Kill to Love

A first class example of the BL genre within the Chinese history costume drama category.

The sad, fateful unhappy endings of so many early gay films or series, which once upon a time seemed almost to be a requirement, that gay people do not deserve long, happy lives, makes a grand re-appearance in “Kill To Love” but in a manner that works and makes sense for the characters and the historic times they lived.

This Singaporean effort at a sweeping Chinese costume drama of rival princes and hostile neighbouring kingdoms in medieval China, within its limited budget, does well despite lacking the forces of extras in palace scenes or battle enactments that Chinese productions gloriate in. The key to this compensation is the casting: all of the principal actors inhabit their characters with conviction, and the two main leads with especial impact.

The lack of information in the notoriously difficult production environment of Chinese language BLs, created by Chinese creatives, starkly contrasts with the abundance of intermingling story lines, character interactions, and plot developments. While the novel on which the series is based has been described as both a buxia (martial arts) and a danmei (bl), the resulting drama, while compelling in its unfolding, resides ultimately in its own category, unique to Chinese storytelling.

It is equally admirable and intimidating that Chinese storytelling should be able to envelop so many prominent themes into an individual story.

Familiar to each other as young boys, the two main characters, Shu He and Si Ang, meet again by chance at a critical juncture in the history of their kingdoms (Nan Hui Kingdom and Ji Bei Kingdom). Their attraction to each other has to play out against the political forces and characters of their time; in the end, this environment, beyond their control, shapes their destiny. This may give the appearance of lives determined by fate, but the fascination behind “Kill To Love” (an awful title compared to the novel’s “The Mountains and Rivers Are Forever Silent”) is that it is in the characters of Shu He and Si Ang where the core emotional conflict and passion emerge, combust and consume.

In the first episode, we meet all the main players, and, in addition, the director and writer cleverly combine two different scenes of injury. Si Ang, who has been surprised in his assassination attempt of the Crown Prince, receives an arrow wound to his shoulder as he flees; immediately following, the young Crimson Shadow Guardsman Huo Ying is seen visibly distressed and in pain.

One would’ve thought that the young aspirants for admission into the Crimson Shadow Guard would have noticed something amiss about a military guard in which the members experienced ten years of poisoning, from which their loyalty was secured by receiving, as part of their pay package, so to speak, regular antidotes. But that’s not really the point (even though it very much plays into the action). Just as it's speculated that the poison is administered internally to the Guard members in their diet, the defining force in this drama - the need to love and be loved - is inside of Shu He and Si Ang, and can not be extinguished.

At their first meeting in this series, standing in the dark one behind the other where they cannot see each other's faces, Si Ang runs his hand around Shu He’s waist. The camera lingers on this moment for a reason: they recognise something about each other in this moment - Shu He responds passively to the touch of another man, and Si Ang understands Shu He’s response because Si Ang’s touch is innately sensual on the other man’s body. Once unleashed, the forces that bind each of them to another also become painful wounds.

The drama and its ensuing tension are well sustained from beginning to end by the talents of 24-year-old Mi Jin as Shu He and 25-year-old Zhang Zhe Xu as Zi Ang. Production values are good, even if budget constraints limit the famed aerial flying of the martial arts Zi Ang and/or the appearance of large military forces to only two scenes. Costumes and production design are first class; the makeup, from time to time, strangely, is out of kilter with the lighting. I mention this only because the camera work (camera & lighting are hand-in-glove) is excellent. The two-camera setups on some of the more emotionally intense scenes between Shu He and Zi Ang are particularly notable.

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Amazing

always at the edge of my seat when watching this series

. I have never watched a series I wanted to comment on ..let alone recommend..

casting..on point
script.. have not read the novel .however the story never slows ..keeps one interested in what is to follow
acting.. strong solid performances by all..intriguing and changes very believable.
the emotions from the characters to the script dazzled me..
I have not seen all of the episodes. I am on ep 9. ..but I am sold ..this series leaves one excited for the next episode
It clings to you with all the different emotions required for these actors to. handle..I love it

thank you ...such a masterpiece

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La tension monte entre les amants maudits…

Aussi tragiques qu'elles puissent être, les histoires d'amants maudits sont magnifiques. Kill to Love n'épargne pas ses protagonistes en les opposant dans un tissu de mensonges et d'angoisses politiques.

Si les premiers épisodes manquent d'intensité, les acteurs n'ont cessé de s'améliorer au fil du temps. Duan Zi Ang (Zhang Zhe Xu) est un assassin aux émotions fortes, tandis que Xiao Shu He (Mi Jin) est un prince qui aspire à vivre de poésie et de musique. La tension est remarquable entre eux (un regard, un rapprochement physique, un lavage de main ou encore un sous-entendu subtile). Il s'agit d'une histoire d'amour, mais qui dépasse toute rationalité. Peu importe les situations, les choix ou les conséquences, Duan Zi Ang choisit toujours Xiao Shu He. À l'inverse, Xiao Shu He est capable de faire la part des choses, donnant ainsi vie à une romance maudite.

En revanche, c'est regrettable d'avoir pris une telle direction pour Xiao Shu Qian (Cheng Zi Xin) et Huo Ying (Wang Ding). C'est une relation toxique où les statuts de l'un et de l'autre se confrontent. Pourtant, la profondeur des sentiments qu'ils partagent est indéniable. Je ne comprends pas l'investissement de tant d'efforts pour finalement abandonner en plein milieu, et de la pire des façons. J'étais déçue et frustrée.

Je ne m'attendais pas à grand-chose, notamment après Meet You at the Blossom qui était (pour moi) particulièrement mauvais dans le genre du BL historique (tant sur le scénario que le jeu d'acteur). En fin de compte, ils n'ont en commun que leur genre. L'intrigue est plus mature avec des acteurs qui jouent bien et ont des évolutions cohérentes.

Malgré son modeste budget, Kill to Love est visuellement bon grâce à de belles mises en scène, des ambiances variées et une palette de couleurs harmonieuses. Les maquillages sont bons, de même pour les perruques, si bien que l'esthétique surpasse certains grands drames. Les costumes sont simples, mais de bonne qualité. En réalité, le seul défaut, sur le plan esthétique, est les faux ongles, car mal posés et grossiers.

En bref, Kill to Love est un drame entraînant qui malmène les personnages au plus profond de leur cœur. Il construit et développe ses intrigues avec cohérence, créant ainsi une tension toujours croissante. En dépit de quelques faiblesses, il est sans aucun doute le meilleur BL historique chinois de ces dernières années.

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Resenha

Olha, eu simplesmente adorei esse drama! Dei nota 8,5, porque a história foi muito boa e me prendeu do início ao fim. Ele tem aquele tipo de trama intensa, cheia de emoções e reviravoltas que deixam a gente vidrada, querendo entender onde tudo vai dar.

Mas vou ser sincera, os últimos episódios me deixaram bem confusa. Parecia que algumas coisas foram jogadas muito rápido, e eu tive que parar pra tentar entender o que realmente estava acontecendo. Não que isso tenha estragado a experiência, mas acabou me tirando um pouco do clima.

O final, apesar de não ser o meu favorito, ainda foi coerente com a proposta da história, só que eu realmente esperava algo diferente, talvez um desfecho mais fechado ou com mais emoção. Mesmo assim, a jornada toda valeu demais e foi uma experiência que eu recomendo.

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Um tanto superficial

Eu estava muito empolgada por esse drama e no fim foi uma mistura de bom e ruim. A história é interessante e tinha muito potencial, mas devido á duração e algumas escolhas ruins não ficou tão bom quanto poderia. A linha do tempo é um pouco confusa; Parece que foram alguns dias, mas foram meses. O desenvolvimento dos personagens também poderia ser melhor. Seria incrível ter visto mais da relação entre Shuhe e seu irmão, assim como de Huo Ying e Shen. Um personagem pensa de uma forma e no que parece do nada muda. Zi'Ang não estava apaixonado e de repente está obcecado. Shuhe parece inteligente e planejador em certos pontos, para se virar e tomar decisões ingênuas em outro, para de repente ser firme de novo. Esse drama seria bem melhor com uns 15 episódios a mais e melhor desenvolvimento dos personagens. O fim teria sido ainda mais trágico com melhor desenvolvimento dos personagens e história. No fim foi bom, mas não veria de novo.

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