This review may contain spoilers
A lovingly crafted tale, like a gentle, soothing balm for hearts going through 'me vs my faith'
This show turned out quite different from what I expected it to be, but I loved it anyway....it is crafted as a gentle, soothing, balm for all hearts that are in pain and intense guilt with the inner conflict of me vs my faith...it steers clear of all the difficult questions around homosexuality vs faith, but one - can I love god and me at the same time, even if I am not 'perfect' and am a sinner, as per the scriptures...it comes back with a resounding YES....and does that very beautifully, avoiding most of the underlying power struggles, dogma, and murk that one probably goes through to arrive at this conclusion, usually on their own. This journey, I believe, is going to help a lot of people who go through similar inner conflicts, guilt and hopelessness
But the best part about this show is Fourth as Tanrak - he just embodies the very spirit of this story, with every glance, every gesture, all that he spoke and all his silence - the inner conflict, desire, guilt and finally finding peace with his love, himself and everyone around him. He is plain STUNNING 💓
BL-Needle Score: 7.5 Reasonably high BL-ness
I have been waiting forever for this one. This is a subject very close to my heart because the theme of this show deals with an extremely important and relevant subject - that of homophobia from one's closest people, loved ones and family. The pain of rejection from one's own family and loved ones is THE most damaging thing to ever go through for young queer people. It has been pretty common, and unfortunately still is, in many parts of the world, to see parents sending off their queer children to be 'converted', 'cured of the sin' of homosexuality. And more often than not, religion plays a big role in perpetuating such harm, violence and damage. I have seen catholic gay men up close, going around in a loop of self-loathing, suffering and struggle, just to reconcile their selves to their faith, and in turn, fail miserably at any form of meaningful human connection. More importantly, their parents and immediate support systems, the people who should have loved and protected them, have pushed them towards a life of guilt, shame, and misery, all in the name of God. We need to have more conversations around this and we need parents and families of queer people to be a part of these conversations. Stories like these need to be told, seen, heard, and repeated, so that no one is ever made to go through shit just because of who they are, and who they love...God, if he exists, is not sitting with a magnifying glass to judge your 'sins', its just us humans playing the power games using God's name ...
This show, however, steered clear of most of the contentious questions and focused more on the characters personal journey with their faith and actually shows faith-based people who are kind, if not supportive. Even though I did find the characters to be a tad unrealistic given my experiences of knowing Christian queer people and their lived realities, it is also a welcome change from the stereotypes.
I also must mention that some of the specific moments seem so real that I am almost sure that it is taken from real life incidents - like the one where Aof plays the ticket guy and directs Tanrak and Barth to a love-motel, or where Tanrak hides his face with his own t-shirt, or when Tanrak leaves Barth and his mother at the prison so that they can talk one-to-one....or some of the scenes of how the bully at the school operates...maybe also the thing about flowers that Tanrak keeps getting from Barth and preserving them, only to burn them later....so many poignant moments. I hard that people are saying that it is based on Aof's own experiences, whether or not that is true, these moments were so beautiful and I am so grateful that the person shared those with all of us.
I am hoping this show will help people become at least a little more aware and kinder.....and that this absolutely stellar combination of actors, director, and storytellers will help this show be a narrative changing act.
Verdict: DO NOT MISS IT
But the best part about this show is Fourth as Tanrak - he just embodies the very spirit of this story, with every glance, every gesture, all that he spoke and all his silence - the inner conflict, desire, guilt and finally finding peace with his love, himself and everyone around him. He is plain STUNNING 💓
BL-Needle Score: 7.5 Reasonably high BL-ness
I have been waiting forever for this one. This is a subject very close to my heart because the theme of this show deals with an extremely important and relevant subject - that of homophobia from one's closest people, loved ones and family. The pain of rejection from one's own family and loved ones is THE most damaging thing to ever go through for young queer people. It has been pretty common, and unfortunately still is, in many parts of the world, to see parents sending off their queer children to be 'converted', 'cured of the sin' of homosexuality. And more often than not, religion plays a big role in perpetuating such harm, violence and damage. I have seen catholic gay men up close, going around in a loop of self-loathing, suffering and struggle, just to reconcile their selves to their faith, and in turn, fail miserably at any form of meaningful human connection. More importantly, their parents and immediate support systems, the people who should have loved and protected them, have pushed them towards a life of guilt, shame, and misery, all in the name of God. We need to have more conversations around this and we need parents and families of queer people to be a part of these conversations. Stories like these need to be told, seen, heard, and repeated, so that no one is ever made to go through shit just because of who they are, and who they love...God, if he exists, is not sitting with a magnifying glass to judge your 'sins', its just us humans playing the power games using God's name ...
This show, however, steered clear of most of the contentious questions and focused more on the characters personal journey with their faith and actually shows faith-based people who are kind, if not supportive. Even though I did find the characters to be a tad unrealistic given my experiences of knowing Christian queer people and their lived realities, it is also a welcome change from the stereotypes.
I also must mention that some of the specific moments seem so real that I am almost sure that it is taken from real life incidents - like the one where Aof plays the ticket guy and directs Tanrak and Barth to a love-motel, or where Tanrak hides his face with his own t-shirt, or when Tanrak leaves Barth and his mother at the prison so that they can talk one-to-one....or some of the scenes of how the bully at the school operates...maybe also the thing about flowers that Tanrak keeps getting from Barth and preserving them, only to burn them later....so many poignant moments. I hard that people are saying that it is based on Aof's own experiences, whether or not that is true, these moments were so beautiful and I am so grateful that the person shared those with all of us.
I am hoping this show will help people become at least a little more aware and kinder.....and that this absolutely stellar combination of actors, director, and storytellers will help this show be a narrative changing act.
Verdict: DO NOT MISS IT
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