ariel alba

A poorly “parked” relationship on the race track

Cinema and television, like all art that reflects the society in which they develop, have shown the trafficking of children through notable films, documentaries and television series. Numerous films and television programs expose this illegal practice and many of them are based and inspired by real-life cases.
Asian dramas are committed to bringing all genres to the public, including those in which their protagonists have a romantic bond combined with supernatural powers.
Has the fact that Thailand is a point of origin, destination and transit of human trafficking aroused the interest of Nopachai Jayanama (Peter), as director, and Kanokphan Ornrattanasakul and Issaraporn Kuntisuk, as scriptwriters, to tell us in 'Pit Babe' a story that mixes homosexual romance, sport, intrigue, action, human trafficking, fantasy and supernatural powers?
This drama, an adaptation of the web novel by _alittlebitch, winks at Thai reality: the value of child victims of human trafficking does not lie in using them as sexual slaves, in forced labor or to extract their organs for commercialization, but in possessing special powers.
Are we facing a social drama of denunciation of human commerce? I would like this to be its purpose, but consistent with its BL condition, 'Pit Babe' will enhance the romance. This arises between Babe (Naret Promphaophan-Pavel), the king of the racetrack, and Charlie (Krittin Kitjaruwannakul-Pooh), his supporter.
Will the series have a hidden message? How many of Tony's “sons” among the superpowered children are gay men today? Babe, Charlie, Jeff, Kenta, Pete, Way...? That is, the main characters with powers who were raised-educated by the person dedicated to human trafficking ended up being homosexuals. Is there a hidden message in this, simple coincidence or something of “destiny”?
Babe is a very popular racing driver and admired by everyone. His achievements in the sport have led him to be considered number one. Among his followers is Charlie, a young man who wants to be a racing driver like him. However, he does not have the money or the contacts necessary to achieve it. Therefore, he looks for an opportunity to get closer to the leader of X Hunter. When he succeeds, he asks for your help and to lend him a car so he can materialize his aspirations. The only solution he can think of is to reach a strange agreement with Babe. Against logic, he agrees to help Charlie realize his dream.
On this journey, will Babe be able to win Charlie's heart? Will he lose the race he most wants to win this time? Will Charlie be the one interested in captivating the racing driver? Will the relationship that began as a game triumphantly cross the finish line to become a real romance?
The most notable thing about the series is its exciting scenes and the attractiveness of the actors.
There is a secondary couple, made up of Alan and Jeff.
The cast also includes Supanut Lourhaphanich (Nut), as Way; Obrnithi Leelavetchabutr (Ping), as Pete; Natthapong Pathong (Benz), as Kim; Asre Wattanayakul (Lee), as Dean; Hemmawich Khwanamphaiphan (Sailub), as Alan; Thanapon Aiemkumchai (Pon), as Jeff; Michael Kiettisak (Michael), as North; Pataraphol Wanlopsiri (Pop), as Winner; Pantach Kankham (Garfield), as Kenta; Supakorn Saokhor (TopTen), as Sonic; and Vorarit Vaijairanai (S), as Tony
The chemistry between the protagonists and the bed scenes fail to lift a series whose characters are unrealistic and undeveloped. Pavel and Pooh have charisma and are attractive, but the script does not help their relationship connect with the viewer.
I must clarify that it is not that I find being 'passive' degrading. It's not that I assume that, in a relationship between two men, there is a "superiority" on the part of the one who is 'active' compared to the other who is 'passive', but the abrupt change in Babe's personality seems inconceivable to me. . This transformation comes at the same time as the loss of his powers, at the hands of Charlie.
Babe abandons his well-crafted playboy image for years. In all his previous relationships he played the role of seme or asset. In the words of the BL series themselves, he was, of the two, “the one on top.” He began his relationship with Charle by assuming this role in bed. Suddenly, without a convincing explanation, Babe becomes Charlie's uke. Babe swaps to play the role of the “bottom.” So, you would have to ask yourself: Did the loss of his precious powers lead him to be the passive one in their relationship? Didn't this move cause a loss in his character's potential?
Despite being in front of the cameras practically all the time, the actor who plays Charlie fails to connect with me emotionally. They are not facilitating emotions, but hindering emotions that are transmitted to me by a character who fails to sensitize me. By not feeling or understanding Charlie's emotions and feelings, I cannot essentially grasp whether it is love or just sex that drives him. Only his acting stands out in the sex scenes. Note that I do not say “when making love.”
The transformation of the character played by Nut, already in the final moments, is not logical either. About an obvious thing, the incurable remorse that must have accompanied Way throughout much of his life for betraying Babe for years, causing the rift between him and the man he loves, as well as many, if not all, of the problems that have hit to the positive characters by being infiltrated into their ranks, Way's evolution from evil to purity, from darkness to light is narratively constructed, sustained by the effort to achieve the viewer's identification with the traitor. It is necessary to save it, the creators thought.
Way drinks with Pete because “he wants to make the situation better.” He doesn't know “what to do next.” He does not know if “what I have always believed is the right thing.” He asks Pete why he decided to leave Dad, and Pete tells him, “Because the truth is not what I thought… I decided to leave to end the vicious cycle that Dad had created.” And he tells her that she still has the chance to choose what she wants to do. Way has been asked to show the despondency caused by guilt. Way has had the option all his life to choose the right path, but he has decided to be by Tony's side, even knowing what this means. But suddenly, some words from Pete whispered in his ear between sips of liquor and a few pats on the back invite him to “do the right thing.” And this would not be a problem if they had gotten rid of the rampant schematism in the character design and the all-too-evident desire to redeem him.
A story that fails to convince, clumsily designed characters, characters lacking development and therefore generating empathy, limitations in the explanation of the characters' decision making, poverty in the development of events and irregularities regarding changes of personality, are several of the main characteristics of the drama.
Peter throws together a few tropes and too many clichés. With fewer ambitions and fewer plot holes, perhaps the series would have become a full-throttle, full-speed car swallowing up the race track.

Read More

The romantic comedy of two neighbors in conflict

Who doesn't like a romantic comedy, even knowing its dependence on many clichés and narrative schemes already seen? Raise your hand if you don't enjoy the kissing scenes in the rain, the happy endings, the music that surrounds the lovers at full volume, the typical corniness and such unrealistic situations, despite knowing in advance that they are sufficiently illusory. Who hasn't dreamed of a love story larger than life itself?
Can you guarantee that you would reject your "prince charming" singing to you in front of the school and making a fool of yourself for you, and surprising you with a guitar (or drums) playing your favorite song? Who doesn't like to see a series of this genre capable of offering us a ray of hope, a good dose of faith in the healing power of love and the guarantee of a "happily ever after"?
'Monster Next Door' is the Thai romantic comedy series that frames a love story with university overtones, and that draws attention not only for its warmth and humor, but also for its ability to immerse the viewer in a narrative that combines relationship between neighbors, the value of friendship, family, love for pets and the unexpected turns of love.
Based on the novel "Godzilla Next Door" (พี่เขาบุกโลกของผม) by Jiwinil, 'Monster Next Door' tells the story of Diew, a reserved and introverted first-year college student who likes to live in his ultra world private, hiding in his apartment. His best friends are a turtle named Khun Shy and his classmate Game.
But what Diew didn't count on is that his dorm life would include his neighbor, God, an attractive, kind, and outgoing senior from another college, who with his sweet lips has just moved into the next room.
Night after night, God and his friends either keep him from going to bed at his usual time or drag him out of bed with their loud parties. However, when he begins to interact with his neighbor, who is separated by a wall the width of a cigarette paper, Diew's perfect and harmonious world is turned upside down. They both fall in love: they stumble upon the shyness and wonder of first love.
And while the meet-cute, that is, when the two characters meet by chance in an adorable way in the first scenes and that becomes the beginning of their love story, serendipity does not stop uniting them in cafes, libraries and other spaces of the university or in their respective bedrooms, although there is a wall in between and without one having seen the other's face.
The supporting roles, played by Krismon Thanawat Sutthijaroen, Kade Tanapon Hathaidachadusadee, Ole Thanakorn Sangwan, Proud Urucha Sirichaiwongsakul, Pik Supawit Vichitrananda, Mhing Thatsaphon Ruengkitrattanakun, among others, bring to the story a rich tapestry of characters that enrich the main plot. Through these characters, the series manages to convey its light humor, emotional drama and, ultimately, a feeling of satisfaction and warmth to the viewer.
When a comedy of this type starts you know that at most it will entertain you. Although that will not be enough guarantee for you to stay since at any moment something may arise that will make you get up from the couch, caring very little about the story they were trying to tell us. However, in 'Monster Next Door' there is a factor that makes you want to continue in front of the screen until the final closing; and that detail for which you spend minutes after minutes and jump from one chapter to the next is none other than seeing its two protagonists.
That is to say, a key factor of the series is the performance of Big Thanakorn Kuljarassombat, an actor who plays God, who with his mix of attractiveness, generosity, humor and passion for playing music on the drums, manages to capture the essence of the romantic journey and transformation of his character. The relationship between him and Diew, played by Park Anantadej Sodsee, stands out for the depth of feelings they develop, creating a bond that captivates the audience.
Here Big Thanakorn Kuljarassombat proves himself again as an actor, after his debut in 2015 in the film 'Love Love You' and BL series such as 'Enchantment', 'Gen Y', 'My Mate Match', 'Big Dragon', among others.
What power of protagonism!, without ignoring that he was the star in his role as Ruy in 'My Mate Match', or as Suea in 'Love Songs Love Series X Years After: Our Promise… My Friend'. If anyone thinks that being a protagonist was trivial, this series proves them wrong. Big has been there in many series that we have all enjoyed, but always as the disposable character, as the third wheel, as the intruder who arrives to bother the other person and endanger the romance of the protagonist couple, so we have discarded and not taken into account. How lucky for us to be able to see him taking on this role!
On the other hand, it is the second acting job in front of the cameras that we see of Park Anantadej Sodseea, after getting into the shoes of Wayo, one of the leading characters in '2 Moons: The Ambassador'.
Perhaps the strongest point of the series is the way it is told. It is also notable how the characters are framed and described.
In this sense, the cosmopolitan university seems like a liberal queer space with some of its professors, librarians and food stall vendors presumably belonging to the LGBT+ community, and where secondary characters also support their partner establishing a romantic relationship with another person of their same gender, while others look for a partner of their own sex, since an interest is expressed among several friends of Diew and Good, but I will not say more to avoid spoilers.
As in any romantic comedy, 'Monster Next Door' makes one thing lead to another and both protagonists fall at the feet of the god Eros. Through a simple, direct premise, and a staging without much complexity, everything very effective, in my opinion, the series will make us laugh, entertain and also reflect.
Being in settings as close as the same university or with a wall in the middle, there are several opportunities for both boys to meet. However, God will respect Diew's request not to meet in person until he considers he is ready to look each other in the eyes. In this way, a beautiful friendly and romantic relationship is forged.
The series presents the usual topics of the romantic genre, giving them a different approach by having the protagonists separated by a thin wall. An easy and direct premise that, however, serves as a starting point for endless controversies that the main characters face in order to live together, while love grows between the two.
In the series, the result in the field of direction, by Kungfu Nitivat Cholvanichsiri, works thanks to that theatrical tone that is constantly represented through the simple interaction of its protagonists and the basic environments.
In summary, 'Monster Next Door' is emerging as an ideal option for those looking for a happy, tender and moving story that celebrates love and the beauty of simplicity. Although the plot does not escape certain clichés of the genre, this characteristic does not detract from its charm, but rather underlines the ability of its creators to tell universal stories with a new approach.
'Monster Next Door' is located within the large branch of love comedies for young people produced around the world, especially Hollywood, Bollywood, television in European and Latin American nations, and other latitudes. Its fun touches and carefree plot plus the use of a pleasant and pleasant rhythm manage to make the viewer watch the series without expecting anything other than what it suggests.
I am not going to say that it is a major work of television and if I analyze the different fields there is nothing that stands out. Soundtrack, script and actors simply acceptable.
However, it is a captivating story, perhaps it is the way it is told to us or the values ​​they present to us such as love, friendship, family and tenderness.
It made me smile and daydream from start to finish in the first three episodes aired and on which I based this review, and if that's not the goal of romantic comedies, then nothing is.

Read More

Being a virgin at 30 has rewards: the fairy tale with magical gay romance that will steal your heart

Since Jean Cocteau put on the screen the load of imagination, surrealism and magic, bringing romance even to the gothicism of horror films with the premiere of 'Beauty and the Beast' (La belle et la bête), based on the 1757 story de Beaumont, the film productions in which fantasy and love come together continue to amaze.
If in that 1946 film a portrait of the Beast was achieved as a terrifying, erotic and sensitive creature, capable of making Beauty fall in love, since then the cinematographic narrative has diversified, making fantasy, magic and romance go hand in hand. hand.
On that path we have films like 'Somewhere in Time', from 1980; 'Starman' (1984), by John Carpenter; 'Ladyhawke,1985; 'The Purple Rose of the Cairo', 1985), by Woody Allen; 'The Princess Bride', 1987; 'Edward Scissorhands', 1990, by Tim Burton; 'Ghost,' (1990; 'Groundhog Day', 1993; 'Ghostbusters', 1984; 'Mortal Zombie' (Return of the living dead 3, 1993; 'What Dreams May Come', 1998.
Spells to attract love, spells to captivate the perfect lover, witches on their broom throwing magic dust into the air, frogs transforming themselves into princes, mysteries, rituals, spells and magic potions capable of transforming love lives have been used in audiovisual productions whose thread Common among all of them is the imagination in their plot, unaware of limits, an exploration of the impossible that helps - and a lot - to entertain.
BL series also show stories where magical powers are mixed with interdimensional love, musical crystal balls, candies with special powers, travel through time, zombies and ghosts, mutant beings, cats and dogs that become humans and vice versa. In this way, magical visions of love have managed to cross the boundaries of genre to talk about the only thing that truly matters.
'Be My Favorite', 'My Lucky Cat', 'Absolute Zero', '30-sai made Dotei Da to Mahotsukai ni Nareru rashii', 'First Love for the Third Time'; 'I Feel You Linger In The Air', 'Tinted With You', 'Love between fairy and devil', 'Cang lan jue', 'Sound candy', 'See you in my 19th life', 'Revenant', and Heartbeat are some of them.
Based on a 2020 Japanese drama, in turn adapted from a 2018 manga series written by Yuu Toyota, 'Cherry Magic' is a tender and fun Thai BL that tells an office romance with a quirky fantasy touch, starring New Thitipoom Techa-apaikhun, as Achi and Tay Tawan Vihokratana, as Karam. The actors bring a natural warmth and authentic ease to their performances. With a relentlessly positive tone, the series achieves the perfect fusion of sensitive humor and touching sentimentality.
It has numerous truly funny moments. Contrary to the opinion of detractors of the genre, there is nothing wrong with a romantic comedy with a hit of solid and sincere fantasy, which is exactly what this series is.
Its director, X Nuttapong Mongkolsawas (who has dramas such as Our Skyy 2, Viceversa and Theory of Love, among many others), achieves one of the best series of the genre. Featuring a charismatic couple, you'll smile every episode as their fairytale romance unfolds. This fun BL drama has a lot of charm, humor, positivity and imagination within it.
This romantic comedy with a creative story, a cute couple and a joyful love relationship dynamic, tells how Achi, a shy and modest man with an office job, acquires a special power that makes him know love.
The protagonist has never had sex. In fact, he is not looking to establish a romantic relationship because he is afraid of love. He, who lived an ordinary existence and on the eve of turning 30, never thought that his life would become magical, nor that an unexpected love would be closer than he imagined.
Our hero admires Karam (Tay Tawan Vihokratana), the handsome, cool and talented office colleague at the Toyokawa company, the epitome of a being who exudes kindness and beauty at every step. In his eyes, Karam is a demigod while he is an inferior being next to him. Considered the company's best salesperson for 7 consecutive years, Karam exudes the image of being popular among women and a successful man both at work and in his personal life due to his immaculate perfection in dressing and his gentleness.
While surfing the Internet with Rock (Sing Harit Cheewagaroon), his new office colleague, he reads that there is a belief that arriving a virgin in his thirties can obtain "magical power." He doesn't think this is possible... but if it's true, how would this kind of magic choose him?
Achi will discover to her amazement that she has suddenly developed a magical power that allows her to read other people's minds every time they touch each other. This new skill completely changes your life and will bring you fun and exciting surprises. Although at first he refuses to have that ability, everything becomes complicated when she reveals to him that Karam is in love with him!
In world cinematography, possessing the ability to read minds is pursued by evil forces to take over and cause evil. Achi, who rarely exploits his powers, only uses them to help others when they have a work problem and they don't know what is happening or how to act in that case, especially Karam, and to read the thoughts of his friends. co-workers and the man she loves. Most of the time you will know what others think accidentally. He is easily afraid of having these powers.
His powers will also bring him misunderstandings, such as initially believing that Pai (Jan Ployshompoo Supasap), his co-worker, is in love with him, only to later discover that she has actually realized the secret and budding love bond between Achi and Karam and supports that relationship.
As in a fairy tale, you develop a magical ability that helps you read the minds of others, only to discover that the most attractive young man in the company, whom you always secretly admired, also has a secret that concerns you: he is crazy in love with you.
The demigod who always seemed unattainable to you because he was light years away from you, is a prince charming who dreams of spending his life by your side. It is you who are truly the prince charming of her dreams. In reality, it is you who have been unattainable for him, since he has wanted to confess his love to you for years and has not dared, and if you know it, it is all thanks to the newly acquired skills. This is the definition of a self-gratifying fantasy like perhaps none other before it.
The fairy tale is not over yet. Imagine that you are a person who undervalues ​​yourself and is full of insecurities and fears in all aspects of life, including love, but by knowing you are loved you will begin an empowering journey of self-discovery and personal growth. Imagine that you will help your loved one to let down his guard, to calm him down without the constant need to be perfect. This is what Achi will experience. On this journey, Karam takes him by the hand and they travel together.
And from the point of view of the person you love, he is willing to be for you the perfect lover, gentle and chivalrous, faithful companion, friend for life. He has silently wanted it since he met you at the company when they started working on the same day, 7 years ago. He will see in you how good you are, even when you don't trust yourself.
In every fairy tale there is a perfect couple. This is because they are kind, empathetic, sensitive and positive with each other. The two complement each other, motivate, encourage and support each other. They are the example of a happy and healthy BL couple.
As a viewer, Achi and Karam immerse me in their pure and tender romance. Perfectly, I visualize how their relationship develops from co-workers to boyfriends.
Although at first glance Karam seems superficial and distant, thanks to the power of Achi we will soon learn that he is in love with his co-worker and has the noblest feelings towards him.
Manow Waneepan Ounphoklang, PingPong Suwanun Pohgudsai and Mook Jarinee Thanomyat are in charge of writing a drama that every BL fan must see, representing characters who are not afraid to express their feelings and for moments full of innocent romantic interactions. On the other hand, it has an extremely fun secondary couple and something that is not seen much in series of this theme: there is no toxicity.
Achi confides in Jinta, her friend from college, that she has magical powers. Jinta, a romance writer with an eccentric personality, doesn't believe Achi at first, but ends up developing the same ability when he reaches his thirties, weeks later. In this way, she will be able to read the mind of Min, a young courier who makes deliveries to her apartment, and begins to fall in love with him.
For complete understanding, I like to divide the series into two parts. The first half focuses on Achi discovering his magical powers, learning with surprise that he is loved, and the rapprochement between him and Karam as she develops feelings for him. Achi will find the self-confidence to open himself to love.
The second half follows Achi and Karam as a couple, how they get along and are happy with each other. Only towards the end will some tension arise that will test the love of the two, when Achi's magical powers become a burden on their relationship and may end it.
You can appreciate his unlimited imagination in 'Cherry Magic'. The original, unique premise allows many fun scenarios to develop. Every time the two protagonists touch each other, Achi can hear Karam's thoughts about his secret crush. These scenes are handled delicately, making them fun rather than invasive.
You will run the risk of ending up liking Karam more because his inner thoughts are so pure and innocent.
In the original Japanese series, the main couple never kisses on the lips. Will they kiss in the Thai version? Will the couple's physical intimacy be left to the imagination? Like in the country of the Rising Sun, in this drama we will only have kisses on the forehead? I confess something: kisses like the ones given by Karam to Achi on the forehead will have a new meaning in our lives after watching this drama. We will long for them. We will dream of them. We will want to receive a kiss with that passion from our loved one. What's more, kisses on the lips will not be necessary as a sign of pure and true love.
Since I read the premise of 'Cherry Magic', several questions arise: Will the shy Achi be able to demonstrate his love to Karam confidently and openly? Will they be able to resolve the conflict that is already occurring in the final moments? Will they be able to reconcile their differences and have a happy ending? Will Achi know how to say goodbye to his magical powers after losing his virginity or will he cling to them so they don't abandon him? Is possessing magical power or love more important? Even though she no longer has the magical ability, will she still love Karam? Will she be able to know what her boyfriend is thinking, even without the magic power?

Read More

The gong/seme strives to recover his shou/uke by repenting of his mistakes
What is reincarnation? According to its definition, reincarnation is the belief that the individual essence of people begins a new life in a different body or physical form after biological death. That is, it is the belief that, after dying, each of us will begin a new life in a new body.
Of course, in both film and television, this idea, this belief, has been explored from all angles: horror, comedy, suspense and also romance.
When we talk about reincarnation, this possibility of living a new life in a new body after death, is presented to the stuntman named Joe (Poom Phuripan Sapsangsawat - 'Bake Me Please', 2023; 'Saneha Stories Season 4: Saiyai Saneha', 2022), who, after a fatal accident, in a trick of fate, suddenly comes back to life but in the body of another person of the same name who had suffered an accident on the same day.
The LGBT+ themed romantic drama 'My Stand-In' (ตัวนาย ตัวแทน/Tua Nai Tua Thaen) revolves around Joe's new life after his reincarnation. When he wakes up, Joe finds himself immersed in what seems to be the same world he has just left, with the same people around him and the same destiny as before, since both his professional career and personal life remain identical: he is the substitute by the young and famous actor Tong (Mek Jirakit Thawornwong - 'Star and Sky: Sky in Your Heart', 'Star and Sky: Star in My Mind', both 2022; 'Kiss Me Again, 2018').
With the possibility of accessing the memories and knowledge of his past life, Joe meets Ming again (Up Poompat Iam-samang - 'Lovely Writer', 2021; 'Club Sapan Fine Season 2', 2022), with whom he had a relationship. deep relationship in the afterlife. Joe will remember that his death is the result of an accident during filming that took place after discovering that Ming has always considered him as his second choice. After learning this painful truth, Joe is forced to work on a film set abroad where tragedy occurs.
However, in this life, Ming wants Joe to return to his side like before and Joe doesn't know why, because the relationship they both had was always toxic and suffocating. Ming, who has retained all his memories of old Joe, tries to find the truth about his new life to finally offer him the explanation he was never able to give him.
Now, in a new existence full of uncertainties, Joe will have the opportunity to reflect on himself and his place in the world, which has never been free of the shadow of being a stuntman.
Will Joe escape his tragic destiny as a substitute? Will Ming manage to rekindle the love between the two through a plan as crazy as it is imaginative? Can Ming redeem himself for the suffering caused to Joe in the afterlife through repentance and rectification? Will the relationship between the two have, like Joe with his reincarnation, a second chance?
From directors Khom Kongkiat Khomsiri ('KinnPorsche', 2022, 'The Promise', 2023) and Pepzi Banchorn Vorasataree ('Dark Blue Kiss', 2019, 'KinnPorsche'), the series 'My Stand-In' is the Thai adaptation from the popular novel "Professional Body Double" (职业替身), by Chinese writer Shui Qian Cheng.
If someone asked me: what is so special about the series?, I would answer:
- The captivating story of romance, fantasy, mystery and the power of love throughout lives.
- The idea of twists of fate and the possibility of second chances.
- Revitalizing the theme of reincarnation not only in the concept that the protagonist reincarnates, but also that he can access the memories and knowledge of his past lives. This helps in character and story development.
- Reincarnation as a concept or idea that, after death, we can return and get a second chance, takes the vertigo away from the finitude of human life.
- Addressing an attractive and complex topic such as reincarnation, which oscillates between the fun suggestions of the fantastic imagination and the sacredness of Eastern religions.
- Be adapted from a novel of the danmei genre which in turn is based on the "scum gong/crematorium" dynamic, in which gong is a term used to identify the seme, and crematorium means "crying for the lover who is gone ". In this perspective, when the gong/seme realizes his mistakes too late and has to make an effort to recover the person he loves, that is, his shou/uke, at any cost.
The series is just beginning. We will have to closely follow Joe, Ming and Tong, characters who have captured all our attention.

Read More

I want to see them star in something much more substantial than a skin cream commercial

Cats are natural hunters, and many of their pranks are a manifestation of their hunting and exploratory instincts. Their antics, though sometimes frustrating, are an integral part of their natural behavior.
In 'Cat Man,' the main protagonist of the story is an adorable cat whom all viewers grow fond of and only wish to see him truly transform into a human being and develop a loving relationship with his owner.
Bathed in a dreamy domestic atmosphere, it's a story of games and romps with plenty of cuddles and displays of affection. Narrated at times from the perspective of an intelligent and cynical white cat with huge black eyes, matted fur, and hoop earrings dangling from his ears, and at other times from that of his owner, a tall, handsome, intuitive, and kind man, the audience gets the impression that a cat has transformed into a peculiar young man to get his owner's attention. Under a sense of constant play and fun, the line between kitty and human blurs, while one causes trouble and the other also hopes to get away with it.
I'd like to say here that I love the way one of the characters wears earrings, something rarely seen in BL dramas. From a psychological perspective, men who choose to wear earrings do so as a way to assert their identity and differentiate themselves. While some still associate this practice with femininity, for many it represents an act of self-definition, challenging traditional gender expectations.
In this vertically filmed Thai web miniseries, which follows the premise that cat owners see their pets as people, for the character played by Pentaii Natthanit Praditthan ('My Cherie Amour', 2024), her cat Shelby is much more than that.
In just over 10 minutes, the viewer witnesses not only the human protagonist's quest to provide a nurturing environment for his pet.
You will also discover Gap Jakarin Puribhat ('The Sign', 2024), subtly and skillfully showing on screen the personality of cats, their playful, fearful, anxious, territorial, curious and cheeky nature, due to the boredom they easily suffer and the craving for attention that these domestic animals experience.
It's hard for the owner not to get angry every time he discovers Shelby destroying the furniture, repeatedly kneading and pressing his paws on a soft surface, throwing flowerpots and vases to the floor, climbing shelves and heights, chasing shiny objects that roll on the floor, waking him up when he tries to rest, showing his attraction to houseplants or boxes in search of comfort and safety in closed spaces, or causing accidents that force him to use skin cream. But instead of scolding him, he looks for the alternative of distracting him, paying a lot of attention to him and playing with him, with an additional element: one challenges the other, and vice versa.
And who can resist that serene and distant facade, which in reality hides a mischievous, curious, and playful being capable of some of the most unexpected and fun pranks? Although I would have liked to see Shelby in other feline facets, such as the cats' love of playing with water, playing with shadows and moving lights, or showing the mischievous behavior of felines during the night, when they take advantage of humans' sleeping hours to explore and play, it is commendable to recognize that the two characters convince while they overcome their differences and face everyday situations for anyone who has a cat as a pet.
On a creative level, since there's no dialogue, we hear the human voice and the thoughts of the two characters. In addition, the music and the sounds of the cat purring or meowing, or the sounds that arise as a result of its mischief, provide the audiovisual rhythm. The emotional and cheerful music, one of my favorite parts, manages to express how the characters feel.
Regarding the shots, the camera simply follows the characters and gets very close to them. It may begin with a close-up, but then cuts to a long shot and back again, creating a very complicated choreography with the characters and the camera.
This isn't the first time Gap and Pentaii have worked together. They both played a supporting couple in the 2024 GL series "The Secret of Us."
I'd like to see these two star in something much more substantial than a commercial collaboration or a skin cream ad.

Read More

About coming of age and to raise awareness about coming out and social problems

If contemporary audiovisuals have taken one function seriously, it has been to raise awareness about social problems that harm certain people or groups. Among the themes that fiction increasingly explores is pedophilia and violence against minors.
Many times, the stories that the viewer sees in front of the screen are not a mere result of narrative creation, but of real faces and names that suffer daily from the actions of sexual predators.
Although there has been a worldwide tendency to address these issues through fiction, especially that directed at girls, there is still an interest in making such attacks visible also on children and, as a society, reflecting on it.
That is precisely what 'Hidden' is about, the third short film and also the graduation production, by Taiwanese director, screenwriter, editor and producer Hsuan-Chi Kuo.
From the first frames, the creative and aesthetic seal of the director who graduated from the National University of the Arts in Taipei, known for focusing his films on the problems of growing up and sexual aggression of homosexual teenagers, is evident.
In just under 30 minutes, the film addresses a story about coming of age, self-discovery, first crushes and gay dating apps, through which Xiao-Wei (You-Lun Lin, known for his role in 'Wo men yu e de ju li', 2019), the young protagonist of only thirteen years old, must grow up, although to do so he must face childhood sexual abuse, this type of traumatic experience that can interfere with the proper development of the attacked, as well as having a negative impact on both the physical and psychological state of the person who suffers its consequences.
It is not the first time that the experienced director approaches the universe of childhood and adolescence, since his name has become a reference in terms of gender perspective, exploration of sexuality, gay identity, sexual curiosity and the perplexity of growing up.
Hsuan-Chi Kuo knows well the themes addressed in his filmography, with their evident complexity, when it comes to bringing them to the screen; but also with a beauty achieved from the visual and a particular workmanship that immediately reveals its authorship.
The name behind 'A Boy's Mind' and 'Fly' turns on this occasion to tell a story about a young boy who little by little has been understanding his sexuality and has begun to use dating applications to explore the sensual world, but in his case with a crude setting as a backdrop.
Xiao-Wei, who hides his true self in real life, has complicated and indescribable emotions for his best friend Pin Rui (Chih-Hsuan Wu, known for his role in 'No Strings Attached' (2023), 'Shiba San and Meow Chan' (2018). When Pin Rui confessed to his friend that he has a girlfriend, the friendly relationship between the two gradually drifted apart and made Xiao Wei feel distressed and depressed.
Will the protagonist, who musters the courage to meet netizens in search of solace, get answers, or will he become even more confused?
Presented at the Frameline San Francisco International LGBTQ Film Festival, the International LGBTQ Film Festival, nominated for student narrative short films at the Golden Harvest Awards for Outstanding Short Films, and the Taiwan International Queer Film Festival, all in 2021, and at Wicked Queer Boston's LGBTQ Film Festival, 2022, this short film offers good camera focuses and very excellent cinematography.
As a man highly committed to reality, Hsuan-Chi Kuo sought a thoughtful treatment that would connect with the recipients. With a marked and conscious distinction between explicit and suggestive scenes, the film constitutes, among other things, a call to denounce a clinical, legal and social problem called pedophilia, to destroy the myth of good or bad victims, to understand that child sexual abuse is a type of abuse that has no face or specific social stratum, to internalize that it continues to be a taboo subject that is not talked about enough and, above all, to recognize all forms and not remain silent.

Read More

He is unaware that South Korean soldiers are forced to hide their sexual orientation

In 1896, the cinema was still a fairground attraction about which not much was known. So when inventor and photographer William Heise captured a brief sequence showing a couple kissing, it caused fury and horror. Not only to surprise the moralistic North American society of the time, but to demonstrate, at the same time, something seemingly simple: Love could also be captured on camera. Or at least, be part of the flourishing film world and its stories. Occupying, without a doubt, an important place in the way in which the newly born seventh art conceived of itself.
A century and a little later, romance has fulfilled that promise to become one of the most popular genres in the world of cinema and television productions. From great stories that conquer several generations, to small gems that meditate on heartbreak, anguish, separation and the passage of time.
Produced by Strongberry in two short episodes lasting about fifteen minutes in total, 'A First Love Story' (Peoseuteureobeuseuseurori) sensitively and beautifully celebrates the way love can express the best of being human, seen through the eyes of two very close friends since childhood: Min Kyu (Jung Jae Woon) and Jae Sung (Kim Hyeong Won).
The two are forced to distance themselves when Jae Sung announces the unexpected news that he must enlist in the army. Although I would have liked greater development in the romantic relationship, it is true that it is notable how the only two actors on screen at all times allow us as viewers to be able to take the pulse of their emotions and mutual feelings; feel the anguish that overcomes them when they know that they will have to be separated for two years, the confession of being in love with each other, the reunion after a few months apart, the possibility of going beyond words to express love...
Although I found it a beautiful story of friends to lovers with actors constantly showing good chemistry that transcends the screen, an undeniable tenderness in their interactions, simple but profound dialogues, the transmission of feelings and emotions through gestures and body language, my main concern lies in the fact that the miniseries tends to ignore a reality present in the South Korean Army: South Korean soldiers are forced to hide their sexual orientation or gender identity for fear that someone would make it public and harassed them.
This is due to the Army's refusal to accept the presence of homosexuals in its ranks. Both homosexual soldiers and even those suspected of being so are exposed to triple humiliation: suffering a criminal sentence, expulsion from the army for unworthiness and forced confession to their parents and the rest of society, which describes itself as a conservative and devout Christian, under article 92.6 of the Military Penal Code of said nation.
The miniseries ignores that by criminalizing sexual relations between men in the armed forces, the South Korean government violates a wide range of human rights, including the right to privacy, freedom of expression, and equality and non-discrimination. Likewise, it is unaware that the military code not only legislates against specific sexual acts, but also institutionalizes discrimination, and could even incite or justify violence against LGBTI people within the army and in society in general, since in South Korea all men are obliged to serve in the military for a minimum of 21 months.
The miniseries lacks the courage and commitment to fighting for the rights of the LGBT+ community that, for example, 'Just Friends?' (친구사이? / Chingu sai?), the short film written and directed by Kim Jho Gwang-soo, which subtly denounces institutionalized homophobia in the army, through the sequence of images in which we see Seok Yi (Lee Je-Hoon) on his first visit to the military base in Cheorwon where his boyfriend Min Soo (Yeon Woo-jin) is serving his mandatory military service.
Upon arrival, the young university student has to fill out a contact form in which they must state, among other details, what relationship they have with the person they are visiting.
Elated to be able to see Min Soo after a while, when answering this question in the official document he writes the word "lover". Realizing the risks that his mistake entails for both him and his boyfriend, he tries to obtain a new form to write "friend" and thus circumvent any suspicion about the type of relationship that both have, but when he does not obtain it, he is forced to carefully cross out what he wrote and in its place write the other word.
I do not believe that 'A First Love Story' tells us about a dream world, in which South Korean soldiers and soldiers belonging to the LGBT+ community are free from the persecution and discrimination that exists against them in the Army, because then it should have presented a greater number of images with the two young people, one of them a soldier, the other a civilian, expressing their love freely in the streets and other public spaces. That is to say, the miniseries would have had a greater impact if it had had the intention of showing the desired future world for the professional soldiers of the Army, now free from the sad and cruel reality they live today.
In short, the miniseries ignores that the South Korean Army is a place where in order to fit in, the homosexual soldier or officer without distinction of rank or time in service has to stop being who he is, has to erase himself and pretend to be the person he is not.

Read More

One of the most memorable phrases in cinema: "I'm just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her", is uttered by Julia Roberts to Hugh Grant in the film 'Notting Hill', one of the classic romantic comedies of the 90s.
The truth is that marriage proposals are one of the most anticipated moments, both for men and women. It is when they declare their love and the hope of staying together for longer, sharing a life. In television series, many characters have waited a long time until the moment arrives, or they have not been able to decide, but the truth is that when it happens we cannot take our eyes off the screen.
With flowers? With candles? In the moonlight? On a plane? On a sinking ocean liner? In a movie theater before the surprised gaze of spectators? With the most beautiful words we have ever heard? Kneeling on the ground?
All of us love to show in detail how much we love our partners. Sometimes we do it with flowers; other times, inviting him out to dinner or preparing a romantic dinner at home; others, doing something for the other that we would never dare to do. In this sense, perhaps you or your partner are considering going one step further and asking the other person to marry him/her.
Beyond the ring or getting on your knees, what you will remember all your life will be the words they say to you and that moment in which the world stops spinning, or maybe spins faster than usual, because you and your beloved boy are the center of the universe.
Ai and Yu, the protagonists of WeTV's 'Special: I Saw You in My Dream: You & I in Our Dream', walk these paths.
Four years after the events narrated in the series, the two boys are a happy couple. One night, Ai dreams that Yu makes her one of the impossible-to-forget movie proposals, but the next day she sees in a dream that her boyfriend breaks up with him.
Puzzled about what the future holds for him, along with Yu, Ing and Yo, he travels to Chonbury for a three-day vacation.
And if it seems that Ai and Yu have a radiant and healthy relationship, some incidents could suggest just the opposite. And this worries the young man in love with his neighbor and lifelong friend.
Are you ready to take that big step before the altar (remember that you are Catholic? Do you have shared purposes or not? Do you trust each other? Is one the safe harbor for the other? Are you convinced that your future fiancé really motivates you to be better people? Are you ready to take on a life together? Doesn't committing yourself mean being by that person's side forever? Doesn't this imply being able to feel happy, calm and inspired at your side and that the first emotion you Do you feel when you think about the other: joy!? Between doubts and insecurities, Ai struggles.
It will not be "I'm just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her" the phrase that we will hear from Yu's lips, but, to play with the entire series: "Our wedding will not be just a dream... because it will be real", feeling both their feet sink into the sand of the beach, receiving the warm sea breeze on their faces, in the light of the bright sun, with their hearts racing, and with Yo and Ing as unexpected witnesses.
I hope to see other marriage proposals in Thai BLs, the last one more emotional and touching than the last.
Let 'Special: I Saw You in My Dream: You & I in Our Dream' serve as the fair and definitive demand for Thailand to finally approve the Equal Marriage Law and, above all, to combat discrimination and harassment against Thai LGBT+ people. At least the first of these wishes seems to be close to being achieved.

Read More

'Star Appeal': much more than intergalactic love

The innovative Chinese filmmaker, film scholar, screenwriter, novelist, activist and gay academic Cui Zi En, known worldwide for his films 'Zhi tongzhi' (2009), 'Jiu yue' (2001), 'Feeding Boys, Ayaya' (2003 ), 'Chou jue deng chang' ('Enter the Clowns'), 2001, 'Nannan nünü - Nan Nan Nü Nü' ('Men and Women'), 1999, 'Queer China, Comrade China' (2008), among others, he creates with 'Star Appeal' (Xingxing xiangxi xi', 2004), the first completely gay Chinese science fiction film, with this fantastical story of a lonely alien, nicknamed "ET", who learns a tender lesson in earthly love after being taken in by Xiao Bo, a curious bisexual.
The first time I saw the film, about 10 years ago, it made me discover a new meaning to love. It made me see that love knows no boundaries. It led me to understand that love, that feeling we experience towards another person, to whom we wish all the best and towards whom we feel a special connection, breaks walls, shortens distances, overcomes difficulties and moves forward in harmony. Love, healthy and intelligent, nourishes, allows us to grow and goes beyond distances.
'Star Appeal' tells a story in which love plays a great role, together with a desire to improve, to know the world around us, to find oneself. This is the case of "ET", a being who claims to be from Mars and who has been sent to Earth to learn everything possible about the physical interaction between the inhabitants of our planet.
The first thing that comes to mind when reviewing this film is a phrase from the science fiction film 'Interstellar', directed and written by brothers Christopher and Jonathan Nolan, in 2014: "Love knows no limits of time and space." Well, this beautiful and symbolic film tells us about that, about love in its various forms where two people from distant worlds can come to love each other.
To demonstrate that in the same way that love does not understand age, trauma, gender, race, nor borders or any other obstacle, Cu Zi En, recognized as a pioneering figure of the so-called New Chinese Queer Cinema, summoned Yu Bo (not to be confused with the actor of the same name whose alias Apolio Yu), to star in the film released in China in 2004 and shown four years later in the United States, in which he proposes an endearing love story of two beings from different planets, since one is an Earthling and the other claims to be from Mars.
On this occasion, Cui Zi En's fetish actor is once again named Xiao Bo, as happened previously in three of the Chinese filmmaker's films: 'Men and Women' (1999), 'The Old Testament', 2001, and 'Enter the Clowns' (2002).
The first act of the film introduces us to the life of Xiao Bo and his encounter with the interstellar visitor. In this way we will learn that Xiao Bo coincidentally meets a strange, naked being on a deserted road who claims to be a Martian. Showing himself to be a lost man, Xiao Bo decides to protect him and takes him home to teach him a thing or two about life on Earth.
"ET" (role played by Guifeng Wang), as the stranger will soon be called by his human hosts, soon reveals that he has been sent to this planet to learn about the lives of Earthlings and their way of relating to each other.
We discover that the bisexual Xiao Bo has a girlfriend named Wenwen (Xiwen Zhang) and a boyfriend named Xiao Jian (Jian Hou), but neither of them is particularly excited that Xiao Bo has brought home such an enigmatic visitor.
While Wenwen doesn't believe that "ET" is an alien at all, Xiao Jian also has doubts. For his part, Xiao Bo is the only one who firmly believes in the identity of the stranger, so he promises to protect him and do everything possible to take him to see Earth. To do this, he is responsible for teaching him several languages, mathematics, geography, world history, art and natural sciences.
The two become closer and closer and eventually fall in love. For their part, Xiao Bo's boyfriend and girlfriend also develop feelings for the visitor.
One of the "great sins" of the film may be the dialogue between some characters, especially when trying to understand and approach the strange visitor and learn about his space journey, but let's be honest, if they didn't do it this way, there would be very little People would understand what is happening, which is why I see it as a point in their favor, since even with this detail many people continue to wonder what they just saw.
It is then that the cinematographic experience becomes something magical again in the middle act, when the viewer discovers that a jealous Wenwen tries to win back Xiao Bo's love, but when her plans to win back fail, she conceives revenge on her boyfriend by seducing the alien to have a son with him. While trying to seduce "ET", he falls into a deep coma. Upon learning of the situation, Xiao Bo comes to the rescue and accidentally says "I love you", a phrase also used by Martians. Hearing "ET" these words, he wakes up.
Even so, it is the third act of 'Star Appeal' that gives value to everything we see in the film, leaving an echo resounding in our heads long after having seen the film: Xiao Bo teaching an alien of which has fallen in love with various aspects of life on Earth, the true meaning of Earthly Love and what the physical limitations of humans are, before "ET" undertakes the journey back to his home planet to take with him the exciting discoveries.
But "ET" is not far behind in "being reciprocal and giving back lessons" and, on the eve of his return to Mars, he uses the same supreme human way of expressing love and makes love to Xiao Bo. Through this, dedicates his Martian love to Xiao Bo.
Already in the epilogue, not long after "ET" has left Earth, Xiao Bo, who was "infected" by a certain Martian quality while making love, returns to the place where they met and discovers the way to Mars.
The film shows us real and raw feelings (although not in the most subtle way or perhaps if we compare it with much more recent cinema) wrapped in a space epic. The 86 minutes of footage are enough to establish the idea that love can be understood as a love that remains, even though the person you love is somewhere else, as a mature love capable of facing the difficulties that arise are presented or how, if desired, one can travel to the other side of the Universe to reunite with the loved one.
Both Xiao Bo and "ET" are capable of learning to cope with what happens that they cannot control, in addition to doing everything they can to ensure that the circumstances that occur do not prevent love.
Focusing a lot on plot details (such as Wenwen trying to win back Xiao Bo's love by seducing "ET" to have a child with him, or how she pretends to be from Jupiter and even thinks she speaks his language to approach the visitor, space travel...) is not seeing what is behind everything that Cu Zi En presents to us and it would be not fully enjoying the wonderful and exciting experience of seeing the film for the first time, or watching it again, as is my case .
In a few words, I want to say that although it seems that this is a gray film and that its low budget has condemned it to oblivion (judging by the comments and the low rating on MDL and other virtual platforms), 'Star Appeal' is a film full of hope that bets on the value of the human spirit and the strength of love, no matter how cheesy this may sound.
Despite encountering the odd radio romance here and there, I loved the ending, where the negative turns Earth into an alien planet.
This painfully romantic and charmingly reflective film leaves us trapped looking into outer space..., or rather, traveling along a deserted road, waiting to see if one day we will encounter a strange being, equally naked, solitary, claiming to come from another planet... a being who without a doubt, if we have an encounter with him, we will nickname "ET", to whom by expressing earthly love we will learn about Martian love.

Read More

Tender, moving and poetic story about a father and son trying to reconcile their separated lives

Xiao Rui (Ray), a tall, thin and handsome teenager, returns home, after having grown up with his grandfather, to live with his father (a character played by Wei-Ming Wang, an actor known for his role in 'Han chan xiao ying' (2014), 'Da yue zai dong ji' (2019) and the 1991 film 'A Summer Day'), a businessman from whom he is physically and emotionally distanced. The local art school has opened its doors for him, and the time has come to return to his father's home.
The character of Ray is played by Junrui Wang, an actor known for his role in 'Wo ruhua si yu de erzi' (2005).
During the years of estrangement, Ray spent much of his childhood and adolescence rebelling against his father's hard-line, middle-class lifestyle.
At school, Ray becomes romantically involved in a relationship with an unnamed boyfriend, played by Guifeng Wang. The two boys are followed by an equally unnamed mutual friend, played by actor Ziqiang Li.
But when his father discovers the young lovers naked in bed, after the initial surprise, he must begin to understand his own feelings towards homosexuality.
'My Fair Son' makes a slow, uneventful study of a tense relationship between father and son, in which the two must tentatively begin to reconcile their many differences, including Ray's revelation that he is gay, something his father it is difficult for him to accept.
Lacking strong emotions and even music until the end, the film, written and directed by the innovative Chinese filmmaker, film scholar, screenwriter, novelist, activist and gay academic Cui Zi En, known internationally for his films 'Zhi tongzhi' (2009 ), 'Jiu yue' (2001), 'Feeding Boys, Ayaya' (2003), 'Chou jue deng chang' ('Enter the Clowns'), from 2001, 'Nannan nünü - Nan Nan Nü Nü' ('Men and Women'), 1999, 'Queer China, Comrade China' (2008), among others, gives us a tender, moving and poetic story about a father and a son trying to reconcile their separate lives.
The family ties between father and son will continue to be tested when Ray falls in love with the apparently heterosexual Xiao Bo (played by Bo Yu, a Chinese actor known for 'Zhui qiu xing fu de ri zi' (2014), 'Shao nian ge xing' (2022) and 'Xingxing xiangxi xi' (2004), one of his father's best employees But Bo is committed and, by getting involved in a homosexual relationship, he not only risks his position in the company. the company, but also the persecution in his personal life.
When Bo confesses that he is in love with Ray, the father fires him and lies to his son, telling him that he resigned of his own free will. Ray doesn't accept his father's argument. The film ends with the main character wandering around a terrace with floating transparent images of his childhood photographs.
But despite having broken the thread that united him to the person he loved, Ray has not stopped believing in love.
And at this point it is worth thinking positively and saying with Miguel Hernandez that "only those who love fly." Although later he asks himself: "Love... But who loves? Fly... But who flies?". As in "His flight", the title of the poem by the Orihuela shepherd from which the cited verses come, the protagonist of the film has wings in love.
But Cui Zi En's film also reminds me of that flutter that has reached many, such as the Spanish poet Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer, who in his famous "Rhyme". And in that atmosphere where "the sky dissolves in rays of gold / [and] the earth trembles with joy", the Sevillian asks: "Is it love that passes?" Surely, taking our pedestrian condition to the top to give us the volatile, airy, unstable and changeable life of lovers.
I like the brilliant filming of this art film that shows gay life in China, the everyday wonder, the poetry and the complicated existence of life itself.
He achieves this through many deliberate slow scenes, for example, instead of the actors moving at a regular pace, their movements to move are slow, parsimonious. In this way, the director seeks to slow down the actions so that the viewer can feel the tenderness and intimate thoughts of the characters, especially those of Ray, giving us the opportunity to understand and feel what is in the microcosm of their lives and feelings actions.
With beautiful naked torsos of the handsome and sensual young men, 'My Fair Son' is a lyrical, reflective, silent, melancholic, beautiful, poetic and calm film.
What is striking are the scenes of nudity combined with images of the sky, the horizon, the infinite... referring, with a lot of symbolism, to love, thoughts and feelings, too complex and paradoxical to be expressed in words (or the lack of articulation of the characters involved, the love).
Although the film does not inspire me with joy and action, it does manage to make me reflect on beauty, poetry, and the value of life in all its tenderness and sadness.
The sensuality of the film is worth highlighting. The feel of the cinematography drives it a little more than the plot.
Likewise, I enjoyed the long shots, which let you feel the characters' behaviors. The viewer must be attentive, because at times it seems that what we are seeing has little to do with the action on screen. In my case, this puts me in the sensory, dreamlike mindset that Ray seemed to have.
Another element to take into account is how, on several occasions, the camera focuses interest on more traditional elements of the plot. In my opinion, the director wants the viewer to perceive how the secondary characters see things as they are expected to be and not as they are through Ray's eyes.
For example, when scenes involving father and son appear, there are long shots focused on what we expected to see, but then the images stop, allowing the scenes to develop more than we could expect, in total silence, ensuring that the viewer obtains the necessary information to understand what is happening, but really feeling the atmosphere of the actions at the moment, whether internal to the characters and external to the scene.
With all these elements, Cui Zi En creates a film that feels like a more complete, true understanding of what happens between a young dreamer with his head constantly gravitating around his world, his father with things clear, and the rest of the people who surround the lives of these two characters as they care, connect and interact with them.

Read More

Relatable teenagers discovering sexuality in a fairy tale with LGBT+ characters

With a police investigation for the possible murder of a "Rose Garden College" student, 'Hit Bite Love' introduces the viewer to a story that follows six teenagers who decide to break all the taboos and learn the real truth about love, pain and growth.
Directed by Jakkaphong Pachara (Yuan), the daring series adorned with sexual scenes revolves around three couples with Shokun (Woraphon Charoensuk - Bigboss) as the protagonist and main narrator.
The plot of the Thai romantic school drama comedy could be described as a modern, youthful fairy tale with LGBT+ characters, although in this case, the prince has been replaced by an attractive student council president of a high society high school named Matteo (Alan Campana), who likes to enjoy the pleasures and dangers of BDSM, and Cinderella is played by a music-loving boy who has just broken up with his partner, because he wants to have a romantic relationship that is not secret, like the one you have experienced until now.
After experiencing a tumultuous romance with Ken (Napolpong Sooksombut – Pure), a star player on the basketball team, Shokun decides to put an end to the toxic relationship because he does not feel satisfied: Ken is afraid to publicly acknowledge his sexuality and has condemned him to only having sex secret and hot in the locker room, while appearing to be heterosexual.
Shokun will be captivated by the attractive, seductive and also very intimidating Matteo, a young man with a strong narcissistic personality, who will take advantage of Shokun's innocence, candor, broken heart and desire to be part of the music club, to force him to participate. with him in his erotic games or else he would expose his sexual encounters in the showers.
The scriptwriter Orachat Brahmasreni (Poy) has created a narrative text that, in addition to faithfully portraying the concerns of adolescents in any current society, with their fears, their dreams and their lack of experience with life, also represents some of the elements of the usual love fables, but with an impressive change: it proposes a world that is more than a story, but a nightmare, with regard to the affectivity and sexuality of its protagonists.
The image of the attractive and lucky prince will soon crack when we learn, at the same time as Shokun, about Matteo's sexual tendencies, dominated by sadism, submission and violence (controlled, of course) and his inability to maintain a "normal" relationship with other people. All of this is enhanced by Shokun's doubts and insecurities, who has not yet maintained a full loving relationship, despite having had sex with another boy, which makes the difference between the two more extreme.
Obviously there is attraction between the two, but Matteo has a secret that Shokun is not prepared for: he wants Shokun to be his submissive, while he would be his dominant.
Shokun's innocent and infatuated world will be shattered when he discovers that he is blackmailed by someone who hides a dark and shadowy face, sexual inclinations dominated by sadism and submission. Matteo will try to introduce Shokun to his sexual and emotional reality, while Shokun, surprised by Matteo's peculiar erotic practices, will seek to find out the reason for his tastes and his way of being. But what they both don't know is that the descent into hell that involves immersing themselves in rough and sadistic sex will make love emerge.
The story of Shokun and Matteo could be considered a "sui generis" homosexual urban fable in which some of its most sordid elements are enhanced. But don't be scared..., in addition to whips, handcuffs and other instruments of domination-submission typical of BDSM, 'Hit Bite Love' demonstrates how love can change people by making them grow spiritually.
As he develops feelings for Shokun, Matteo will not hesitate to stop being dominant and become submissive, fearing that Shokun is not ready. And Shokun agrees to be subdued by Matteo because he prefers pain and even humiliation before leaving his world. Until finally, Matteo chooses to give up BDSM, because all he wants is to be Shokun's boyfriend and have him forever by his side. Don't you think this is a beautiful declaration of love?
The series also manages to narrate some scenes that undoubtedly trigger the lividity of the person who watches its six episodes.
That the script is not perfect, that the performances are not perfect. It is true, but the series aims to explore various concepts associated with teenage dramas, such as sexual diversity, sex, the power of friendship, forgiveness, understanding, personal growth and the transition to the adult world.
And not from the perspective of millionaires and heterosexual college girls in liberal and cold Manhattan, as 'Fifty Shades of Grey' proposes, but from the perspective of homosexual teenagers from a country where homosexuality is considered taboo and the marriage between people of the same sex.
With a plot thread similar to that of the Spanish series Élite, created by Carlos Montero Castiñeira and Darío Madrona, 'Hit Bite Love' shows other important elements, such as betrayals, revenge, double standards, family violence, gender violence, homophobia, internalized homophobia, toxic relationships, teenage sex, feelings of guilt, attempted suicide, seeking refuge in social networks or the interest in exposing people's privacy to public ridicule, among others. Is any of this foreign to today's teenagers?
The other couple is King, Shogun's friend and president of the drama club, and Burger (Vasin Traiprakhong – Jur), a transfer student at the school, who will find themselves immersed in a tender and fun relationship based on a misunderstanding.
And finally, we have the couple made up of Saint (Natthapat Meesuk - Tae), Matteo's friend and vice president of the student council, and Hida (Vittawin Panichtamrong - Vic), who have become brothers not related by blood, when the former's mother gets married. with the second's father. They will both be united by a relationship that goes beyond these family ties.
The breakup of Shokun and Ken, the arrival at Burger's school as a transfer student or the strengthening of the bond between the stepbrothers Hida and Saint will end up causing a series of events that, with a police investigation as a backdrop, will shake everyone's lives those involved.
Another element to highlight is the music. The cast itself is the one who sings the songs that make up the soundtrack of the series. In this way, we will enjoy Jur, Tae, Newyear, Pure, Bigboss, Vic and Alan, who perform "Hit Me Bite Me", a song composed by Alan Campana, and Vic and Tae singing "Oxigen", a song written and scored by Vic Vittawin Panichtamrong.
The photography, by Suchart Makhawimarn, helps make the three romantic stories believable. For its part, Suriya Kaewkrong's editing achieves a fast and quite adequate narrative.
Sympathizing with Shogun is easy. Wanting to protect and love him would be anyone's wish. I found Matteo attractive and the most interesting character. He is a seducer and that is transmitted beyond the series itself. There are many points in your way of thinking that I do not share. but that has not been an obstacle for me to identify with him. Alan Campana manages to show two faces with his character, a more tender and romantic one that manages to win our affection, and another more cynical one, in which his dark secret is revealed, but he achieves a sincere and complete transformation when he falls in love.
The rest of the secondary characters appear poorly developed, their only function is to help the development of the plot but they are not important and in that sense I would also have liked them to be given a little more relevance or to delve deeper into the parallel stories, especially in the case of the three girls in love, one with Ken, one with Burger and one with Saint.
It is regrettable that, seeking to visualize diversity on screens, the series portrays queer characters in a stereotypical way, due to their continuous shouting, arrogant and uneducational acts, and mood swings. I am referring, obviously, to the character played by Bookko Thanatchaphan. At https://kisskh.at/756465-firstly-like-you I publish a review of 'Firstly Like You', a film that addresses the romance of Burger and King, and in which I expand on the topic discussed in this paragraph.
I suppose this is a matter of taste, but from my point of view the erotic scenes are treated very well, they are explicit and descriptive, and they leave little to the public's imagination, but the creators do it in a wise and restrained way, and They do not use indiscreet, foul-mouthed or ordinary gestures, actions or words that may be unpleasant and annoying.
The limits to which Shokun accesses in Matteo's sexual games are at a low level and this results in the scenes not being very strong within what they could have been, which on the other hand the viewer can appreciate if he does not share this point of view.
This is a series that you either love or hate. In my case, I love it, because I consider that 'Hit Bite Love' is an addictive fiction, full of life, rhythm and color, that fulfills its central objective: to entertain in a big way while making us reflect. The Thai drama neither has nor understands taboos. Novel and transgressive, in its frames you can find sex, nudity, very crazy scenes, a truly explosive level, but nothing is gratuitous or obscene.

Read More

Can love be born from hate?

The term Enemies-to-Lovers describes a narrative arc in which protagonists begin as sworn enemies or adversaries, only to gradually discover a deeper connection that transcends the initial animosity.
A common pretext in romantic movies and series is the enmity between the protagonists to end up together in an enviable love story.
Although it is a cliché, some dramatized have become classics of film and television for showing that there is only one step from hate to love.
'Big Dragon' is one of those stories in which the protagonists appear to be polar opposites and end up attracted by a chemistry produced throughout the series.
This 2022 LGBTIQ+ themed Thai romantic comedy-drama is directed by Puwadon Naosopa in his debut as a drama director and writer after directing the special 'Secret Theory of Kissing' two years earlier, who co-wrote the script with Boy Mitpracha Outtaros. Both acknowledge that the decision to explore homosexual romance comes in response to what fans wanted. They wanted to "redress the balance" and write a typical romantic comedy, but with young gay people.
The creators bring to life a romantic story, in which everything happens in a more realistic way. It is a story about the search for human connections, about discovery, about acceptance, about the difficulty of discovering one's identity and finding a place in the world, and someone to share it all with. In short, it is about young people who want to be something more and who embark on a clear transformative journey.
However, what began as a natural dislike between the two gradually turns into romance, which is complicated due to Mangkorn's father's wishes for his son to marry his childhood friend's daughter and the pressure Yai has a family relationship with a dead mother and an absent father and now in a new relationship that Yai opposes for the wrong reasons.
What makes romantic comedies so irresistible? Is it the certainty that its structure, already quite well known, gives to the viewer? Or is it the joy we get from seeing two people we know are made for each other fall in love on screen? For whatever reason, through romcoms we have been shown many of the dynamics of falling in love and romance, which is why it is appreciated that in more recent years their stories are about more diverse groups than the typical heterosexual white couple.
'Big Dragon' is an example of this: a beautiful romance between two young adults separated by their social contexts.
It is beautiful how they live, separately and in different ways, the process of accepting homosexuality, denying that they like a person of the same sex, stating that what happened between them was motivated by alcohol and drugs, asking friends for guidance, looking for women as a way to confirm heterosexuality, or even getting into fist fights.
Based on the best-selling Thai PG-18 novel of the same name by Aiden N Vivienne, the series stars Mos Panuwat Sopradit and Bank Mondop Heamtan, as Mangkorn, and Yai, respectively.
Mangkorn is a fifth-year architecture student, attractive and confident. Yai is a rich, self-centered and spoiled student at the same university, but majoring in Business Administration. Both have the power to cast a spell on the public with just a look.
Yai believes that Mangkorn is his romantic rival, imagining that he is also in love with the girl he likes. So he seeks to make him look ridiculous. One night, at his father's newly inherited pub, Yai and Mangkorn drink together. His nefarious plans fail due to the mistake of his bodyguards, whom he had ordered to mix something in Mangkorn's drink. This is how he and Mangkorn end up spending a night of wild sex together.
When he wakes up, he discovers that Mangkorn has taken the images of the hot sexual encounter between the two. Realizing that he has been outwitted and now his prestige is in the hands of Mangkorn, who could do the same thing he planned to publish the video to take revenge, Yai vents his anger in the pub.
He hopes to forget what happened between them. So, he requests the services of an architecture company to carry out renovations to the premises with the intention of erasing the memories of the sinful night, but he soon discovers that one of the members of the team of hired designers is the person he wants to forget.
The new frictions that arise from having to see each other frequently lead them to start a romance and discover their sexuality together. What they did not expect is that feelings stronger than hatred would arise between them. The classic romantic trope of "enemies to lovers" becomes relevant when two presumably heterosexual young people are involved.
Just like the dragon and the tiger, the two couldn't be more at odds with each other. But their destinies become inseparably intertwined, leaving resentments behind and managing to turn their hostility into love.
The tumultuous relationship will cause both boys to find love for the first time in their lives, in addition to growing as human beings.
'Big Dragon' sounds like fan fiction and looks like it too. However, as in any worthwhile romance, the director gets us to support the transition from cheeky couple of rivals to boyfriends, before becoming bed partners. Puwadon Naosopa is supported, and convincingly so, by the cinematographer, who portrays the protagonists with such adoration, that you almost expect them, between kisses and sensual moans in the frequent sexual encounters, to turn towards the camera and promote a bottle of perfume.
Queer romantic narratives have found a solid place in BL series and this drama is positioned as a testament to this advancement.
There is a bit of a twist in everything, since the situation is somewhat complicated for the two protagonists, but in the end it is one of those stories that leave you with a good taste in your mouth, and lifts your spirits, in addition to the strong chemistry of the two boys and the solid performances of a debutant Mos and Bank in his first leading role, for the brilliant visual effects, its majestic soundtrack and the greatness of the cinematographic skill.
It is truly an irresistible couple between Thai actor Mos Panuwat Sopradit and Thai-American singer ISBANKY, who also lends his voice to sing "Dancing with the Devil", the main theme of the series, and "Just Smile".
In the technical section, the weight falls almost entirely on the development of the relationship and charisma of its stars, who are surrounded by a luxurious and aspirational dreamlike environment.
The series is also packed with enough romantic tropes to bring together that fuzzy, familiar feeling of any formulaic on-screen love story. There are 'enemies to lovers', 'opposites attract', 'forbidden romance', 'he fell in love first, but he fell in love harder' and in the endings a 'pen pals/lovers' interlude.
The main strength of 'Big Dragon' is Mondop Heamtan, whose charming performance is helped by the fact that he has most of the best lines and manages to border on being arrogant without becoming conceited.
The sincere but impetuous Mangkorn is a more difficult role, but Mos Panuwat Sopradit manages to give the role enough gravitas to achieve dialogue like "I want to stay here with you. And one more thing: I've wanted to fix things with my family. No I can run away from the problem forever."
The story embraces and demonstrates that the growth of queer young adult fiction reflects a generational shift toward a more open and inclusive attitude toward gender diversity and sexual orientation.
Historically in romance, queer characters have been unhappy, or even killed off. However, in 'Big Dragon', homosexuality leads to happiness.
Mangkorn and Yai not only have the possibility of beginning a journey that will lead them to experience a true individual transformation by falling in love: they give voice to the desires of queer and diverse young people who want to see a "happily ever after" represented on screen that resembles them.
Puwadon Naosopa understands that the key to success for any romantic comedy-drama is the chemistry between its protagonists, something that Mondop Heamtan ISBANKY and Panuwat Sopradit have plenty of. Although they are both very attractive, this is not enough when it comes to presenting a successful on-screen romance: we have had countless examples of unconvincing gorgeous couples in film and television. However, that is not the case here, since both prove to be good romantic interests and this work has been the first in which they have been able to exploit their gifts as romantic protagonists, and which have subsequently been able to give them new dimensions in other dramas, such as ' SunsetxVibes' and 'Y Journey: Stay Like a Local'
Despite social pressures, jealousy, the presence of a new love interest who will try to come between the two, the need to separate for student reasons, the relationship between the two develops organically and gradually: the romance is credible and you melts the heart.
The social context also adds a credible burden of difficulties while helping to develop their characters beyond the romantic relationship. Although the conventions of the romantic comedy are followed to the letter (something very typical of the genre), its characters and situations move away from clichés. There is also an honest approach to homosexual desire, the interactions in sex between two men and the conflicts of expressing their love in an environment guided by appearances and heteronormativity.
Thanks to the charisma, tenderness and attractiveness of its protagonists, its social context and irresistible romantic plot, 'Big Dragon is a charming love series made for fans of this type of content. It doesn't break much of the mold in terms of its structure, but its characters and situations are unique enough to avoid falling into stereotypes. As far as modern romantic comedy-drama goes, it has my vote.

Read More

Build the path to freedom, inclusion and empowerment with empathy

Let's get used to his name, JP Habac, because this Filipino filmmaker is going to provoke lively controversies, raise dormant consciences and enliven an independent film scene, in need of exponents like him.
After pleasantly surprising us with the critically and popularly acclaimed 'Like in the Movies', in 2020, or other dramas and films, such as 'Meet Me Outside', 'Drag You & Me', or the short film 'I'm Drunk, I Love You', from 2017, now returns with the series 'Marahuyo Project'.
In its 8 episodes, about 35 minutes long, we will meet King.
You either love King or hate him. There is no middle ground, and everything will depend on the person you are.
As punishment for his irreverence in the face of power and homophobia, the principal of his high school gets rid of the progressive student and sends him to finish his studies in Marahuyo, his place of origin, where he returns after leaving in his childhood.
And there we, the viewers, join their journey, which began long before the first scene.
Ricardo Matayog, his real name, is similar to many other activists for the rights of gays, lesbians, transsexuals and bisexuals, for being a dreamer, empathetic, a lover of justice, but also for his deep ideological positions: his anti-imperialism, anti-totalitarianism, anticolonialism, antifascism, anticlericalism..., inherited from his grandmother and his own experience of fighting homophobia.
If the world were fair, instead of presidents of nations with a long history of invasions in order to plunder natural resources behind supposed "humanitarian interventions" or imposing sanctions on third parties for not bowing to their hegemony, people like King would be recognized with the Nobel Peace Prize.
Better, if the world were fair, people like King would not exist, since homophobia would only exist in school textbooks as something of the past.
King's story is much more than the story of a human being faced with violence, discrimination, homophobic persecution, and the violation of the Human Rights of LGBTIQA+ people. King is the essence of a country with joys, sorrows and a lot of faith to rise up every time logical and illogical setbacks bring it to its knees.
King is Philippines. King has the essence of any Filipino. He is a person who has been through a lot, but still clings to the fact that things can get better, because he has great energy and faith.
King is a natural leader. He is chosen by the group for his actions. He is capable of leading at any level of the organization he is creating and meets the needs of those who, due to their prejudices and fears, hide their homosexuality to comply with what a conservative country with strong patriarchal and heteronormative traditions demands of them.
King calls, in each episode, and many times masterfully breaking the fourth wall, to reflect on everyday life, common events (or not), social representations inherited from patriarchal hegemony, the world with its lights and shadows. …
Like many others, King fights for the acceptance of the LGBTIQA+ community in Philippine society, to accelerate policy reforms and to establish programs to ensure the inclusion of its members in the political, social and economic life of the country.
That is why he immediately points towards the Church, because he perfectly recognizes that it has faithful followers in the Philippine political sphere, who have blocked any bill that tries to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation or identity, as well as prevent already existing conquests in other places in the world, such as two people of the same sex being able to marry, carry out a joint adoption, or have the right to have their sex change reflected in the Civil Registry.
Likewise, understand that political institutions easily give in to the influences of the Catholic Church when it comes to limiting the rights of gays, lesbians, transsexuals and bisexuals.
King will always be valid, as long as there is a discriminated person in the world, for whatever reason.
Regardless of the topic that the audiovisual deals with (the life and adventures of an activist for the rights of LGBTIQA+ people dedicated to making a difference in his community of origin through the creation of the first organization that brings together the members of said group in its campus, the defense of human rights, community empowerment and much more, and that is where a very important conflict begins), is a pretext to address many things that are happening in that country.
But there is also the King who loves, the one who falls in love, and in this aspect he is also faithful and committed. Since his return to the island, he has been attracted to Ino (Neo France Garcia, in his acting debut), the heir to a legacy of conservatism and heteronormativity, who will play a fundamental role in the fight to achieve the young activist's plans since his position of president of the Student Council.
Their lives intersect precisely upon King's arrival at the Marahuyo dock, when he accidentally bumps into Ino, like a parable about the unpredictability and irony of destiny.
The great merit of 'Marahuyo Project', the first Filipino queer series presented by Anima Studios, directed by JP Habac, based on the creative idea of ​​the director himself and Benson Logronio and Fatrick Tabada, is the social denunciation against the violation of Human Rights of Filipino LGBTIQA+ people.
Another of his achievements is stealing the audience's ovation despite having a patriarchal society as a setting. Art is followed by the masses, what it legitimizes almost becomes law, often in a stronger way than what the country's legislators could say, refusing to approve measures that protect the members of this human community against discrimination.
It works in favor of the series that the script intelligently discovers the psychological profile of the main character and correctly recreates everything that happens in his private life, elements that tend to humanize 'Marahuyo Project'.
King is played by Adrian Lindayag, a young actor known for his role as Dominic Cruz in the 2020 film 'The Boy Foretold by the Stars', and as Dominic Benjamin Fuentes Cruz in the series 'Love Beneath the Stars', 2021, with a high range of records that knows how to do its thing well and projects an overflowing sympathy that encourages the viewer, because its maximum interest and priority is to advocate for freedom and for people to be happy in the way they want.
The actor is an activist for the rights of the LGBTIQA+ community, a challenge that he always succeeds in, as his character Dominic in the aforementioned series also takes a similar position: denouncing homophobes and their laws that discriminate against homosexuals. And he achieves it, with the maturity of an actor who grows on stage in accordance with King's own rhythm, a resilient human being, with shocking energies.
'Marahuyo Project' is also a kind of contemporary "Odyssey": returning to the origins, letting ourselves fall into the arms of the sirens that ask us when we pass by and accepting the temptations or maintaining the commitment to yourself to move forward.
Magnificent and complicated like life itself and necessary, like the fact of discovering that a future promise of cinema, JP Habac, has become an author of the present and we will have to count on him from now on.
YA

Read More

'If I Love a Boy' and the exercise of looking at each other

'If I Love a Boy', the Thai youth romantic anthology with LGBTIQ themes, explores sexual awakening in adolescence through the telling of five short stories of innocent love, whose protagonists are high school students.
Broadcast between August 24 and November 9, 2019 on LINE TV, One 31, these film stories, by Thai director Andy Rachyd Kusolkulsiri, delve into characters whose lives are marked by sexuality, the development of secondary sexual characteristics , mature thinking and also the awakening of sexual behavior that is, when the adolescent transforms into a sexual being.
In this sense, 'Mom, Please Do Not Disturb (starring Son and Pluggy)', 'You Never Eat Alone (Folk & Petch)', 'Hand On Me (Kia & Taro)', 'Everybody Run (Ball & Poori) )' and 'Night Before Everything (Chokun & Nut)', the five stories that make up the anthology, take us into characters immersed in a stage in which the rise of romantic fantasies occurs and social relationships take place outside the environment family, especially with friends.
In the shorts, with slight contacts with each other, the unity of visual poetics is perceived, although sometimes a certain lack of rhythm is felt in the progression. After seeing them, we remember obvious truths that characterize adolescence, such as the young person who has not yet fully developed abstract thinking and sometimes finds it difficult to think about the consequences of his actions, as well as the use of the senses to express his feelings. emotions, since he has not yet fully developed adult thinking.
In 'If I Love a Boy' they are the high school student secretly in love with his classmate, the teenager who sees the possibility of maintaining the romance with the boy he loves slipping away because he has not dared to come out of the closet, the young man who fills with courage and confesses his love to his best heterosexual friend, the love triangle and the first disappointment in love, and the young man unable to accept that his best friend is gay, but at the same time he feels upset at the risk of losing him .
In the films, which reflect the creative consciousness that the director carries within him, we see novice actors in their first steps into the world of acting.
Son Korbboon Garun and Pluggy Tharakorn Khamsing are the protagonists of the first film. Folk Touch Inthirat and Pech Sirin Siripanich take part in the second. While Nokia Chinnawat Phattharathanachot and Taro Watcharathon Passorndiloklert participate in the third short film.
For their part, Ball Saranwut Chatjaratsaeng, Poori Siphrai and Art Thathep Phritiman are the actors who tell the events and conflicts of the fourth film, and Nut Nathanon Metharathip and Chokun Watcharaphon Suwanrueang lead the cast of the fifth film, in which we can also see acting Folk.
All of these young actors would star in 2019 'Thank God It's Friday', the youth romantic drama directed by Andy Rachyd Kusolkulsiri and written by Kwang Latika Chumpoo.
Of them, only Folk, Nokia and Ball have continued to develop their acting careers, within the BL, with the first appearing in several series, such as 'Brothers', from 2021, the second in 'Knock Knock, Boys!', from 2024, among others, and the third in 'Until We Meet Again', from 2020, 'Unforgotten Night', from 2022, and 'Y Demand', scheduled for release in 2024.
If we take into account that sexuality at this stage of the human life cycle represents the generation of desires, feelings, fantasies and emotions, that is, the development of a sexual identity, 'If I Love a Boy' constitutes a suggestive (and tender, It could also be said) a self-gaze exercise, which is worth submitting to, since all human beings have experienced, are living or will live the sexual awakening and the biological, psychological and social changes inherent to adolescence.

Read More

A story of love, discovery, acceptance and second chances

With the speed of survival we have insisted on forgetting the pandemic, focused on the new challenges that life imposes, day by day.
And there is the art to bear witness to how Covid-19 changed the world as we knew it until then, and among these changes stands out the way in which human beings manage to communicate and establish diverse relationships, including romantic ones, amid limitations of not being able to interact face to face with others.
'In a Relationship', the romantic series with an LGBTIQ+ theme, directed and produced by Napat Worakitpunya, allows us to appreciate the emergence of a love relationship between two teenagers, against the backdrop of social networks and the period of incidence of the pandemic in our lives.
This is one of the BL series produced by Jinloe Media Work, the studio that has also made 'Hit Bite Love' (2023), 'What the Duck' (2018) and its sequel 'What the Duck 2: Final Call' (2019 ).
Starring Nine Trin Summasub, as Tono, and Pea Pearanut Athicomnanta, in the role of Boss, the 2022 Thai drama takes us into characters whose existences are affected by the circumstances of a pandemic that disrupts everything in its path. However, in an indistinct manner, but at the same time in close union, each of them manages to recognize in the sad event the possibility of loving each other, growing as people, the power of forgiveness and second chances.
With a script by Chim Sedthawut Inboon, Tono, a teenager with a growing reputation among online video game players, is presented as the central axis of the plot. One day, while he is live streaming and recording one of his videos, a user he later identifies as Boss criticizes his gaming skills in a chat room. Annoyed, Tono confronts him and they both agree to participate in a video game competition to see who is the best.
After losing the game, Tono must fulfill the winner's three demands: The last request is that Tono become her boyfriend! Reluctant to comply with this demand, Tono will be forced to listen to the constant flirting of the person who claims to have been in love with him for some time.
Will Boss manage to change his social media status to "in a relationship"? Will love arise between these two teenagers? Will they manage to nurture a loving bond beyond any screen? Will they be aware that the true essence of a relationship lies in the mutual understanding, support and love that is built day by day, surpassing virtual scenarios?
The truth is that this is how Boss and Tono begin a relationship, friendly first, romantic later, thanks to cultivating meaningful conversations every day, like those of any teenager of our days, building memories and strengthening emotional bonds.
Boss is a well-defined character. For some time now he has been aware of his sexual identity, and he finds himself caught between the desire to be honest with himself and with the boy he loves, as he fears suffering a new love rejection for having his face marked by youthful acne. That is why he has communicated through a filter and hides his true identity from Tono.
But despite this dark side, the character created by Pea Pearanut Athicomnanta turns out to be more than the simple playboy he can seem every time he flirts. He understands when Tono needs space and backs away, but he still shows his love and sends constant signals of support to the teenager in difficult times, such as during Tono's illness, or when he is upset because his friend Jade has decided not to play with him.
Knowing and loving Tono will make him grow as a person and trust in himself.
For his part, Tono is a boy without major conflicts in his life. Busy with video games and virtual classes due to the pandemic, he has only suffered from his parents' divorce. His character goes through several very different moments throughout the series. She experiences intense feelings when Boss confesses his love for her, and emotional stress when she suspects that the young man she loves has been playing with her feelings.
Tono shows maturity when he forgives Boss and by encouraging him to be himself and grow as a person. Through her relationship with Boss, Tono will discover not only her sexual identity, but also her true feelings and first love.
At first, I find his performance a little uncomfortable, but as the episodes progress, we can see an actor who takes on the role of a typical teenager of our days, giving it his own interpretation and meaning, as he focuses on his goal and fight for what he wants.
Isolated from everything and everyone, even his family members, who are never shown on screen nor are there any references to them, Tono navigates between doubts and insecurities, while trying to understand his own feelings. Can a boy fall in love with another boy?
Although sometimes a certain lack of rhythm is felt in the progression, the best moments of 'In a Relationship' are reserved for the final episodes, when the story gains in maturity and complexity by deepening the plot in the themes addressed, managing to enrich the dynamics of the love relationship and add a fascinating growing tension between the characters.
Intimately and emotionally, 'In a Relationship' addresses universal themes such as the search for authenticity, discovery, personal acceptance, second chances, identity, friendship and love, with a refreshing and sensitive narrative. Along the way, both young people discover much more about themselves and what love and friendship really mean.
The two boys will begin a journey that will change their lives forever. During it, Boss and Tono develop an unexpected and deep connection as they share their personal stories, fears, preferences and dreams.
The music of TheMoonwillalwaysbewithme, Foam and Boxx Music Team helps capture the beauty of first love and self-discovery in adolescence, with totally recognizable boys, but at the same time with the pain of lying.
With evocative cinematography limited by the pandemic scenario, the series immerses us in a crucial moment in the lives of its protagonists where emotions are on the surface.
The series explores many of the challenges that we can encounter every day on social networks and messaging applications, such as the possibility of someone lying or hiding their true identity because they feel ashamed of their own life or body, the prospect of closing distances with people who are far from us; the way to understand, approach and expose our personal life and our relationships, or suffer from the FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) syndrome caused by dependence on social networks.
Likewise, 'In a Relationship' portrays other of the daily challenges faced by people on social networks, who may feel that they are constantly in contact, but the quality and depth of their conversations may decrease. Or what is related to the emotional tone, which is often misinterpreted in texts and messages, which can generate unnecessary conflicts, due to the lack of eye contact and body language, essential for effective communication.
That is the reason why Tono frequently demands the need to complement digital communication through real, in-person connection. That is, being able to see yourself outside of virtual spaces, to be able to openly communicate your feelings, concerns, doubts and insecurities... in short, give free rein to love.
For this reason, I applaud that final scene in which the empty chairs that have always been occupied by our two protagonists prevail, because finally both, after the dangers of the pandemic have disappeared, have met outside the screens of their digital devices.

Read More