ariel alba

Taboo and controversial topics in a piece of goldsmithing that every lover of good cinema should see

The Korean director Leesong Hee-il writes and directs 'Suddenly Last Summer' ('Jinanyeoreum, gapjagi'), from 2012, a 37-minute medium-length film, second part of the trilogy known as '' One Night and Two Days' (백야) that include the feature film 'Baekya' ('White Night') and the short film 'Namjjokeuro Ganda' ('Going South'), three unconnected stories that began as shorts but later expanded, in the case of the first, to a 75-minute film.
His vast work, like a piece of goldsmithing, armed with the finest craftsmanship, shows a filmmaker always attentive to the details, to the subtle articulations of the adventures, with which he won the applause of critics and spectators who, even after more than one decade since its release, they still look for in it the keys to unusual, totally original cinematography, which make Leesong Hee-il one of the most distinguished exponents of Korean auteur cinema in general, and gay-themed cinema in particular. both from his country and, I would dare to say, from all of Asia and much of the world.
Without forcing anything, the director of 'Suddenly Last Summer' plays with reality, stretches it as moldable material, and we end up accepting, without questioning, his invitation to accompany the protagonists on a journey about their sexuality, their relationship and their place. in society. The viewer must be attentive, since the medium-length film begins right in the middle of the story, so the beginning may seem confusing to some.
In that art of telling small things, small memories, small pleasures, small sensations..., which are not so much because, ultimately, together rejoicing, they give meaning to life itself, Leesong Hee-il, considered "one of the most interesting contemporary gay Asian directors", is a skilled filmmaker capable of captivating the most diverse audiences with the power of words and images, involving the audience, in a charming way, in his films, which are all about his favorite subject , gay stories in one form or another.
Leesong Hee-il once again touches on taboo and controversial topics in any modern society, such as homosexuality, the complexity of human relationships, the problematic situation of one lover who is a minor and the other an adult, or the teacher-student role. , and the feelings between people, which on many occasions can be inappropriate, immoral or even prohibited. However, in its subconscious development, it is not something for which individuals can be directly condemned, but those feelings must be acted upon when they are negative.
Another of the values ​​of 'Suddenly Last Summer' and the other two films that make up the trilogy is that its director places the protagonists at some intermediate point in the story, that is, their characters have begun to realize what what they feel, and now they must decide how to act. In the most difficult moment for those involved, when some will triumph while others will falter, it is the ideal moment for Leesong Hee-il to put on the camera lens and begin to tell the story, achieving, through his raw honesty, commendable and unforgettable stories. .
In the medium-length film, its director once again exposes a constant dichotomy in the relationships of his protagonists: one of his characters hides or completely denies his homosexuality, and the other is not afraid to recognize it and even enjoys shouting to the world about his gay status.
In just 37 minutes, the medium-length film raises several controversial points. It is not only the sexuality of the characters that focuses the attention of the audiovisual. Kyung-hoon hides his sexuality from everyone around him, especially the managers and teachers and students at the school where he works. Keeping his homosexuality a secret, his sexual preferences are discovered by Sang-woo, a student of his, when they both meet in a gay bar some time ago.
In a kind of obsession with his teacher, Sang-woo threatens him to reveal everything if he does not agree to his demands, and shows him some photographs captured clandestinely during the meeting held by the two at the gay club.
Fearing that he will lose his job, Kyung-Hoo agrees to spend the day with him. However, the tension between the characters doesn't seem to be related only to Sang-woo's blackmail tactics. While it is evident that Sang-woo is not motivated by a sexual impulse, since he loves his teacher, the entire film suggests that the teacher has feelings for his student.
Sincere about his sexual orientation and love for his teacher, he will claim that he had revealed to his mother that he liked boys, as well as his love for an older man, but Kyung-Hoo's reactions are ambiguous and not transparent.
There is an uncomfortable polarity within the two characters. Due to his youth, Sang-woo is innocent and love and the freedom to be happy lead him to lose himself in a delirious frenzy that drives him to shout, excited, at the fish from the boat, or to act spontaneously and make Kyung-woo listen. Hoon his favorite music after placing the headphones over his ears. He feels transported to another world in which there is no control from society or discriminatory laws and family censorship and disapproval of their children's homosexuality.
The student believes he is invulnerable to what people will say, precisely in a country as conservative as Korea, with strong patriarchal and heteronormative traditions, where homosexuals have difficulty fitting into society and even in the 21st century, sexual diversity continues to be seen as a perversion and considered taboo. But despite his plenitude, Sang-woo is also immature and seemingly unaware of the implications of what he asks of his master.
This one, for his part, is wiser thanks to his age and experience. Kyuung-Hoon is caught between desire and responsibility, between longing and ethics, between good and evil. He is aware that a relationship of this type is not an option, but the hopelessness and unhappiness that surrounds him is evident. His face reveals deep loneliness. Drinking until you get drunk shows that you have found an escape from your sadness in alcohol. He understands that a romance like the one Sang-woo asks for, and he would like to reciprocate, would not have a good result for him. That's why you make the decision to not just deny your feelings to the person you like. She must hurt him again and again with the intention of taking him away from her forever. But the boy persists in his desire to maintain a loving relationship, not just a sexual one, with the teacher. This dilemma that Hyung-Hoon is struggling with causes him great anguish and regret. Sang-woo will not be able to understand why this man who is not afraid to give him furtive glances with a clear sexual connotation in the middle of the class, surrounded by other students, rejects him. He doesn't understand why that person with whom he spent pleasant moments in a gay club and who, like him, doesn't have a boyfriend that prevents him from formalizing a relationship, seems elusive to him.
The essence of 'Suddenly Last Summer' also lies in the fact that Sang-woo could be precisely the kind of person that Kyung-hoon needs in his life, just as Won-gyu himself needs Tae-jun in 'White Night'.
Although the fact that one is a minor and the other an adult, as well as the teacher/student relationship are socially and ethically problematic, the first problem would be irrelevant (at least if the parties involved considered it so) and would have a solution in a short term, taking into account that Sang-woo has less than twelve months left to reach 19 years of age, and with this, the legal age of sexual consent in South Korea. Leesong Hee-il voluntarily introduces this problem to play subtly and skillfully with the viewer by addressing such a complex issue, while pointing out that it can be overcome. No matter how difficult or incomprehensible their reality may be for others, the terrain where the two protagonists move is not perpetual: within a short time the young man would reach the age of adulthood and with this the hope for what each of them currently wants, but they can't specify.
Regarding his roles as a teacher-student, this problem also has an immediate solution, as we know that, through a phone call to a friend, Kyung-Hoon is desperately trying to find a job at another school.
Within the trilogy, 'Suddenly Last Summer' is the most successful film among the three. Its value also lies in the deeply uncomfortable and highly problematic questions it raises about homosexual relationships and society.
But its reach goes much further. Unlike another 'No Regret' (2006), another film by Leesong Hee-il, the focus of the medium-length film, as well as the other segments of 'One Night and Two Days', focuses exclusively on the characters' feelings, using simple narratives and many fewer twists than Leesong Hee-il's first feature film.

Note: The reviews of the remaining pieces of the trilogy, in MDL, can be found on the page dedicated by the virtual platform to each of them.

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Whirlwind of love and revenge on a tourist island

He works for a dolphin and sea lion show at Fantastic Ocean. He works at a karaoke bar on a beach on the Chinese island of Hainan, where they both live. He is a talented trainer of aquatic mammals. He succeeds in his traveling business, in part because he bears a striking resemblance to the late Chinese actor and singer Leslie Cheung. He waits for him with dinner ready and both of their underwear clean. He is a daring and handsome boy who also has sexual relations with women and walks around the beach, the streets and the house half-naked. He, in silence, awaits your return. He, drunk, comes home late after playing with other men. Both help in an illicit business, while committing petty robberies and other mischief, such as recovering their assets seized by the police.
Li Qi (Shen Shiyu) and Ren Yu (Zhao Bingrui) are two young men who live a wonderfully simple life as a couple. Happy, between the two of them they have built their own earthly paradise.
However, things change when an attractive young woman, Bai Ling (Yue Yue), comes into their lives and drastically shakes their reality. When the daughter of the illegal beach food vendor joins the two men, a three-way relationship seems possible. Li Qi shines around him. She shines around Ren Yu ('Marriage Proposal Say Yes!', 2013 and 'Love in Late Autumn, 2016'). In this classic love triangle, does the girl know about Qi and Ren Yu? Does he know they are a couple? The truth is that the three of them intend to test the limitations of their own sexuality.
The lovers now face difficult decisions because they want to explore their sexuality further and include Bai Ling ('A Woman', 2022; 'Mother in the Mist', 2021), in their relationship. At times, the loving trio disappears to become a secret couple again, but now between Bai Ling and Ren Yu. But the latter will not accept his proposal to be her boyfriend and live in a distant city. Could love for Li Qi be the reason for his rejection? Don't you want to enter an uncertain, but promising future? Why then does he kiss her and while they are living their idyll, the tragedy occurs that will shake the three of them to the depths of their being?
The film, which begins at the end, initially tells us how one of the main characters commits a heinous crime motivated by revenge and then goes to the roots of the conflict to expose the reasons that motivated the revenge.
Also skillful is the location of the plot in one of the tropical and paradisiacal beach areas of Hainan (in Chinese, 海南; pinyin, Hǎinán; literally, 'South Sea'), the smallest and southern province of the People's Republic of China. The site surprises by becoming another protagonist, the fourth, of the film. Its streets and shops show the wounds of the passage of successive typhoons that hit what is now the largest Special Economic Zone of the Asian giant.
Like an island from which you can only leave by air or sea, our protagonists will also find themselves unable to escape their own destiny. This is marked from the very title of the film. The main reason to chew Asian betel nut or areca nut is for its stimulating and slightly euphoric effects. The person who consumes it obtains a greater feeling of alertness, a sensation of heat throughout the body.
Subtle and masterful use of metaphor to mark the destruction of the paradise in which Li Qi and Ren Yu have lived with the interweaving of the Chinese tradition of consuming betel nuts with the risks to human health associated with the prolonged use of these seeds. , since this practice has led thousands of people to an early death.
Released in April 2017, the film, by Chinese director and screenwriter Hu Jia, won the China Stard Best Film Award 2018. It was also presented at the Berlin International Film Festival, Seattle International Film Festival and Hong Kong International Film Festival, in its 2017 editions.
The yaoi genre romantic drama 'The Taste of Betel Nut' (槟榔血) depicts a story of revenge and young love, a story about the growing desire for intimacy between two men and a woman.
Very cleverly, Hu Jia makes unique decisions in writing the script and developing the plot of the film. The choice to include few dialogues does not discourage the viewer. On the contrary, it awakens in us an interest in discovering where the film story will take us. This way, the audience will be able to appreciate the images and focus more on the characters' actions.
The writer and director creates a fractured storyboard that unfolds like a puzzle: fundamental pieces are missing to finish the work. Together, he and the viewer, we will have the task of, as the footage rolls, compare the fragments we have with those intentionally omitted, in order to advance through the incomplete scenes that have kept us in the dark until we reach the light. and with this the understanding of the narrated events.
The ending is open. The viewer, once again behind the cameras, has several pieces of the puzzle in their hands. According to his wishes, only one of them may be the right one to complete the puzzle: on the terrace of his house, between sheets swinging in the air, Ren Yu, with obvious scars on his shaved head and with a slow, hesitant step, has been able come out of the coma and now turns his face and smiles at someone who approaches. Is it Li Qi who has been able to escape the fury of the bullies? Has Ren Yu waited for him during his years in prison for the crime committed? Is it just Ren Yu's imagination? Like Ren Yu, Li Qi has also died at the hands of the gang and they both meet again in another paradise, but this time heavenly?

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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.

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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.

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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?

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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.

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Conveying an emotion or generating an experience without resorting to words

Is it possible to forget that 'Romancing Art' is characterized by its lack of dialogue, in which the actors' voices are not heard in the few spoken lines and are only subtitled, and simply focus on the Filipino miniseries itself? No? That's what some people seem to focus on. They can't imagine two young people expressing their love for the first time in this way. They can't imagine watching something like this.
The fact that it has these characteristics reminded me of the time a reader called me to ask about 'Crashing Waves', a 2018 British short film in which writer-director Emma Gilbertson explores the tension between kissing and fighting, which two young strangers who have just met for the first time in a housing estate in the middle of London are involved in, through a masterfully choreographed dance in the most unexpected settings. (https://vimeo.com/289044294).
And what about the queer animated short film "In a Heartbeat", which tells the story of a gay boy who decides to come out to pursue the man of his dreams? (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2REkk9SCRn0)
"I think it's one of the best things I've seen this year", I said, referring to the British short film. "Oh," he said, "it doesn't sound like we'd want to see that". And he hung up on me.
Here are three episodes, each about seven minutes long, the freshest, most captivating, and most intriguing I've seen in a long time; a miniseries that captivates with its story, its performances, and its subtle play with silence. 'Romancing Art' knows you're aware of its silence and builds on this idea. It's not that there's absolute silence. It's accompanied by music. And "Lihim", Eric Borromeo's theme song, is the best choice.
Set in a city-themed garden park, newcomer Art Turla, as Art, the "extroverted soccer player", and Axl Romeo, as Axl, the boy who loves to draw, have a good command of dramatic rhythm and body language. Both convey much more than words can say. Both guide the viewer on a beautiful journey through gestures and emotions. Both stand out for their solid performances and a chemistry that explodes on camera.
"In a world of noise and silence, of enchantment and stillness, a story unfolds. A story not told with words... but drawn between glances, laughter, and what's left behind." A story between Art, the striking, athletic, and impossible-to-ignore jock, and Axl, the quiet, artistic boy who simply tries to try to go unnoticed.
Axl Romeo is well known to Filipino BL fans for starring in several series directed by Mayumi Layne Villar, such as 'Where I Found You' (2024), 'Beautiful Scars' (2023), and 'Love Is' (2021). I must admit that I haven't been able to get past the first few minutes on either occasion. However, I enjoy his performance in 'Romancing Art'. He manages to portray his role in this miniseries with subtlety and breadth.
Produced by Windsor Creatives Production, this story stands out not only for its visual beauty but also for its ability to reflect on universal themes such as gay love, the passion for drawing, and how a chance encounter can lead to love.
One of the highlights of 'Romancing Art' is its ability to communicate complex emotions and narratives without resorting to dialogue. RB, its writer and director, noted that this decision reflects his preference for telling stories through images. "Dialogue doesn't feel natural to me. My favorite films aren't based on words, but on images and experiences", he expressed on social media while presenting the play.
RB achieves so much with so little in his miniseries: the metaphorical space it occupies, a kind of refuge for lovers to meet on Sundays, is enchanting. But the important thing is that what differentiates this type of audiovisual work, with little or no dialogue, from others is the need to tell a story, convey an emotion, or generate an experience without resorting to words.
On the other hand, the photography is stunning. I also love how the light enters the camera lens and creates rainbow-like multi-colored points of light. These flashes add a pleasing visual touch or an otherworldly feel to the images.
Don't miss it.

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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.

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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.

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There is no relationship of abuse of power...if it has been reversed

In the world there are certain types of taboo around romantic relationships, because the influence of "what they will say" and how they will be seen in society has a lot of weight when making a decision as a couple.
In film and television, love is fertile ground for telling stories that transcend the barriers of time, distance and even the age difference. Relationships between characters that have been going on for several years tend to be a somewhat controversial topic. On some occasions this is evident and criticized while on other occasions the distance does not draw as much attention.
Fortunately, with the passage of time the rejection of this issue has decreased and there are more and more cases of couples who have been together for many years. In fact, some directors have wanted to portray the age difference through romantic and dramatic films and series that show that age is just a number.
The script of the Japanese BL series 'Minato Shouji Coin Laundry', also written by its directors, Kanai Junichi, Eda Yuuka and Hiroaki Yuasa, tells the love story between Minato Akira, the heir to his grandfather's coin laundry, and high school student, Katsuki Shintaro, who despite the age difference, quickly become friends.
The romance between these two young people raises doubts about the appropriateness of their age difference (one of them being a minor), at a time, also, that of Me Too, in which many classics were being questioned by the intergenerational relationships between mature men and young women. With 'Lolita', 'The Idea of You' (2024), 'Sunset Boulevard' (1950), 'Water for Elephants' (2011), 'Magic in the Moonlight' (2014), 'Lost in Translation' (2003), 'Crazy Heart' (2009), 'All That Heaven Allows' (1955), 'The Graduate' (1967), 'Harold and Maude' (1971), 'Bull Durham' (1988), 'Thelma & Louise' (1991), 'How Stella Got Her Groove Back' (1998), 'Notes on a Scandal' (2006), 'Don Jon' (2013), 'Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool' (2017), 'Good Luck to You, Leo Grande' (2022), 'May December' (2023), as the most mentioned examples.
As I explore the 12 episodes of the first season, I wonder: Is there a relationship of abuse of power between Minato and Shin?
I don't believe it. I understand that this is a concern for many people, but that is not the story being told here. Katsuki Shintaro (from now on Shin) is a young boy who is very mature for his age (he is 17 years old), he is the best student in his class.
How should you act if from the age of 7 you fell in love with a 17-year-old teenager, whom you never saw again and whose name you did not even know until they met again when one returned to his hometown to inherit a laundry and the other is on the verge of entering medical school?
That is to say, for 10 years the underage boy in the story has kept a deep love for Minato in his heart when he saved him from drowning on the beach. Shin is a character who knows what he wants and does not hesitate before anything or anyone to get it. He never seems to be in a vulnerable position. Quite the opposite. The "aggressive" Shin is the pursuer, while the timid Minato is the pursued. The dominance and audacity shown by Shin when courting Minato, added to the way he did not hesitate to reject Asuka, his classmate, clearly demonstrates that he is not easy prey for any sexual predator.
Minato is not even his teacher, nor is he stationed like a predator at the school gates looking for easy prey.
Very cleverly, the creators use Shin's direct and bold personality to generate humor, romantic moments, and to lessen the power imbalance in their relationship.
The series gains followers by showing the viewer how there is a genuine attraction and chemistry between our two protagonists in a very natural way through the tension generated by their age difference.
The series quickly eliminates many reasons that will make people worry that Shin is in a vulnerable position as a minor in this relationship dynamic, as the character states that he never feels alone and lives with a large family that supports him in his relationship with Minato. The early appearance of his sister at the laundry in episode 2, the invitation to Minato to come to the family home to celebrate Shin's 18th birthday (in episode 7) and letters sent by the teenager's mother to Minato in support of the existing relationship between the two, confirms that Shin is supported by his family.
On other occasions we can see that Shin is very popular, pursued by the girls whom he kindly rejects, because he is clear about who he loves. Both examples tell us that Shin is not pursuing Minato out of desperation and loneliness.
For his part, Minato, who recognizes the age difference, does not ignore this reality and is scared of Shin's intentions; he did not want any romantic connection, much less sexual at first, he did not even want to talk about it. Shin is the one who goes to his laundry room and basically pushes him over and over to start a romance. Minato could be a predator but I don't think he is at all. This is a consensual relationship between two adult-thinking men who know what they want.
Minato acts like a respectable person who knows how to reject his crush and has never intentionally induced Shin's feelings.
It is suggestive how the series establishes an interesting parallel between the blossoming romantic relationship between the two main characters and Minato's infatuation with Sakuma Takayuki (Fukushi Seiji), his teacher during his high school years. Unlike his teacher, Minato is not in a position of power in his relationship with Shin.
In the same way that Minato invaded Sakuma's space in the past to demand attention, it is Shin who acts in the same way to flirt with Minato and ask him to start a romantic relationship with him.
On the other hand, Akira and Shin's is not an intergenerational relationship, because they both belong to the same generation.

THOUGHTS… DIVAGATIONS

Abuse of power can occur in all relationships. It doesn't necessarily have to do with age. It seems important to me to see what position each member of the couple is in and what type of power game, seduction and even avoidance takes place. You have to see if there is an asymmetry in the relationship and how it is managed, if it is denied, if it is compensated...
It strikes me that many who propose the existence of a relationship of abuse of power in a gay relationship solely due to the fact that one of the members of the couple is a minor, do not show a single symptom of alarm when in other film and television productions an age difference appears when the couple is heterosexual.
What if we made a comparison of all these themes with the classic imaginary between the older man and the young woman? In the heterosexual couples there would be a double asymmetry, one of age and another of power. On the other hand, in an intergenerational gay relationship there would only be an asymmetry, although hypothetical, because it does not always occur.
In any case, gay couples are also plagued by gender stereotypes and myths of romantic love, constructions that society gives us as molds for living love. Until very recently there was no social model of how to be or how to experience love in a gay couple, and it is something that is being built. This makes an important issue such as intragender violence remain invisible. As we see, it is a debate with more questions than answers, but they all point to the same thing: relating better within the gay community.

BACK TO THE SERIES

Luckily for them, there aren't many social prejudices to face. Shin and Minato do not have to manage the challenges of social pressure and other people's gaze. They are not required to normalize any type of external situation that may arise nor do they have to turn a deaf ear to hurtful comments.
The series also shows how both characters seek to have things in common, share joint projects, goals and life expectations.
Although both have different life plans, as one dreams of studying medicine, while the other maintains his interest in working in the laundry, the series offers us details about how Minato and Shin are willing to accompany the other in their respective interests.
Love has no age, they say, and Minato and Shin don't care about the difference between them to let the feelings flow.
Ironically, the age difference between the two lead actors is only four and a half years.
In my opinion, when taking stock of the positive and negative issues that each member of a couple has in a situation like the one Minato and Shin are experiencing, age does not have to be a limitation to continue a bond.
The constructive factors and traits, as well as the virtues that make the person, should have greater weight than the age difference when betting on the couple.
It is known that there are no couples who agree on all aspects of life. However, finding balance in how discrepancies are faced, whether it is the way in which free time is used or the way in which each person expresses themselves, will be essential to overcome any obstacle.
I enjoy the series, and age differences neither in fiction nor in real life bother me, unless there is a clear power imbalance, which in this case, if anything, the power imbalance is reversed.

ONE LAST QUESTION BY WAY OF CONCLUSION

Finishing writing the review, there is a question that floats in my head: Is Shin and Minato's romance comparable to others in popular culture, if we take into account that there are different nuances in the relationships between men and women?

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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.

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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.

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Dreaming films, telling stories, opening paths, making history

Many years before December 23, 2003, Crisaldo Pablo decided to embark on an adventure. Its main motivation: "cinema and the Filipino LGBT+ community and, why not, also that of the other side of the border," the recipients responded in chorus at the time. Even today, more than 20 years later, they repeat it.
To do this, he gathered a group of friends and some professional actors who said "Yes" in unison. He raised some funds, very few, in truth, from his own pockets, or from donations from people who supported the idea.
He summoned his friends, most of them homosexual, like him, those with whom he shared the same dream: promoting a gay cinema through the filming of artisanal films; He wanted to raise awareness of LGBT+ people among the Filipino population. This is how he outlined his venture.
«There is a very special magic in the artistic object that you achieve with your own hands. It may be imperfect, but that difference makes it unique. That feeling of uniqueness is what a creator feels, whether with a story he wrote or a film he shot," he convinced others with this certainty.
Due to the low budget he could afford, he wrote a script without great needs and expenses. Knowing that he would use an unconventional production method, which would only have scarce production resources, he decided to film in a few locations, only in those real places known to all those involved, and discarded the ideas of large stages or sets built from papier-mâché and other unnecessary artifices.
He planned to film wherever necessary, without asking for the relevant permission. He borrowed a Sony VX from a friend. In a moment of breakdown, he had to rent another digital camera, one of those that you can find today in museums or in the yellowed pages of magazines of the time.
He went out to the streets, to the theaters, to the workshops where actors and actresses are trained. He accidentally stumbled across Amanda Virrey, a young woman who would later appear in the films 'Compound' (2006) and 'Sa kamay ng Diyos' (2005), with Larry Burns, a young man who would never again be in front of a camera, with Bell Clerigo, the actress who in 2009 would appear in the film 'Boylets', with Arnold Reyes, who would later star in the two seasons of 'Papa, What Is Love?' and the film The Commitment (2014), with a homosexual theme.
Likewise, it added experienced actors and actresses, such as Jojo Nones, known for his role in 'Dear Uge' (2016), 'Mga lihim ni Urduja' (2023) and 'Agimat ng agila' (2021); John Lapus, who had already participated in 'Mahal Kita: Final Answer' in 2002, and in 1997 in 'Ang Pulubi At Ang Prinsesa'; Rey Pumaloy, known for his role in 'Buko pandan' (2002), 'Sa iyong mga haplos' (2001) and 'Muling umawit angtuvo' (1995).
As protagonists it would have Andoy Ranay, a professional actor who was already known for his films 'Markova: Comfort Gay' (2000), and 'Soft Hearts', with which he debuted in 1998, and Paolo Gabriel, an unknown who would never return be under the direction of a filmmaker.
Since then, he began holding summer camps-workshops for young people on presentation and acting on social networks and independent films and production management for independent projects.
Wait to make profits from sales and distribution of the resulting product? Do you wish that the film would go down in the annals of the history of Philippine cinematography as one of the most watched by the public? Do you aspire to present the film at film festivals both inside and outside the borders of your country? Quite a dream, the same one that every filmmaker has, especially when they embark on the path of artistic creation for the first time.
With 'Doubt' (Doubt, in Tagalog), his debut film, filmed in 2003, Crisaldo Pablo was not only making films. I was making history. He was filming the first feature film shot digitally in the Philippines. With a raw and independent approach, he was making guerrilla cinema. I was making the LGBT+ community visible in a homophobic and conservative society.
In this brave film from an independent team, the pioneering filmmaker of Philippine guerrilla cinema addresses for the first time in his extensive filmography themes such as homosexuality, promiscuity and infidelity in a homosexual relationship, while telling a story about a driven film director for an idea to film a film, against all odds, and create a significant statement that resonates deeply within a heteronormative and patriarchal society.
'Doubt' is recognized as the first full-length digital film ever filmed in the Philippines. The comments of Cris Pablo and some of the actors who appear in the "making of" of the DVD demonstrate how much dedication to a vision represented in this small and essential film.
With an autobiographical approach, for the first time in one of his films, his main character was called Cris. Then would come Jet Alcantara's Cris from 'Bathhouse' and Cris Vicente from 'Moreno', played by the director himself. Curiously, in the 2009 film 'Showboyz', the main character is named Krys, and is played by Filipino actor Kristoffer King.
It was also the first time that Crisaldo Pablo had to fight battles against censorship, challenging, confronting and defeating the Philippine government's Film Board, when the film was originally given an X rating, which would have prohibited it from being shown in theaters. Finally, it was able to receive the desired R-18 rating. He had to do similar actions before the release of his later films 'Bathhouse' (2005) and 'Moreno' (2007).
In this faux-autobiographical docu-drama with healthy doses of interpersonal kitsch, a group of friends and acquaintances discuss the relationship of the film's central couple, in response to the frequently repeated and absorbing question: "What do you think of Cris and Eric?
Everyone is worried and reflects on the fate of the relationship while watching the existing romance between the two young protagonists collapse.
Cris (Andoy Ranay) is a documentary filmmaker with a recognized body of work and a large community of friends and admirers. A gay man in his thirties with a voracious sexual appetite, he has never had a serious relationship and, throughout his fifteen-year sexual career, he claims to have had sexual relations with more than 4,000 men. But after falling in love with Eric (Paolo Gabriel), a twenty-something tabloid television news reporter, Cris has given up meaningless sex for the pleasures of monogamy, much to the surprise of his wide circle of gay friends.
For his part, Eric sees a space for a more open relationship (of course, they don't talk about this) and is baffled by Cris's jealousy.
Much of the story unfolds by showing simultaneous television talk shows, one about Cris's life and the other about Erick's adventures.
The friends automatically go from joy at the change in Cris's life to distrust of Erick's fidelity. Doubt arises and Cris confronts Erick for staying away from home too long, a factor that makes the experienced Erick feel outraged by Cris' constant jealousy.
Complicating matters is the appearance of Ben (Warren de Leon), a former lover of Cris, who makes one last attempt to rekindle the fires of past passion before marrying a girlfriend, but young Cris rejects his advances.
All of the above gives rise to his friends observing from a distance, while they speculate about what is happening between Cris and Eric.
Although the film moves away from the open emotionalism of the couple involved, what 'Doubt' lacks in intensity seen in other films that explore homosexual relationships, such as 'Cheun gwong tsa sit (Happy Together', 1997), by Wong Kar-Wai, Pablo's film almost makes up for it with its free look at the vital gay community of Manila, the Philippine capital.
'Doubt' goes for the intimacy of a home movie rather than the sleaze of porn, with cleverly manipulated beachfront nudity thrown in for good measure.
In fact, when Cris, driven by jealousy, frustration and despair at seeing the relationship crumble, attempts to commit suicide, the viewer suffers an apparent hallucination in the form of a media mockery of egocentrism: an elegant talk show in garish candy-colored colors where a group of magical guests in sequined outfits are interviewed as they try to answer the question on everyone's lips: "What do you think of Eric and Cris?"
The astute viewer will be able to find in the DVD extras the director expressing that his script was based on his own relationship experiences and those of his friends. Likewise, he declares that if he had stuck more closely to them, he could have made a better film. Instead, it adopts a soap opera style of storytelling from the start, with increasingly tense emotional crises, overacted by its largely inexperienced and unprofessional cast; rapid changes in emotional direction; a tangle of plot threads, not all of which go anywhere, and some very strange directorial decisions about how to try to make sense of it all in the end, and each successive emotional crescendo is followed by a cut to black.
Towards the ends, Pablo's response is to establish a television talk show format in which the hosts and Cris and Eric's friends discuss the couple's relationship.
Despite these failures, 'Doubt' has many positive qualities. The flashback sequences are filmed in black and white in a grainy, semi-focused manner that allows the theme of sensuality to be presented in a surprisingly subtle way. Taking into account that the film is shot with a digital camera, the flow is fluid and the feeling is one of immediacy and spontaneity.
Andoy Ranay draws a compelling three-dimensional character we can identify with: a man approaching the age of being "undesirable" in the gay world of the Philippines.
The rest of the cast, although not very skilled in their performances, offers a committed work, achieving as a whole a somewhat rough but ultimately honest and creative film about the public and private pain of homosexual relationships.

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'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.

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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.

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