A Round Trip to Love

There’s something about this couple

This is not the best BL I’ve watched however I can’t seem to get over this couple.

The aesthetic of this movie was pleasing, I liked the softer look. I liked how Lu Feng went after who he wanted, homophobes be damned. Xiao Chen was dealt with less favourable cards in life, he wanted to fly under the radar however time and distance would not make Lu Feng give up on him.

Gao Tai Yu was the better actor here, he had a wider range of emotions and was able to convey them.

I got a feeling Xiao Chen’s mother would be the bane of their existence.

Note- I’ve watched Part 2 and that review is a rollercoaster...be forewarned.

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Can you love and hate at the same time?

One of my favorite Toxic BLs, but it's definitely not for everyone! If you are a fan of toxic - still proceed with caution, cuz this one has it all. So read the TW before watching it.
I am a fan of toxic and I really liked this BL. This crazy story gave me chills. It’s one of those - toxic, but I can't stop watching - I am obsessed with it series. The acting, story and writing are good. It's about uncontrollable crazy love that that makes you insane and capable of anything. It takes you on rollercoaster ride of - passion, angst, anger, jealousy, love and hate. The characters are well established and so realistic. The chemistry is great. The intimate scenes are very well done, even those noncon ones.
Some don't like the ending, but I liked it. It worked for me!

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Kinda realistic

Story
It is sadly realistic which is what I think makes it great. It got confusing at times but that might just be me. I recommend ending at the first movie.

Acting/Cast
To be honest I don't really know a lot of the cast but they did a goodish job. I mean I didn't think to myself "WOW WHAT AMAZING ACTING *wipes tear*" but I do think they did a great job.

Music
Wasn't super memorable but at least I am not saying it hurt my ears.

Overall
Do not watch the second movie if you are all for sappy dramas that have a happy ending. This movie however is great.

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Lacked Originality ....

This movie is pretty basic, nothing special.

It's part melodrama and part just plain daft. There are some clichés. I usually do not like such things, It's pretty choppy and moves way to fast. I am like barely into the movie before they are already kissing and are in love. It's like you literally blink and it happens so sudden. I wish things would have slowed down some and built up the love and there character. I really don't like the chemistry of the couple, it's so confused and weird what they feel for each other.

This movie lacked a whole lot, of everything, ending was left hanging, not sure if i can sit thorough part 2.

A Major disappointment.

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I created this account specifically to write this review, so you already know the movie has to be good. The whole thing had me hooked.

The story seemed slightly rushed at times but overall was very good. The actors - oh, the actors. Their chemistry had me hooked, they were so freakin' natural, and Nate Huang's visuals especially had me dying (I've also just discovered his Instagram and am dying for the second time). To be perfectly honest, I don't think I've seen a cast this good looking for a while, but that's besides the point.

I didn't pay very close attention to the music, but I loved one of the songs used and I currently have it downloaded. However, I did notice that it managed to set the mood very well. Speaking of the mood, it was also pretty much perfect. The first part captures the free spirit of uni life perfectly, whereas the second part sees the mood get darker as the characters develop into 'hardened' adults. Throughout the whole thing we get to experience a whirlwhind of emotions from the characters: young love, heartbreak, seperation, happpiness.
I'm lazy, so I probably wouldn't watch this movie again, but for anyone who enjoys rewatching, this is for you.

Overall, this is, indeed, one of the best BL productions I've ever watched. The acting wasn't stiff like it usually is in most other dramas, and I enjoyed the changes between the tone being light to somber. I would love to watch the second part but I don't want to tarnish my view of the series as the sequel has bad reviews lol. Nevertheless, I recommend anyone looking to take a break from the usual cutesy high school tone of most BL dramas to watch this. It'll definitely be worth your time.

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still a redeemable and relevant queer narrative!

considering the two parts of the film as a whole, i do think it is redeemable as a queer work despite the excessive, melodramatic nature of it.

as one of the only few explicit chinese queer works of its time, a round trip to love has quite a bit of literature available on it. the main sentiment both among viewers and academics seems to be that the film points to the impossibility of queer love due to a heteronormative society and class differences through narratively blocking every opportunity where this relationship could work. however, that was not at all my understanding of the film. we must pay attention to just how the relationship collapses and not only that it does collapse.

the above popular framing reduces the central tragedy of the film to “censorship” not allowing positive depictions of queer love (not a thing), heteronormative kinship structures, class division, family pressure, and so on. most of these are absolutely relevant to how the relationship between lu feng and cheng yi chen took shape. however, i think the film clearly depicts the destruction as directly caused by lu feng’s masculinity. if you follow the emotional logic of and the dialogue within the narrative, what causes the central rupture isn’t societal pressure (which existed since the beginning of their relationship) but how lu feng’s masculinity fails to be otherwise.

the first part of the film shows us intimacy between lu feng and cheng yi chen is possible because lu feng is willing to change, to be kinder, softer, more vulnerable and considerate just to be worthy of cheng yi chen’s time and affection. during college or even when they meet five years after, lu feng continues to be sexually transgressive (on the basis of mutual affection) yet is always met with rejection from xiao chen (on the basis of his aggression and use of force).

the second part of the film is a lot darker as lu feng interprets xiao chen’s decision to end things as a challenge to his power, his masculinity. i do agree that it is quite a rough watch to see their relationship take an uncomfortable turn when lu feng decides to kidnap, rape, and humiliate xiao chen as a part of “taking revenge;” however, rather than being a political statement about the “impossibility of queer love” by the creator, i think these scenes are clearly portrayed as destroying the conditions under which love could exist at all. it is not romanticized nor is it sexualized. the revenge arc is only lu feng’s masculinity taken to the extreme. we see that his willingness to change collapsed in the absence of any reassurance of xiao chen’s affection for him, as well as in the presence of a direct threat to his masculinity. we see that, even though he once loved him, lu feng can no longer relate to xiao chen except through domination and harm.

love can survive separation or misunderstandings or societal norms (see: part one) but it cannot survive a man tethered to hegemonic masculinity (see: part two). this is, to me, exactly what the film wants to say. the ending, as well as all of the melodramatic impossibilities of this love, is a testament to this. in the end, after all the harm done, love can no longer exist. you cannot go back to be in a relationship with someone who harmed you in this way, and neither can you go back to the person you have harmed in this way. the mutual sacrifices throughout the film point to their devotion for each other but in the end, xiao chen survives his sacrifice while lu feng does not. so, how can one say it was not the rape, the abuse, the kidnapping by the party with more power in the relationship in every sense of the word, but it was the external factors of class division and conservative parents that made this love impossible? we simply cannot. because even when xiao chen made the choice to follow his mother’s last wish and have a traditional family, we can see it was in fact shaped by the absence of lu feng as a dependable partner.

to me, the film does a great job at critiquing gender in masculinity’s inability to process rejection, entitlement, conflation of love with control, and so on. lu feng, without access to xiao chen, resorts to violence, showing us their relationship would not have worked even in the absence of any familial or societal pressures. so, i think there is a logical narrative reason maybe not to the level of violence depicted but to the incentive for its existence. what the creator wants to say in part two is not much different than how it was set up for us in part one. violence, domination, masculinity is what annihilates love.

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I came for a toxic relationship, a relationship you should run from if you can, yet I was disappointed. The overall movie was pretty average with parts most bls have.
The characters I liked how they did both children then reunited them and their lobe as adults.

Lu Feng was my favourite but his way of navigating his finance was disrespectful to her as technically he did cheat on her. I wish we met her to get her view on the situation.
Xi Chen was the one I was rooting for as people misunderstood so wasn't as heard as the others. I loved the relationship with his brother as they were particularly close with each other so had support and love

Looking forward to part 2

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Its an experience!

Ok so i see a lot of bad reviews here....but i have to say i loved the movie...eventhough it wasnt played out very well...it would have been better as a drama...this way they could explain and go deeperain the story.

Its a lot of "thug" love....so you do need to be able to watch some abuse. but still you can feel the love between the 2 leads all true the movie.

Every moron can see its not an healthy relationship at the end but its still catches you to keep wachting.

I was really hoping for a part 3, especially cause this is the first chinese BL i actually bothered to watch, that was actually worth watching!!! Eventhough it looks like there will be no part 3....somewhere this ending is still satisfying!!! You know and feel that the love is real, and maybe this was justice served for the abuse...

Have to give it to the awesome eyecandy's!!! Both leads were excellently cast! And definately yammie!!!! I hope to see more of them!!

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Better than the drama adaptation when it comes to plot flow

My review is based on comparison between the drama and the movie as I've already watched half of the drama.
- Acting - I think both are good. Both give different vibes while the drama chen is more feminine and damsel is distress vibed the movie chen is more masculine
- Plot flow - i really think the movie did a good job with the flow cz in the drama there were things I'd be confused with like how the brother never tells him about the letter/message, chen hating lu for silly reason like he didn't tell me, the dad not being unnecessarily abusive, the in laws not being exes, lu stopping and not raping chen when he said he didn't love him. The plot had a flow in the movie like for an action there was a reaction and it went on which was not the case in the drama. In the drama chen just kept getting sudden episodes of "i can't be with lu". The characters were not very intense and written in moderation here which i also something i liked.

I do get people who recommended me to watch the movie cz i agree.

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