This review may contain spoilers
Another 1960's Melodrama
This is my opinion, I'm not trying to persuade anyone else, but Shine was just another melodrama to me. I put aside my dislike for BOC's obvious smoking and ass fetishes to watch this story about boomers, a group Gen Z loves to clown. It was okay, but I much preferred Kinn Porsche. I found Victor very creepy, especially when he sexually harassed Trin. I've been in this type of situation before without the power differential and it is uncomfortable and stressful. The music was good, but the cringe party over the Beatles break-up were such obvious cliches that the only thing missing was For What It's Worth in the OST.
The acting was excellent, and made up for the substandard story and storytelling. I especially liked the performance of Son who played the conflicted Krailert. Everyone else was either lawful good or chaotic good, or greedy and bad, but Krailert was a gray character. It wasn't easy being gay in the 1960's, and the closet was common address.
I found the gay love stories a little unrealistic for the time. All of these guys coming on to each other when not in a safe space. Coming on to another man outside of a known gay establishment, or without an introduction would have been very dangerous. I understand the need to move the story forward, but the relationship between Dhevi and Lert's assistant, Veera, was much more realistic for the times.
I gave this series a low score for rewatch value because I'll probably never watch it again. My overall score reflects the acting, and the music that were very high caliber. The messaging was melodramatic and not of real substance because in the end, with as much grandstanding about Thailand and being Thai, nobody really sacrificed for the land. I'm also not crazy about the moving abroad theme that is common in Thai BL. Victor died and Krailert sacrificed for the soil, and the viewer has to watch so much protest footage, yet Trin didn't commit to the land. I did appreciate the ending though.
The acting was excellent, and made up for the substandard story and storytelling. I especially liked the performance of Son who played the conflicted Krailert. Everyone else was either lawful good or chaotic good, or greedy and bad, but Krailert was a gray character. It wasn't easy being gay in the 1960's, and the closet was common address.
I found the gay love stories a little unrealistic for the time. All of these guys coming on to each other when not in a safe space. Coming on to another man outside of a known gay establishment, or without an introduction would have been very dangerous. I understand the need to move the story forward, but the relationship between Dhevi and Lert's assistant, Veera, was much more realistic for the times.
I gave this series a low score for rewatch value because I'll probably never watch it again. My overall score reflects the acting, and the music that were very high caliber. The messaging was melodramatic and not of real substance because in the end, with as much grandstanding about Thailand and being Thai, nobody really sacrificed for the land. I'm also not crazy about the moving abroad theme that is common in Thai BL. Victor died and Krailert sacrificed for the soil, and the viewer has to watch so much protest footage, yet Trin didn't commit to the land. I did appreciate the ending though.
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