Reviews

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Qué decir... venía todo dentro de lo esperado; estos minidramas siempre tienen cosas de dudosa explicación, bastantes situaciones "milagros del guion" y deus ex machina. Este no es la excepción, pero la historia estaba buena, era atrapante, y la pareja principal tiene química. Los besos son un 10 (además, no los escatiman, otro 10 más). Veníamos más o menos bien... hasta el final. ¿¿¿QUÉ FUE ESO??? porque seguro, un final no!!!


SPOILER
No sé qué les pasó en la vida a los guionistas, pero seguro fue algo muy grave para que escriban EL PEOR FINAL que vi en mi vida. Y es mucho decir. Ni siquiera es objetable, o abierto. NO, ES PÉSIMO Y NO HAY POR DONDE AGARRARLO. NO TIENE DEFENSA. ES HORRIBLE. ES TAN MALO QUE NO TENGO MÁS CALIFICATIVOS.
Una pena por los actores y actrices, que hacen lo que pueden, en especial el trío principal, que lo dan todo.
FIN SPOILER

Y es por eso que no la recomiendo. Vean las otras producciones de estos actores y actriz, seguro están mucho mejor.

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Qué grandes actuaciones!!! BRAVOOOO

Esta serie de título no muy atractivo es una obra maestra de la actuación. La historia es interesante y te atrapa con sus giros, la pareja protagonista tienen mucha química y los personajes secundarios son divertidos, tiernos y gloriosamente molestos, sus malos son muy interesantes, su música preciosa y original, su final es satisfactorio, pero por encima de todo brilla con luz propia la actuación. Es mayúscula, suprema y te lleva a todos los tipos de sentimientos a lo largo de la historia, alegría, tristeza, indignación, ternura, buff. Los actores están perfectos en su papel y brillan de manera espectacular los protagonistas, y la medalla de oro absoluta se la lleva Ra MiRan en el papel de la madre! Qué reina!!! Qué maravilla! Qué personaje!! Y los siguientes en excelencia son Lee Do.Hyun i Ahn Eu-Jin, madre mia, están perfectos, qué lloradera con ellos!!!Y qué decir de los vecinos, de los niños!!!!! Y el mafioso interpretado por Choi Moo Sung es inconmesurable!!!!Una de las mejores series que he visto nunca! Una joya de kdrama!!! Muy recomendable!!!

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Decepcionante

Esta serie es un intento de adaptar la novela Are You Addicted?, que ya cuenta con dos versiones previas: Addicted y Stay with Me, ambas chinas. Las series anteriores sufrieron de la censura china, dejando la primera sin terminar (solo llegó hasta el episodio 15) y la segunda sin una segunda temporada (cubre el primer libro de la novela, dejando el segundo pendiente). No obstante, ambas se han consolidado como dos series importantes en la industria BL, con Addicted convirtiéndose en una serie de culto y Stay with Me conocida por su gran calidad. Cuando se anunció que Tailandia lanzaría esta serie, todos los fans de la novela y de las series anteriores tenían la esperanza de que, al estar en una industria más abierta, se entregaría una serie de calidad y completa. Desafortunadamente, las cosas se torcieron desde el episodio 1.

Esta serie presenta problemas claros tanto en el guión como en la dirección. Las decisiones sobre qué contar y cómo contar la historia simplemente han sido pobres. Se han priorizado ciertos contextos mientras que se han omitido elementos fundamentales que capturan el corazón de esta historia, empezando por los personajes. El personaje de "Pop" o "Poppy" (Bai Luo Yin en la novela) ha sido reducido a un personaje amorfo, sin personalidad y sin los rasgos definitorios que explican el amor, la obsesión y la relación con Hero (Gu Hai en la novela). Hero mantiene su espíritu y el actor que lo interpreta lo intenta, pero no es suficiente ante un mal trabajo de producción. La fuerza de ambos personajes, sus fracturas, dolores, resiliencia, dignidad y locura —todas las cosas que los construyen y los hacen ser quienes son— se borran de un plumazo, haciendo que la historia, en ocasiones, sea incomprensible.

Toda la historia se reduce a escenas superficiales, carentes de profundidad y textura, convirtiendo esta serie en una más entre muchas sin ninguna relevancia. Las adaptaciones pueden tomarse libertades y hacer cambios. Eso está bien, y hay muchos ejemplos donde esto se hace con éxito, a veces, incluso mejorando la adaptación respecto a la novela original. Pero, si decides contar una historia que no es cualquier historia en el mundo BL, una que ya tiene dos series previas exitosas a pesar de la censura, el reto es hacerlo bien y mostrar una propuesta convincente. En este caso, simplemente, no se logró. Me siento mal por los actores. Espero que tengan más oportunidades en el futuro.

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The theme of love is universal

"The theme of love is universal, regardless of gender orientation." This is how Adolfo Alix Jr., the director of 'Unlocked', the Filipino anthology filmed in 2020 with iPhone about homosexual relationships during the confinement caused by the pandemic in Manila, responded when answering how he came up with the idea of telling these stories.
Scripted by the director himself and Jerome Zamora, each episode of the series, which at the time became the most viewed in the history of the LGBT+ streaming platform GagOOLala, addresses a different queer story, cast, and genre, but they all share the same context: how the Covid-19 pandemic has altered the already difficult lives of the LGBT+ community in the Philippines.
"During the early days of quarantine in Manila, I had LGBT+ friends who were trying to understand the 'new normal' while navigating the realities of the pandemic. So, I thought about developing stories where the pandemic can be a circumstance that prompts us to examine their relationships, like a kind of purge, whether it's physical distance or developing paranoia about the situation."
In the words of the Filipino director, people become more vulnerable to the stressors around them. In the circumstances caused by Covid-19, each individual was able to share more time with their loved ones and, locked in the confines of a limited space, they were able to unlock emotions and realities that put their relationships to the test, while at the same time they faced fear not only of contracting the virus, but also the feeling of uncertainty, often like their relationships.
In this way, the idea arose to create a series in which love would be the link that would connect the nine episodes of the anthology, since its characters reflect a variety of queer relationships that jump off the screen and resonate with viewers.
Family love, romantic love, long-distance love... Although the anthology uses a realistic and bittersweet tone, it shows the strength of human connections with our loved ones in difficult times. That is the main message that the series conveys.
It also reflects the atmosphere of uncertainty that prevailed during the pandemic. With lives disrupted and held hostage by quarantine, people became more vulnerable to the stressors around them, from limited mobility and work-related stress to the complex relationships they have with their partners, family or friends.
Knowing that stories like those reflected in the series are not only specific to Manila or the rest of the Philippines, Portico Media, the group behind GagaOOLala, gave the green light to the project.
With solid performances, in all the stories I liked the script, despite some holes. For example, in episode 4 I didn't understand what really happened to Mr. Greg's husband, whether he died or left home; while in 5, I couldn't understand how Ivan's mother knew what he did for a living and why put it out there that way, but overall it's a great series.
Given the limitations of filming during lockdown, some of the episodes, while fascinating and relatable, are rough around the edges, making them sting even more with thematic pertinence.
The anthology demonstrates that the LGBT+ community's journey is not all sunshine and rainbows. There are many experiences that remain locked in memories and experiences. 'Unlocked' opens our world to the trials and tribulations of a community, already repressed by society, and how they triumphantly overcome them.
The main conflict that the small four-person team led by Adolfo Alix Jr. faced was filming during the confinement. With safety as their top priority, they filmed all episodes using an iPhone, using familiar available locations, and working closely with the actors because they wanted them to be comfortable and safe.
The beautiful and emotional music by Mikoy Morales and Alex Diaz contribute to the recognition that while the stories are framed in the realities of the LGBTQ+ experience, the accessibility issues they address go beyond their niche market.
Each episode has the names of the characters as its title. The debut episode, 'Andrew & Brix', tells the story of a middle-class young man named Andrew (Markki Stroem) who, heartbroken due to a recent breakup, invites Brix (Mike Liwag) on the first night of quarantine, a rent boy she met online, to have a sex encounter. As the night progresses, their conversations open up many possibilities: healing and connection, lust and love… and probably moving on. Is Andrew ready to commit again to someone like Brix?
The episode stars Ardel Presentacion as Andrew's ex-boyfriend.
This episode was followed by 'Calvin & Drake', starring with convincing aplomb by Oliver Aquino ('Tale of the Lost Boys', 'Jino to Mari') and Miguel Almendras (Junjun from the popular BL series 'Hello, Stranger'), two young lovers since college, who are forced to learn good and unattractive things about each other as their increasingly toxic relationship unravels during lockdown.
The third episode, 'Eli & Frankie', the main characters played brilliantly by US-based Angeli Bayani and Angelina Kanapi, is about a young mother trying to reconnect with her lesbian lover who is now living a quiet life abroad.
The fourth episode, 'Greg & Harold', is about an old teacher named Greg (Joel Saracho) who is teaching online classes during lockdown and whose life will change when a young stranger (Ross Pesigan) shows up at his door and asks to borrow money your bathroom for a quick shower.
The fifth episode, 'Ivan and Jack', sees Jerould Golde Aceron (exceptional in his award-winning performance as a hermaphrodite in 'Metamorphosis'), playing Ivan, a boy who, desperate to raise money to bring his mother from Switzerland to house is forced to use his body to get the attention of his clients, since the pandemic makes it difficult for him to have decent job opportunities. When you go viral online for your "noble" reason behind what you're doing, are you caught in a dilemma between right and wrong, as you examine your true motivation behind your actions? Is he really doing it out of love for his mother or out of love for himself? Joining this actor is Evelyn Vargas as Jack.
The sixth episode, 'Kyle & Kyle' tells the story of Kyle (Adrian Alandy), who is trying to finish his script while in quarantine. The young man begins to feel and see strange things in his apartment, even in front of his exact facsimile. Is the double a projection of himself, a figment of his wild imagination, or a manifestation of his psychological breakdown? What follows is a spiral between fantasy and reality. At his side appear Marx Topacio as Jake, and Stephanie Sol as Lani.
Six episodes were initially planned, but seeing the audience's interest in these small but emotional stories, director Adolfo Alix Jr. wanted to expand the number of original episodes to nine.
In this way, the seventh episode, 'Luke & Matt', tells the story of Luke, a young man who loses his father to Covid-19 and now has the opportunity to reconnect with his father's lover. The visit brings back memories and pain that both of them experienced in the past. Can they finally forgive each other and put past sins behind them?
The episode stars Vince Rillon, the Filipino actor who leads the cast of Brillante Mendoza's Netflix series 'Amo' in the role of Luke, and top model Kirst Viray ('Mulawin vs Ravena', 'Ang sa Iyo ay Akin').
The eighth episode, 'Neo & Omar', is director Adolfo's vision of the current BL trend with a teenage romantic story full of nostalgia starring child actor Miggs Cuaderno and Savior Ramos, the son of actor Wendell Ramos, in his first acting role: Neo (Miggs Cuaderno), a shy and mute young man, and Omar (Savior Ramos), a mischievous teenager, are forced to live together by their frontline parents during the quarantine to keep them safe. Their cat-and-mouse banter evolves into a kind of budding bromance, complicated by the accidental possibility of an innocent kiss.
'Unlocked' ends with a very special episode, 'Pancho, Quinn & Ryan,' which marks Markki Stroem's return to the series after starring in its controversial first episode. This episode follows a gay couple consisting of Ryan (Miggy Campbell) and Quinn (Markki Stroem) in an open relationship with Pancho (JC Tan), suddenly faced with a reality during the pandemic: everyone is unhappy with the situation. The "trio" tries to reconcile their feelings for each other. What follows conveys the complexities of the men's complicated relationship that abounds in love, pain, secrets and lies.
Thanks to its popularity and good reception by the public and critics, 'Unlocked' was nominated in the "Best Drama/Feature/Quarantine-Themed Program" category at the Content Asia Awards, part of the Content Asia Summit, one of the leaders of entertainment and events in the sector in the region.
I recommend everyone to see this significant anthology because, in my opinion, it manages to integrate the struggles of the characters in each story into the series as a whole. On the other hand, it shows a side of relationships that resembles real life in the midst of quarantine. Situations that certainly did not romanticize the confinement, and showed a spectacle that thousands of people faced, which is maintaining a relationship, or managing to get out of it, in the context of the pandemic, be it love, family, friendship...

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Nada a lo que esperaba...

Cuando anunciaron The Thainee yo me emocione mucho por volver a ver al OffGun luego de Cookie Crush y aparte que contaba con un buen elenco (entre esos, mi amando Sea) sin embargo termine decepcionada de la serie. En el trascurso de los capitulos iban contando una historia diferente a lo esperando para los personajes principales, y todo se convirtio más en un melodrama. Lo triste es que los primeros capitulos empezaron con toda, tenia tanto potencial y se veia un buen desarrollo de personajes. El tema de los pasantes y en como a veces uno se cuestiona sus habilidades, talento y capacidades era un plus que estaba sumando y atraia a las personas sin embargo luego todo empezo a ser confuso y se perdió el hilo de la historia y lo más importante, el OffGun que era protagonistas principales pasaron a ser inrrelevante (puedo entender porque sus fans estan enojados). En si, fue una decepción en como terminaron desarrollando la historia y tampoco que decir de ese final que le dieron.

Solo queda pedir que al OffGun le den un trabajo bien solido como merecen!! Ya sobre si verla o no, pueden verla pero teniendo en cuenta que no es una super producción pero si, hay momentos divertidos.

PD: Si me preguntan por los demás puntos que son producción y sonido estuvieron relantivamente bien.En cuestión del guión tengo mis dudas así que no dire nada sobre eso.

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ENTRETENIDA

La he visto dos veces. La primera vez me gustó más, quizás porque aún no había visto muchos dramas y me llamó la atención la historia y la estética. Sigo pensando que la historia no está mal, pero este segundo visionado me ha cansado un poco. Casi todos los actores lo hacen bien, tiene momentos muy divertidos, y la puesta en escena me gusta. Mi problema ha sido con la elección de protagonistas, que no me he creído la relación, no los he visto bien juntos. Que no tiene nada que ver con que actúen mal, no es el caso. Pero pienso que la historia a ratos iba muy lenta y luego el desenlace, que promete más acción y espectacularidad se queda en nada... Normalmente creo que pasa eso en los dramas, que para llegar a los 16 capítulos suele haber un par de ellos de relleno, más lentos (aunque en la mayoría no me molesta, sobre todo si los actores me gustan mucho).

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Y mis lesbianas??

No le tenía mucha fé pq no me suelen gustar las series de Off y Gun. No superó mis expectativas pero tampoco las bajó(?
Los primeros capítulos son geniales, me cagué de risa. Ryan y su grupo de amigos eran todos personajes simpaticos en los que uno se puede reflejar. Cómo siempre, con el paso de los capítulos decae. La relación de Ryan y Jane no me llamaba mucho la atención, me interesaba más la serie por su comedia.

Ahora, no entiendo que quisieron hacer con Ba-Mhee. Al principio pensé que se iba a quedar con el novio, despues lo engaña con su mentora, termina con Tae, sale un rato con la mina esta y despues vuelve con Tae???? Me enojó de una maneraa. No entiendo cual fue el proposito. Pudieron hacer q Ba-Mhee y Tae tuvieran un conflicto sin meter a la chabona esta tipo(???? que tipo de queerbaiting es este dios.

Al final, le doy un 7. Si bien no me voló la cabeza, la pase bien viendola. Me la ví más q todo pq estaba en emisión, no se si me bancaria verla toda de corrido

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Un gran potencial desperdiciado

el inicio me atrapo, sinceramente adoroo personajes posesivos, y romances en el trabajo. Siento que todo empezo a irse por la borda cuando Sahashi se fue para otra sede, desde alli vimos a un natsume real pero muy muy inseguro (no quiero decir que lo odie pero despues de tantos problemas me canse). Siento que los productores no sabian como hacer un romance, hicieron un perfecto pre-romance pero no pudieron hacer un misero romance decente de dos personas adultas que vivian juntos. No quiero decir que se necesitava escenas spicy pero por lo menos lo minimo para hacerme creer que si eram dos jovenes adultos que se amaban.T ampoco hubieron escenas de ellos siendo una pareja, todo fue voltado al trabajo y sí puedo entender que su foco era su relación era el trabajo pero no hubieron muchas escenas de ellos siendo una pareja feliz
Lo unico que salvo a esta serie fue los protagonitas, si no fuera por ellos hubiera dropeado la serie despues del tercer capitulo.

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Asombroso

Historia

Me pareció asombroso como estaba contada la historia, no me pareció aburrida, no tenía malentendidos innecesarios. Me gustaron los romances que se generaron. Me gustaría saber quién es el o la guionista. Me gustaría saber más de sus trabajos me gusto el desarrollo de los hechos, las sorpresas, los villanos.



Actuación/elenco
Me gustaron todos, satisfecha con todos los actores. Y alabo que ante la manera que fue contada cada rol se sintió importante y especial haciendo más memorable la participacion de ese actor.


Musica
Un tema fue mí favorito. Me gusta el sonido elegido en general. Y me agradaron las canciones.


Valor de repetición
Mírala cuántas veces tu corazón requiera.

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Anusorn Soisa-ngim, the irreverent, the illusionist

Anusorn Soisa-ngim is a 35-year-old Thai man with a frank smile and happy eyes, a clean-shaven beard and modern pants and shirts as his clothing of choice, in which there is no shortage of the image of Britney Spears, which along with love is the other thing in this world that you believe in.
He looks like a high school math teacher. However, sometimes I imagine him in another way, with a wardrobe of bright colors, an earring in his ear and a bohemian air, and in his hands a banner with a motto drawn in the colors of the rainbow, in the middle of a crowd, fighting for the right to equal marriage and the end of the discrimination to which LGBT+ people are subjected in their nation, or actively participating in other protests against harassment and marginalization carried out by executives in the Thai entertainment industry.
Perhaps this way, Aam, as he likes to be called, was more similar to his film work, because Anusorn Soisa-ngim is not dedicated to teaching logarithmic equations to inattentive teenagers: his job is to be a Thai iconoclast or, what is the same, one of the most unique authors of contemporary world cinema.
From his beginnings on the big screen as a screenwriter and director, Aam showed his ways as an original creator. With great artistic skills and indie creation, he says what he thinks and, above all, tells the truth.
Eternal nonconformist and controversial to the core, but never apologetic, few filmmakers can boast in their entire careers the significance of the titles they have delivered from 2012 to date. His debut was with 'Present Perfect', a short film made during his university years, in which he filmed a story related to himself, which would be taken up five years later in a film with the same title, with which he set out to bring back to Toey and Oat, his main characters, with the aim that the audience enjoyed his realistic perspective on what he believes about love, and with the key message that if you think in a new and different way, sometimes it is much better than you expect.
It would then be followed by the films 'Bangkok Dark Tales' (2019), and 'There Is No Space for Me' (2014), the three seasons of '2moons: The Series' (Mello Thailand, 2019), the documentary 'BL Broken Fantasy ' (2020), the feature film 'Present Still Perfect' (with which the cycle momentarily closes, but another installment is planned), the film series 'Call It What You Want' (GagaOOLala, 2021), which includes 'It's Complicated', and the film series 'Till the World Ends', the latter two from 2023.
Their creations share a taste for telling realistic stories that reflect their own lives, or about how they wish society was, how they wish people would treat each other. Despite the stylistic variations between each work, one cannot escape the feeling that they point to the same essences, convictions, fears, securities, philias and intimate worldviews of the author. As if Anusorn Soisa-ngim created a portal to his mind through his filmography, because the Thai director believes in the power of telling stories, in creating content that speaks to people, that makes them feel, think and question . He ultimately believes in being unapologetically himself, no matter what the industry says.
His journey has not been easy. After graduating in 2014, the filmmaker dove headfirst into the world of glitz and glamor that is the entertainment industry, only to discover that it's more about who you know than what you can do. But here's the kicker: Instead of following their rules, Anusorn Soisa-ngim made his own. And that provoked the anger of the hierarchy.
Inspired by real events, 'Call It What You Want' reflected the pressure of the BL industry on artists: plastic surgery, strict diets and, worst of all, the suffering to which young actors are subjected when they are harassed by film producers series, in addition to the need to keep the relationships between many of the protagonists of these dramas a secret from the company and fans. This meant an attempt to silence him.
Being banned from the entertainment industry has meant for him that he is not chained to having to follow guidelines, so he can break the rules and, although he does not have money for his creations, he has been able to push the limits and create art that really means something, without fear that it may generate controversy.
Aam's cinema has as many tricks as a conjurer. Characterized by telling real, raw stories full of passion, his works are about people, life, struggles and triumphs, and that is what makes them unforgettable. His creations go from laughter to horror as they reflect the sexual harassment of young actors by executives in the entertainment industry, or the promises that giving them their bodies would guarantee them entry to Earthly Paradise; but perennially having as its main theme the romance between boys.
Always trying to be himself and, at the same time, trying to understand what the fans really want to see.
Away from fiction, but about it, in the documentary 'BL Broken Fantasy' he addresses the behind-the-scenes of BL. Starring Bright and Win, the protagonists of the famous BL 'Still 2gether', Anusorn Soisa-ngim himself and a group of directors, producers, actors and scriptwriters of the genre, including Aof Noppharnach, Vachirawit Chivaaree and Metawin Opas-iamkajorn, try answer questions such as: Where does the BL series come from? Why are Yaoi fangirls devoting themselves physically and financially to BL?
Revered in 2022 as the best-selling BL sales director, in 2023 he was the Filmmaker of the Pride Month. He was nominated twice for the Asian Contents Awards, the first in 2020 thanks to '2moons: The Series', and then the following year with his second series, 'Call It What You Want', with which he was also nominated for an award. Content Asia, for "illuminating the struggles of independent filmmakers in the cutthroat entertainment sector." This series of films reveals, through the lens of Aam Anusorn, a tapestry of challenges, triumphs, and eternal perseverance.
Known for his unique approach to storytelling, drawing inspiration from his own experiences to create stories, Aam has made a name for himself in the independent film industry, and founded his own production company, COM'ME'TIVE By Aam, while still He was in his second year at Bangkok University, where he earned a bachelor's degree in Film and Performing Arts.

'PRESENT PERFECT' AND 'PRESENT STILL PERFECT'

Aam's most notable work to date is 'Present Perfect', which he adapted from the original 2012 short film. It is considered the first Thai film to receive funding from the government of Hokkaido, Japan.
The film revolves around Toey, a young Thai man who, after a painful breakup, decides to heal his broken heart in the Japanese city of Higashikawa, where he meets Oat, a man who travels to Japan to experience freedom for the last time in his life, because he is about to get married. From strangers to friends, romance blossoms between the two. Before returning to the "real" world, the two men have to pick up the broken pieces and rebuild them.
Starring Kritsana Maroukasonti as Oat and Tonawanik Adisorn as Toey, for her 2017 debut, Aam Anusorn Soisa-Ngim drew on him own experiences to tell this romantic story that will take the viewer on a moving journey as the characters follow the simple quest of love The encounter forms a beautiful relationship between two men, because each has his own trauma.
For the filmmaker, recovering these characters, especially Oat and Toey, was like seeing himself.
Produced by Nuttachai Jiraanont, Tanwarin Sukapisit and Chen Rong Hua, the film won the Best Film Award at the Amsterdam LGBTQ Film Festival in the Netherlands and was screened at many film festivals around the world, including the World Festival Bangkok Film Festival, the Serile Filmului International Gay Film Festival, Romania, and the Western Visayas Film Festival, Philippines.
Then, the film ended inconclusively, in the airport scene in which both young people have to separate. The director faced a dilemma, when one is about to accept or delete the other's friend request. And he chose to just leave it there, because he wanted people to create their own ending. "Those were those times, in 2017, when gay marriage was something we didn't talk about in Thailand," he told the press at the time.
While 'Present Perfect' is more realistic and intended to be true to life, 'Present Still Perfect', released on March 12, 2020, offers a more idealistic view of same-sex relationships in modern Thailand, while the A pair of former lovers reunites once again on the remote island of Koh Kood.
Four years after what is told in 'Present Perfect', Toey meets Oat at the airport and all his pain returns. In an attempt to cope with her pain, he decides to travel to Koh Kood where he meets Jane (Darina Boonchu), the guesthouse owner who recently discovered that her husband was having an affair, and Kenta (Ryota Omi), a traveler from Japan who was staying at his house.
The peace and beauty of the island brought Toey joy again, but he knew he couldn't ignore her feelings for Oat forever. Until one night he receives a message from Oat about how much he missed him. Toey responds by stating that he loves him too, because deep down being with Oat is all he wants, but he is cautious, knowing that his love is forbidden. The next morning, Oat appears on Koh Kood. Now Toey has to decide whether to follow his heart and rekindle his relationship with Oat or let him go since they can never truly be together.
'Present Still Perfect' is more about how Aam wishes society was. With his dream of getting married one day still unfulfilled, the filmmaker needed his dream to come true, at least on screen. For this reason, he did not hesitate to see his characters triumph in love. "I feel like I'm already married, even though that's not the truth. So yeah, the reason I keep coming back to these characters is because I want them to be successful in love, and ultimately they were."
The sequel to 'Present Perfect' makes a clear statement in favor of same-sex marriage.
And if on the one hand, the film has contributed to changing mentalities and making visible people from the LGBT+ community and their struggles for the legalization of same-sex marriage in Thailand, it also leaves another clear message: the act of letting go, the act of forgiving. If your husband is gay and you already knew it because you have been with him for years, you have to learn to let go and accept the truth.
In 2018 he did not have the budget to film the second part because no one supported him. Then one of his fans suggested, "Why don't you go to Indiegogo.com and then do some crowdfunding?" And after a lot of thinking: "Who is going to pay me the money? I'm a nobody. Nobody cares about me. Why do I have to?", he discovered one day that he had enough money to embark on that other trip. .
On the other hand, much of 'Present Perfect' and its sequel deal with cultural differences. In 'Present Still Perfect', for example, a Japanese character explains how in Japan it is considered disrespectful to let an old woman take her seat on the bus.
However, what is truly extraordinary is the cinematographic wrapping of these topics in films and series that leave the unmistakable feeling of being unique.
This, and no other, is the key to Anusorn Soisa-Ngim's exceptionality. If we look closely, the themes are not different from those of hundreds of authors, many of them also Thai, no matter how much personal quirks are sought in their work. However, his way of conceiving stories on celluloid has such a singularity that there is no other choice but to applaud and applaud him, like the magician who has just pulled a white rabbit out of his hat.

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Anusorn Soisa-ngim, the irreverent, the illusionist

Anusorn Soisa-ngim is a 35-year-old Thai man with a frank smile and happy eyes, a clean-shaven beard and modern pants and shirts as his clothing of choice, in which there is no shortage of the image of Britney Spears, which along with love is the other thing in this world that you believe in.
He looks like a high school math teacher. However, sometimes I imagine him in another way, with a wardrobe of bright colors, an earring in his ear and a bohemian air, and in his hands a banner with a motto drawn in the colors of the rainbow, in the middle of a crowd, fighting for the right to equal marriage and the end of the discrimination to which LGBT+ people are subjected in their nation, or actively participating in other protests against harassment and marginalization carried out by executives in the Thai entertainment industry.
Perhaps this way, Aam, as he likes to be called, was more similar to his film work, because Anusorn Soisa-ngim is not dedicated to teaching logarithmic equations to inattentive teenagers: his job is to be a Thai iconoclast or, what is the same, one of the most unique authors of contemporary world cinema.
From his beginnings on the big screen as a screenwriter and director, Aam showed his ways as an original creator. With great artistic skills and indie creation, he says what he thinks and, above all, tells the truth.
Eternal nonconformist and controversial to the core, but never apologetic, few filmmakers can boast in their entire careers the significance of the titles they have delivered from 2012 to date. His debut was with 'Present Perfect', a short film made during his university years, in which he filmed a story related to himself, which would be taken up five years later in a film with the same title, with which he set out to bring back to Toey and Oat, his main characters, with the aim that the audience enjoyed his realistic perspective on what he believes about love, and with the key message that if you think in a new and different way, sometimes it is much better than you expect.
It would then be followed by the films 'Bangkok Dark Tales' (2019), and 'There Is No Space for Me' (2014), the three seasons of '2moons: The Series' (Mello Thailand, 2019), the documentary 'BL Broken Fantasy ' (2020), the feature film 'Present Still Perfect' (with which the cycle momentarily closes, but another installment is planned), the film series 'Call It What You Want' (GagaOOLala, 2021), which includes 'It's Complicated', and the film series 'Till the World Ends', the latter two from 2023.
Their creations share a taste for telling realistic stories that reflect their own lives, or about how they wish society was, how they wish people would treat each other. Despite the stylistic variations between each work, one cannot escape the feeling that they point to the same essences, convictions, fears, securities, philias and intimate worldviews of the author. As if Anusorn Soisa-ngim created a portal to his mind through his filmography, because the Thai director believes in the power of telling stories, in creating content that speaks to people, that makes them feel, think and question . He ultimately believes in being unapologetically himself, no matter what the industry says.
His journey has not been easy. After graduating in 2014, the filmmaker dove headfirst into the world of glitz and glamor that is the entertainment industry, only to discover that it's more about who you know than what you can do. But here's the kicker: Instead of following their rules, Anusorn Soisa-ngim made his own. And that provoked the anger of the hierarchy.
Inspired by real events, 'Call It What You Want' reflected the pressure of the BL industry on artists: plastic surgery, strict diets and, worst of all, the suffering to which young actors are subjected when they are harassed by film producers series, in addition to the need to keep the relationships between many of the protagonists of these dramas a secret from the company and fans. This meant an attempt to silence him.
Being banned from the entertainment industry has meant for him that he is not chained to having to follow guidelines, so he can break the rules and, although he does not have money for his creations, he has been able to push the limits and create art that really means something, without fear that it may generate controversy.
Aam's cinema has as many tricks as a conjurer. Characterized by telling real, raw stories full of passion, his works are about people, life, struggles and triumphs, and that is what makes them unforgettable. His creations go from laughter to horror as they reflect the sexual harassment of young actors by executives in the entertainment industry, or the promises that giving them their bodies would guarantee them entry to Earthly Paradise; but perennially having as its main theme the romance between boys.
Always trying to be himself and, at the same time, trying to understand what the fans really want to see.
Away from fiction, but about it, in the documentary 'BL Broken Fantasy' he addresses the behind-the-scenes of BL. Starring Bright and Win, the protagonists of the famous BL 'Still 2gether', Anusorn Soisa-ngim himself and a group of directors, producers, actors and scriptwriters of the genre, including Aof Noppharnach, Vachirawit Chivaaree and Metawin Opas-iamkajorn, try answer questions such as: Where does the BL series come from? Why are Yaoi fangirls devoting themselves physically and financially to BL?
Revered in 2022 as the best-selling BL sales director, in 2023 he was the Filmmaker of the Pride Month. He was nominated twice for the Asian Contents Awards, the first in 2020 thanks to '2moons: The Series', and then the following year with his second series, 'Call It What You Want', with which he was also nominated for an award. Content Asia, for "illuminating the struggles of independent filmmakers in the cutthroat entertainment sector." This series of films reveals, through the lens of Aam Anusorn, a tapestry of challenges, triumphs, and eternal perseverance.
Known for his unique approach to storytelling, drawing inspiration from his own experiences to create stories, Aam has made a name for himself in the independent film industry, and founded his own production company, COM'ME'TIVE By Aam, while still He was in his second year at Bangkok University, where he earned a bachelor's degree in Film and Performing Arts.

'PRESENT PERFECT' AND 'PRESENT STILL PERFECT'

Aam's most notable work to date is 'Present Perfect', which he adapted from the original 2012 short film. It is considered the first Thai film to receive funding from the government of Hokkaido, Japan.
The film revolves around Toey, a young Thai man who, after a painful breakup, decides to heal his broken heart in the Japanese city of Higashikawa, where he meets Oat, a man who travels to Japan to experience freedom for the last time in his life, because he is about to get married. From strangers to friends, romance blossoms between the two. Before returning to the "real" world, the two men have to pick up the broken pieces and rebuild them.
Starring Kritsana Maroukasonti as Oat and Tonawanik Adisorn as Toey, for her 2017 debut, Aam Anusorn Soisa-Ngim drew on him own experiences to tell this romantic story that will take the viewer on a moving journey as the characters follow the simple quest of love The encounter forms a beautiful relationship between two men, because each has his own trauma.
For the filmmaker, recovering these characters, especially Oat and Toey, was like seeing himself.
Produced by Nuttachai Jiraanont, Tanwarin Sukapisit and Chen Rong Hua, the film won the Best Film Award at the Amsterdam LGBTQ Film Festival in the Netherlands and was screened at many film festivals around the world, including the World Festival Bangkok Film Festival, the Serile Filmului International Gay Film Festival, Romania, and the Western Visayas Film Festival, Philippines.
Then, the film ended inconclusively, in the airport scene in which both young people have to separate. The director faced a dilemma, when one is about to accept or delete the other's friend request. And he chose to just leave it there, because he wanted people to create their own ending. "Those were those times, in 2017, when gay marriage was something we didn't talk about in Thailand," he told the press at the time.
While 'Present Perfect' is more realistic and intended to be true to life, 'Present Still Perfect', released on March 12, 2020, offers a more idealistic view of same-sex relationships in modern Thailand, while the A pair of former lovers reunites once again on the remote island of Koh Kood.
Four years after what is told in 'Present Perfect', Toey meets Oat at the airport and all his pain returns. In an attempt to cope with her pain, he decides to travel to Koh Kood where he meets Jane (Darina Boonchu), the guesthouse owner who recently discovered that her husband was having an affair, and Kenta (Ryota Omi), a traveler from Japan who was staying at his house.
The peace and beauty of the island brought Toey joy again, but he knew he couldn't ignore her feelings for Oat forever. Until one night he receives a message from Oat about how much he missed him. Toey responds by stating that he loves him too, because deep down being with Oat is all he wants, but he is cautious, knowing that his love is forbidden. The next morning, Oat appears on Koh Kood. Now Toey has to decide whether to follow his heart and rekindle his relationship with Oat or let him go since they can never truly be together.
'Present Still Perfect' is more about how Aam wishes society was. With his dream of getting married one day still unfulfilled, the filmmaker needed his dream to come true, at least on screen. For this reason, he did not hesitate to see his characters triumph in love. "I feel like I'm already married, even though that's not the truth. So yeah, the reason I keep coming back to these characters is because I want them to be successful in love, and ultimately they were."
The sequel to 'Present Perfect' makes a clear statement in favor of same-sex marriage.
And if on the one hand, the film has contributed to changing mentalities and making visible people from the LGBT+ community and their struggles for the legalization of same-sex marriage in Thailand, it also leaves another clear message: the act of letting go, the act of forgiving. If your husband is gay and you already knew it because you have been with him for years, you have to learn to let go and accept the truth.
In 2018 he did not have the budget to film the second part because no one supported him. Then one of his fans suggested, "Why don't you go to Indiegogo.com and then do some crowdfunding?" And after a lot of thinking: "Who is going to pay me the money? I'm a nobody. Nobody cares about me. Why do I have to?", he discovered one day that he had enough money to embark on that other trip. .
On the other hand, much of 'Present Perfect' and its sequel deal with cultural differences. In 'Present Still Perfect', for example, a Japanese character explains how in Japan it is considered disrespectful to let an old woman take her seat on the bus.
However, what is truly extraordinary is the cinematographic wrapping of these topics in films and series that leave the unmistakable feeling of being unique.
This, and no other, is the key to Anusorn Soisa-Ngim's exceptionality. If we look closely, the themes are not different from those of hundreds of authors, many of them also Thai, no matter how much personal quirks are sought in their work. However, his way of conceiving stories on celluloid has such a singularity that there is no other choice but to applaud and applaud him, like the magician who has just pulled a white rabbit out of his hat.

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Quizá no es buena idea seguir con esta fórmula

Me preocupa decir que la fórmula que hace tan buenas a Blue Boys o Bad Guy, que implica poner todo el peso de las narrativas en la capacidad actoral de los protagonistas, pueda ser una estrategia que no llegue muy lejos si todas las historias siguen la misma dinámica de sota, caballo y rey.

¿Que ha sido muy buena idea coger a Jeong Riu y a Choi Seungjin para que trabajasen juntos? Tremenda. ¿Que este último es un actorazo tremendo y que mantienen una muy buena química entre ambos? También. ¿Que Sukfilm tiene que buscar otra estrategia de financiación si quiere que sus producciones lleguen a nuevas cotas? Desgraciadamente, tercer sí.

La serie es muy buena, eh, pero siguiendo una estela de producciones en el mismo año... quizá narrativamente sea la más floja.

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No es un BL al uso, y eso la daña

GMMTV debe ser muy cuidadosa con la forma en que promociona sus producciones, especialmente cuando se trata de propuestas corales que podrían ser mucho mejor recibidas si se presentaran como tales... si es lo que se espera, claro.

Yo esperaba más de OffGun, y al final tuve muy poco. Además, el personaje de Jumpol me cayó fatal. ¿Cómo es posible que, después de tardar 11 episodios en pedirle salir a Atthaphan, te marches y pases tanto tiempo sin hablarle porque "si te hubiera hablado, habría querido volver antes", pero "todo sigue igual"? ¿Cómo puedes ser tan egoísta, Jane?

Por otro lado, ¿de verdad les parece buena idea venderle representación a las sáficas solo para que todo termine en drama? Chicas, el drama es algo que las sáficas ya tienen de sobra en los GL. Que den gracias de que no hacen como las fans de OhmNanon, que mandaron furgonetas con carteles dando vueltas por Bangkok...

Qué desperdicio, porque la serie empezó siendo fresca, con una propuesta que te hacía reír y hacía que la hora se pasara volando.

La salva el hecho de que, aun siendo un desastre, OffGun siempre ofrece una actuación de calidad.

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