieutenant. But I wouldn't watch it again.
Would I recommend it?
Yes, if you like action and mystery and also don't mind some romance or if you want to collect all you can from the Lost Tomb Universe.
If they'd stopped after episode 42, this series would have earned a solid 9 from me. As it is, the last story arc was crammed into 4 of the last 6 episodes, with the last 1.5 episodes dedicated to flashbacks and battle scenes. That last story arc had scenes cut, which made it almost incomprehensible. I wish they'd cut some of the romantic flashbacks, of which we had entirely too many, instead.
Other grievances:
* The show is, like all of the Lost Tomb series, quite misogynistic. All of the women are only there to serve the men's plot, one of them is even a classical case of fridging. At least they put the female characters in less revealing clothes, but that was probably because of the historical setting.
* Clichéd depiction of non-Han, "tribal" minority groups. Why would you think that they all dress the same? And what's with the face paintings? (Although, tbh, C-Dramas tend to be Han-nationalist, so it's not every surprising.)
* I would have liked to see more of the other families. Why is the drama called "The Mystic Nine" if we see three of them only in few short scenes?
But:
* The sets are better than some C-Dramas, the acting is superb, the mysteries are compelling -- all in all a great watch. If you liked the other Lost Tomb dramas, you'll like this one.
* Ba Ye and the lieutenant held the story, they are hilarious together.
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Excellent drama with one flaw
THE STORY:I started this thinking that we'd get to see detective stories, where I could solve cases together with the heroes. The cases were, although interesting, not of that sort. They all made sense, but the audience often only got to see the clues at the time Li Lianhua or Fang Duobing revealed them to their co-characters. The cases themselves were overshadowed by the overarching plot relatively early, so for me, they did not have too much merit by themselves, and only served as a vehicle to move the story forward.
The overarching story wasn't that complicated, we got to guess the main villain quite early, and some of the plot twists weren't that twisty for me.
(Also, the main plot point -- evil people from a defeated foreign country try to overthrow the mighty and just and overall better [China] and fail -- is typical Chinese nationalist fare.)
What makes the story interesting, is the journey of Li Lianhua, both in the past, which is revealed to us in increments, and in the present -- Li Lianhua, who is terminally ill and is pulled into the Jianhu after ten years of solitude, whose journey is one of finding closure, of forgiving or avenging, of finding meaning in life and death.
A plus, for me, is also that the series has little romance -- most of it finds it conclusion within three episodes or so around episode 20 (they decide their romance will stay in the past only). Unfortunately, most female characters' motivation still circles around love, more on that see below.
The story unfolds over 36 episodes, which never drag or feel rushed. The series kept my interest throughout -- the pacing was always just right.
THE CHARACTERS:
Li Lianhua is a wonderfully human character. He is flawed, he lies, he deceives but still seems to be a person who has his values he lives by. He is a miracle doctor and a horrible cook. He is someone who pushes others away, and it's never quite clear if it's to protect the other person or himself. He is selfish in his last decision, and at the same time sacrifices his life (essence) for others over and over again. Li Lianhua is world-weary but can still find solace in the little joys in life and seems to believe that most people are ultimately good.
Li Xiangyi was young and inexperienced. He trusted wholeheartedly -- but also judged hard. He thought he was the most important person in the sect -- and died because of it.
I also loved the other two main characters -- loved their banter, of course. They both had their distinct personalities and unique goals. Fang Doubing and Di Feisheng had good character development -- more time to show their personalities and their inner life would have been even better.
The one thing that irked me for the most part of the series was the portrayal of the female characters. Their motivations mainly circled around "love" (or a version thereof), and usually, they had no agency without a man. Let's look at the four most prominent women:
Jiao Li Qiao: Her motivation for anything is to get Di Feisheng as her husband. That's it.
Qiao Wan Mian: She is important as the past love interest of Li Xiangyi, who waited for ten years for him. Later, she gets a bit more agency, but it remains half-hearted. Has she left Zijin or not? Why does she take his Sect leader token but does not take on the role herself? (He is obviously still the sect leader later.)
Master He (Fang doubig's mother): She's the only woman without an interest in pursuing another man; the only one who is shown with significant skills who can contribute to the fight. She is also the only married woman, and the only middle-aged woman, so it's probably just that she's "too old" to be a potential love interest who can be heroically disregarded.
The princess: Her interest in marrying Fang Doubing is somewhat understandable -- as a princess she lives a highly regulated life, and probably knows that the only chance to get a bit of freedom is as a married woman. (Of course, her interest has to take a backseat next to her fiancé's desires.)
There's also the young girl who we first meet when she disguises herself as a man -- she could have easily been a cunning woman with a network of informants or a vast library. But no! She always gets her information from her grandfather and she is allowed to bring Li Lianhua to her brother for treatment.
That's enough of a rant for this review. Let's close with another excellent aspect:
THE ACTING:
I did not find one actor unsatisfying. The minor characters were all right throughout.
All three main characters were portrayed incredibly well. Especially Chen Yi (Li Lianhua) who needed to show his multi-layered personality without words had excellent micro-expressions. Di Feisheng is probably more interesting than the script itself has provided because Xiao Xun Yao manages to hint for underlying emotions of his character from the first second we get to see him on screen.
And a special mention has to go to Rain Wang (Jiao Li Qiao), who, despite her single-trait character, shows how chillingly deranged Jiao Li Qiao has become over the course of the series.
OVERALL:
This is, despite the one flaw, a series that tells a story about friendship, betrayal and revenge -- and a man who just wants to have a quiet death.
Recommended!
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This review may contain spoilers
Who is it you love?
Do you really love the person as they are or is it just an image you have made of that person in your head?What I liked:
* I loved the development of the author's character. He went from very much self-assured, narcissistic, and someone who is sure that his love story will finally come to the end he wished for three hundred years ago to a very much shocked, insecure person whose world has been turned upside down, and at last to someone who is starting to learn that there are always two people in a relationship with their own thoughts and feelings.
* The author's actor showed all of these emotions well, sometimes dramatically, and completely unashamed to be seen. I can hardly believe that this was Jin Gun's first drama.
* In contrast to the author, Ha Yeon knows what he wants very well and he is not afraid to go for it. This makes for an interesting dynamic.
What I did not like:
* I wish we would have got to see more of the second life. It was always flashbacks to the same scene. How long had they known each other then? How did they meet? What was their relationship like?
I think if we knew more about this time, the question the modern Ha Yeon asks -- Which Ha Yeon do you love? -- would have made more sense to more people in the audience.
I suppose that, in both of their lives, they did not have much time together in mundane situations (it was obviously a time of strife and struggle in their second life, and in the first they did not even get to speak as someone else than slave and lady), and that's why Yeon Seok had this image of "Ha Yeon" of someone who is not goofy, but rather refined -- who knows how the first two Ha Yeons really were?
Is it love if you only know the other person's facade that they show to the public?
It would have been nice if the show had more time to explore this question in greater depth.
Still, the story we get to see is cute, well acted, and we get to see some character development.
Recommended!
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This show is a fantasy for all of us who belonged to the "nerds", the "weirdos", the "fat" people or whatever group we belonged to and thought we would never have a chance to get the popular guy -- to make our secret crush our one true love.
First of all:
1. Toh is a very special kind of guy. His brain works differently to "normal" people. (I think people nowadays call that neuro-divergent.) He's also a rather campy gay man, which marginalizes him further and colours his world view heavily. This makes his actions hard to watch, although for him, they all make perfect sense.
2. Toh's friend group is loud, queer, a bit weird -- the whole show is made of camp.
If you can accept that and roll with it, you will have a very good time with this show. If you can't, then you should probably watch something else. I get that these over-the-top kind of shows are not for everybody.
Second:
1. What I loved most is the friendship between Toh, Daisy, Som and KaoJao. They are all supportive when it counts, pushing the other when it's needed,and not above teasing each other. It was also great how easily the two gangs mixed, the weird one and the popular kids. Toward the end, they were still very much present, and that's not something you always have, that the couple(s) don't forget their friends.
2. The second main thing I loved was: Those characters who are different (nerdy, queer, chubby ... just "different") usually only get supporting roles, mostly no love interest, and are often there mainly for comic relief. In this series they are the main characters! And they all get a love interest! AND, and this is the thing that made me give ten stars, none of them is required to change for that to happen. How often have we seen that the "ugly duckling" turns into a beautiful swan in the end? Not here, Toh remains his usual self, glasses, bowl cut and short trousers included.
Third:
* Kudos to the director: There are so many ensemble scenes, and even if they are not in focus, I haven't seen one actor fall out of character. It's a joy to watch the reactions and interactions in the background.
* Colour, audio and overall cinematography was fine. The background music was always there, as if whoever was in charge of it had a "horror silentiae", and sometimes too loud. I do love "แอบหลงรัก ", §ดั่งดาว" and, yes, even "Ooh My Loove".
* One thing that threw me out of my enjoyment of the explicit scenes was that they opened the condom packets while still dressed -- where are you going to put it then? (Also, I'd really like some lube sometime...)
Fourth, and that's the last one:
And I have to talk about it because I like to rant about the prevalence of top/bottom-tropes in Thai BLs, this was actually toned down a lot here. It was still there, and I wish we could get away from the "pushy" top. (Even though Sky was quite sweet later on, I'm not too happy about how he pursued Jao in the beginning and the grabbing around the neck/chest thing.)
Still, there was no feminizing a partner who was not like that in the beginning, that's good. Also no infantilizing whatsoever. The use of "wife" was mainly used to describe the roles during sexual activities, not as a character trait. Partners in two couples offered to switch roles if the other wanted it.
"Tops" were also at times insecure, emotionally open and one of them not really adept at flirting.
I also firmly believe that the bandana in Nuea's right backpocket (in episode 7) was intentional, and you can pry this headcanon out of my cold, dead hands.
Overall, a firm recommendation from me, if just because of the great representation of characters who are otherwise never in the spotlight.
[This is a slightly edited version of the review I posted on Viki.]
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All in all, it did not wholly deliver on its promise.
The premise I liked, four young people who have to come to a decision and their own standing point regarding their position towards platonic and romantic relationships -- and issues of belonging to a group versus being who you are. Even the love triangle made sense within these topics.
The execution, though, is stilted and at times too slow.
These are definitely directing choices, not the problems of the actors -- as soon as they get to do something, they start to shine.
For example, I don't understand why the actors stand right in front of each other in most conversations, with their arms hanging down without movement (and the whole drama is conversation-heavy) -- alternatively, they talk while walking next to each other at a snail's pace. I suppose the director wanted to convey some kind of awkwardness -- which is a good idea, since the characters definitely don't feel comfortable for most of the time, but it just gets boring after a while.
Also, the characters (with the exception of Namgoong) all have similar mannerisms (or, if I want to be a bit mean, the same mannerisms) -- including the teacher, which I mistook for another student in several scenes.
There were also some minor issues:
* At times, the background music did not quite fit the mood -- I'm also not a fan of the "plink-plink"-kind of music.
* The scene with the adult toys in the beginning was never resolved, and did not fit in with the rest of the story.
* I could have done without the kiss at the end -- it feels as if the writers or the director said: Oh, the audience also wants a kiss, so lets add it somewhere. A hug or some light cuddling, or even sitting very close to each other would have fit the overall mood better.
* I'm also not too sure about the female character, but since she had her own story arc and character development, I'll let it slide.
The plot itself, with its theme of exploration and the awkwardness of navigating relationships in adolescenece, is fine, and surely of interest to many. It's just that the way the series is brought to the screen cannot convey all the depth and the emotion it wanted.
Maybe if the creators had been clearer of the intended audience and made some bolder choices for directing according to that, it would have been more on point.
Overall, I found it okay to watch, but not worth a second time.
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Why I gave ten points:
* The main character was quirky, energetic and enthusiastic, without being annoying. These traits were balanced with a grounding earnestness to understand and to grow.
* Overall, the show has a positive outlook on life and work, it is a Japanese-typical "ganbarimasu"-type of story. This, too, is balanced with scenes of failure, of darkness that lives within people, of sadness and introspection. Not everything is roses here, just like in Real Life.
* During the unfolding events, we get to grow close all of the characters, mangaka and editors alike. Some are more multi-faceted than others, but they all have their individual characteristics. Many of the characters get some chance to grow, sometimes in subtle ways -- which is an accomplishment to show for so many characters in such a short time.
* I liked that different sub-storylines connected to others, sometimes just for a few moments, sometimes longer.
* No Romance! It's about the characters and their journey, their interactions as colleagues and/or as editor-and-mangaka. (There is one scene when one character sends some glances in another character's direction which could be seen as some kind of romantic interest, but that's never acknowledged, and it's only the one time.)
* The struggles in the storylines were all either internal struggles of a person or issues of the publishing industry. There were no external conflicts, no "evil" people -- in short, no unnecessary drama.
* The length of the drama was just right for the storyline. It doesn't need more, but if it was shorter, the atmosphere would probably suffer.
All in all, I recommend the series, which has an overall optimistic tone balanced by darker and more sombre parts, which make a well-rounded story, with a small plot twist in the last episode.
[This is a very slightly edited version of my review on Viki.]
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This show is NOT: A romance drama. And NOT: A baseball drama.
Why not a baseball drama? Well... It's about the time between seasons, so there can't be any games played. We actually see only bits of a game at the start and pieces of two practice games. That's all.This drama is more about the politics and management side of professional baseball in South Korea. If you are not a fan of strategic machinations and emotional development of characters, you might want to give this show a miss.
I liked that the drama does not insult its audience's intelligence. It does not spell out every little thing, it does not repeat the same information endlessly, and there are several times when little throwaway comments or actions make an impact in later episodes. This is not a drama to watch while doing other things.
I especially liked how realistic the actions of (almost) every character was. In systemic coaching (which I'm starting to learn for professional reasons), two of the main theses are: "Every person's actions make sense for that one person within the current situation, always." and "Every decision has a prize and a price."
Even if some things are only hinted at, or not fully explained, there's this feeling that every character has their own motivation for their decisions. There is no pure good or evil, just people.
The actors did a terrific job in bringing their characters to life.
I'm also glad that the writer did not try to force a romance into the plot. The dynamics between the two main characters were of the profesional sort, maybe with a hint of a possible friendship, but nothing more.
And one last thing I loved is the ending. This is not a 100% happy, team-spirit-has-overcome-everything ending, but an ending which rather shows that even though you might have grown, things will probably not work out like you would have wanted them to. For me, that was absolutely satisfying.
[this is an updated version of the review I posted on Viki]
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Down-to-earth but with introspective tones
The cases as they are, are not that complicated, it is much more about the characters themselves, their story, their motivations and how they deal with grief and danger. There a quite a few scenes where it seems as if "nothing" is happening -- those scenes show the characters, what they think, how they (re)act. Sometimes theyare there for the atmosphere, to allow for some introspection.As such, the pacing can feel slow at times, but in my opinion, there is not one scene that's superfluous ar dragged out. Everything has its time.
This, and the fact that nothing is glittering or modern in this drama, make it exceptional. The main character is linving in a small neighbourhood in a house that doesn't even have an indoor toilet; the police in Shangta have their quarters in an old cinema, where there's no heating and the walls are crumbling. The whole town looks more or less run-down -- as do the actors. There are no airbrushed, beautiful people in colourful clothing here. Everything feels real (and very, very cold).
I love how down-to-earth the police are in this drama. While I certainly don't expect any real criticism of the system, the way the police officers make the best out of their limited ressources, how they grumble a bit about them but basically take them with a bit of humour; how they plod along and try to find the girl, but as humans, fail again and again -- this also makes the characters relatable.
And after the cases are closed, they all return to their daily lives; they live on as before, but something in them has changed.
Another point that I loved were the female characters, few of them as there were:
* The girl, of course. What a great actress! And what a strong and resourceful character! This is not a pitiable and helpless victim.
* The karaoke bar owner. She lost her family at an early age, is clearly jaded -- and still finds humanity and love in herself.
* And last but not least, the fire watcher ("bear lady"): She was beautiful in her love for the forest and the creatures living there, but was very realistic in her approach to life and death. She lived alone and was happy with that. She felt very solid and grounded.
One last mention goes to the music -- both the songs for the opening and closing credits are beautiful and fitting for the rest of the series.
[Cross-posted to Viki]
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Some things are quickly understood and some things take time
I was surprised by how much I liked this film. Usually, films like this one, films that get very philosophical and don't have much plot in favour of thinking about life, quickly tip over into "too much" for me. Either they are too preachy (like "The Zen Diary") or pretentious (like "Glasses") or too artificial (like "Bread of Happiness").But for some reason, "Every Day a Good Day" managed to keep to the side of thought-provoking while not getting to obnoxious about it. I can only guess why that is. It might very well be because a large part of the first half takes the time to just show the Tea Ceremony in detail -- the way it is filmed and the way the teacher comments on the details, feels much more like a documentary than a fictional story.
Added to that, the way of the tea ceremony is carefully balanced with Noriko's life -- and what an ordinary life it is! There's nothing special about her, she's struggling to find a job, she's clumsy and very mediocre both in real life and in learning the ceremony, she despairs when a young girl learns much quicker than her. Not only did she stay simply human throughout -- she does it not in the pretentious "Look at how humble I am", but in the much more relatable way of "I am not good at the things I do, but I have to try to find the good things in life, even if it's hard". Her teacher is the same, and I love her last sentence in the film (which is the second-to-last overall):
"By teaching, we are taught."
Noriko's life also echoes much of my own experience through adulthood, and when the film ends, she is about the same age as me now, give or take a few years. And I feel that the both of us look back at our life (so far) in a similar fashion -- only that she is, of course, doing it in a much more concise way, since the author surely refined her own thoughts into the essence of her life when she wrote her book.
One aspect I really loved was how the seasons were an integral part of the narrative. The crew took the time to film throughout the year -- they connected the meditative aspect of tea making with the surrounding sounds and sights of nature, and thus they managed to show us viewers how much we stand to gain from paying attention to what is around us:
"On a rainy day, listen to the rain. Savour the moment with all five senses, with your whole body. On a snowy day, look at the snow. In summer, feel its heat. In the winter, the freezing cold. `Every day a good day` So that's what it means!"
I wonder how much I would have liked the film twenty or even ten years ago? Not much, I guess. Commenters on the JFF website mentioned how much they cried, or that the film was devastating. I did not feel that at all! I felt mildly melancholic, yes, but definitely not devastated. So, I think this is probably one of the films that either speak to the viewer (and everyone would hear something different) or it doesn't speak to them at all.
Was it good?
It was a film with great technical expertise, and marvellous actors. It's obvious how much care went into showing the ceremony and into integrating it with the life of the protagonist.
Did I like it?
Surprisingly, yes.
Would I recommend it?
I have no idea. I think this is one of the films where every viewer gets something else out of it -- or not. Those who need plot and exciting things to happen, or even a neat ending, might want to stay away.
"Some things are quickly understood and some things take time. The things easily understood need only be gone through once. But those other things you come to understand only with time, little by little."
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Consequently, the drama asks: What do you want in life? Where are you going? Why are things important? Or if not, why not? Are you good enough -- and for whom? Who are you, and who do you want to be?
Both Err and Mawin will have to find their own way of navigating interactions with their peers and expectations of adults -- and in the meantime manage their first romantic feelings.
Despite the slightly ridiculous set-up of a maths camp in a hotel, I'd call this drama slice-of-life-adjacent.
Both main actors performed well -- which surprised me in a good way because Sea ("Mawin") was still rather stiff and unexpressive in his first role in "Only Boo!".
The romance took a backseat in favour of the coming-of-age, which I did not mind one bit.
Actually, I think this little drama would have worked as well, if not better, as an ensemble piece. The supporting characters -- the other students at the camp -- seem to have interesting backstories: The perpetually grumpy Mangpor, the boy with the broken arm, sunny Mhee. I am sure they would have added more depth to the themes the series touched upon.
Alternatively, the focus could have been tightened to the two main characters, that would have worked too.
But overall, I feel that the writers and the director made exactly the story they wanted to tell; I felt that there was a good attention to detail both in the screenplay and in the execution of the drama (unlike in other recent cash-grab GMMTV BLs).
However, for what it is, this short drama did what it wanted to do, not more and not less. The themes might not be exactly new, but they are certainly relevant to most teenagers.
Was it good?
It was a well-executed short coming-of-age story. I didn't feel it lacked anything there; viewers focused on the romance might feel that it didn't get enough time.
Did I like it?
I liked it well enough. I usually don't feel too strong about coming-of-age stories nowadays.
Who would I recommend it to?
To those who don't mind a story that is not that focused on the romance in favour for a more slice-of-life-leaning plot.
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However, this is not all there is to this drama. It surprised me with a goodish amount of emotional depth and a light touch of social issues. Also, it has a ghost as a main character, it's a Thai drama, after all.
Contrary to the first impression, this is not an exact imitation of those 1980's action comedies. For one, the rampant sexism and machismo is missing. Yes, the men are all *very* heterosexual, and there are quite a few jokes about that, but mostly not at the expense of a woman. Actually, despite there being only two female characters versus more than ten major male characters, these two women are the ones that have the strongest and best developed personalities.
Bam seems to be a stereotypical sex worker at first glance -- who is killed and literally fridged; but during the course of the story, she is the one character that gets the most emotional depth of all. Phing, is a woman who doesn't take anything from men -- she is the strongest character of them all. And even the men, who go out to have a party with alcohol and sex, are always respectful towards *actual* women.
(Although, on second thought, maybe it is more sexist than I feel it is? I expected much more misogyny and machismo, so I might be biased here.)
Large part of the plot relies on the childhood connection between three characters; as well as a love triangle quadrangle -- but since most of the jokes are rather tropey too, this didn't impact my enjoyment. Actually, the romance was quite well done, usually not at the front of the story, and also a bit open-ended. Something I enjoyed was how the script ties in social issues with the comedy -- it usually lightly touches upon them, and then dances away immediately. The script also is not high-energy all the time; when needed, it gives the character time to show us their personality and tells us their backstory, and it lets the emotions breathe, which is what gave the characters the needed depth to keep me engaged for the whole eight episodes.
The actors fit their roles well, and are delightful in their overacting. A special mention goes out to Pearwah Nichapat (Bam), whose character had the broadest range of emotions to show, and whose ghostly Bam I loved to watch.
Was it good?
Overall, it was a light action comedy with a lot of silly jokes; and while it made fun of certain characteristics and tropes, I never felt that it laughed at groups of people in a mean way. On the contrary, most characters are very sympathetic, even some of the baddies.
Did I like it?
I did! I was looking for something where I could just pass the time with a bit of sillyness, and then I got surprised by emotions.
Would I recommend it?
It's something one neeeds to like, and I am sure not everybody will get on with the comedy violence and the over-the-top everything.
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Combined with the artistic way of filming, the style of acting I am used to seeing in modern theatre plays , and the stage-like one-room set, "Maybe it's Love" is not easy to follow or understand.
I believe that this is one of those short films where the viewer is supposed to understand what is being said implicitely, and that we need knowledge about gay life in general, and gay life in Taiwan specifically, to really get what is not being said.
The repeated mention of "Cat"'s age ("a mature man", "an old fart") might play a major role in it. "Dog", who has a boyfriend but still goes out cruising, maybe even starts affairs with more people than just "Cat". The boyfriend, who seems to be absent for long enough that "Cat" has lived with "Dog" for a while.
In the end, both men seek to escape loneliness. But at what cost?
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This review may contain spoilers
A visual delight!
As many shorter K-BLs, this is a snack for in-between; light, without much substance but well-executed for what it is.What I liked:
* This movie is a visual delight. The actors are cute, the lighting at night is bright and fits the mood, the sets look comfy.
* The background music confirms the light-heartedness of the story.
* The story does not pretend to be anything but what it is: A light and simple love story.
* The straightforwardness of the younger guy was refreshing, I loved how he made it very clear what he wanted, without pressuring the chef.
What I did not like:
* I wish the plot would focus on either the chef's inner journey from "Is it possible I find another man cute?" to "I want a relationship with him, even if my friend wants it too!" or the love triangle. Doing both means that they couldn't do either enough justice within the time frame they had.
* Why the timeskip at the end? It did not add anything meaningful to the plot or the character development, and it took away from the emotional impact that the couple had their happy ending. Maybe it was supposed to be a set-up for a possible sequel? It would explain why the usually more stoic chef would cry so hard during the hug.
* The realist in me is pointing out that a rooftop restaurant with comfy chairs and sofas is not a sensible thing: If it rains, everything will get wet. And what about winter?
Overall, like some other Korean BL-movies, a nice way to spend an afternoon if you need something where everybody is beautiful and nothing hurts (much) -- but you won't miss anything if you skip this one.
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