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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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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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Much more to offer than steamy scenes and lewd encounters between the characters
What would you do if you only had 7 days to live on earth? Are you going to close all your doors, dig a hole and pretend you're a carrot, or go out and live your life, do things you've never done before?These questions have to be answered by the eight main characters of 'Love at the End of the World', the Filipino LGBT+ themed erotic thriller series from Temporary Insanity Pictures and MSB Entertainment Production.
Directed by filmmaker Mark Shandii Bacolod, the audiovisual explores the lives of four couples as they navigate through love, pain, loneliness, sadness, forgiveness, redemption, hope and sea monsters.
After NASA reports confirm that an asteroid will hit Earth in seven days, causing a global catastrophe, priorities quickly change and panic ensues.
If each couple's stories are tragic enough, will love be the driving force behind the lasting moments of Earth's existence?
The series is quite strange, which does not lack provocative and highly erotic scenes. And this is precisely what is interesting about it. Each story is put together, while individually presenting the characters that tell a story about their personalities, their past, what they are doing at that moment. They're all different guys, they have different personalities, emotional baggage.
One of the stories, the first, stars Kristof García and Rex Lantano. Ben and Sam, the characters played by these actors, respectively, deepen a story whose relationship is based on the past, to address issues related to mental health, the intimacy of the couple, the refusal of a father to accept his homosexuality son, adult desires, fantasies and how it affects their realities.
The structure of the episode is incredibly well-crafted about life and hope in a love that gives, and how it has become possible to let the other appreciate the love that gives without discarding the man who loved in the past.
I like that the series began with this story, especially with one actor new to BL and the other with experience in the genre, with Garcia playing his first homosexual character, and who we will later see in the film 'Adonis X' and the series 'Kumusta Bro?' and 'Love Bites', all LGBT+ themed and from 2022. While Rex had already given life to Francis / Kiko / "Kiks" in 'Daddy Love' (2021), a love series between boys.
In an act of defiance of norms, in this first story the director will present characters who not only let themselves be drowned by fear, but who did so before the world ended.
The second story, starring Markki Stroem as Mark, and Khalid Ruiz as Kaloy, plays with the emotions of sanity, mental health, eternal love, age, the nature of relationships, the value of life, asteroids, death, the deserted city and the yard animals following the first passerby, as a sign of the imminent end of the world.
The story will make you think about how happiness should be measured when you reach a certain age (or have disabilities), while at the same time it will make us reflect on the possibilities of relationships and how far you can go to prove it to a person.
Markki, known for giving life to Andrew and Quinn in the first and ninth episodes, respectively, of 'Unlocked' (2020), by Adolfo Alix Jr.; and Elle in the film 'Slumber Party' (2013), and newcomer Khalid, more than delivered in their performances, and passionately star in their own set of scenes that either make you want more or make you squirm with the situation, something that It deserves to be seen and subscribed to.
The third story features Nico Locco and Gold Azeron as Tony and Ian, respectively, to explore themes related to mental health, the many ways to die, profanity, comedy, family, commitment, using people, money, depression, hope and unexpected endings.
Nico in his first role as a homosexual person, and Azeron, known for playing Ivan in episode 5 of 'Unlocked', and for playing Adam, the intersex character who was born with two genitals in the film Metamorfosis (2019), by J. E. Tiglao, they give us a story that, in my opinion, is my favorite of the four stories, for being the most romantic, showing how love can make one vulnerable and make it difficult to decide if you want to share it with him other.
I also like Nico's underwater scenes, not only because of the exposures, but because of how it was done artistically.
The fourth story introduces us to Elijah Filamor and Yam Mercado, both in their first homosexual character, although the latter had previously participated in the BL series 'Wheel of Love: Weekend to Remember', from 2021, in which he played Uno dela Cruz, and the first is remembered for giving life to Elijah in the films 'Alpha: The Right to Kill' (2019), by Brillante Mendoza, and Mom's boytoy in 'Double Twisting Double Back' (2018), by Joseph Abello.
Knowing each other from having worked on the film 'Best Partee Ever', it was much easier for Mercado as Cris, and Filamor as Renzo, to show a dynamic that ranges from cheesy romantic small talk to devastating foreplay full of hormones (and more) and high intensity fights.
The episode talks about confusion, worrying about others, fights and reconciliation, hurting and apologizing, tone down, crying, and its healing effects on people.
With a strong autobiographical character, the digital series 'Love at the End of the World' shows a part of Mark Shandii Bacolod as a person who loved, was hurt and decided to believe that another love will come his way.
As the Filipino director acknowledged to Manila Standard Entertainment in an exclusive interview: "The series is my love letter to the prudish public because I wanted to talk openly about sex. Let's admit it, everyone has a raging lust (…). The way we how we behave in public makes a difference.
The main idea that the series leaves me with is that even in the darkest moment in which one may be experiencing pain and suffering, there is hope, there is love.
I wouldn't define 'Love at the End of the World' just as a series, but more as a collection of quality short films that talk about love and all your inner desires in one boat.
Beyond the steamy scenes and lewd encounters between the characters, the series has more to offer.
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"Aren't we pretty?"
The first impression after watching the short film is that I was facing another story about bullying, gender discrimination, bullying, the lack of social acceptance... I needed to watch it one more time to understand it.In my opinion, 'Lipstick' ('Libseutig' in Korean) is not about any of this, much less about imaginary friends.
This raw and emotional Korean film explores the pain of acceptance in a very hostile environment.
The person who asks the question that gives the review its title is not a mysterious girl or an imaginary friend named Chan Mi with whom the male protagonist meets in a laundromat while drying his clothes. NO.
The story revolves around a young transgender woman named Chan Mi (played by debut actress Cho Ha Eun), who comes to accept herself while waging an internal struggle about transitioning. Finally, the girl comes to feel comfortable with herself and learns that her own perception of herself is okay after the gender change, also known as gender change, through a vision in which she discusses her present and future with her alter ego under the name of Jin Joon Won, while dreaming after a suicide attempt.
In other words, the female and male characters are the same person before and after the transition.
The main male character is played by an actor known in the BL world for being the protagonist of the two seasons of 'Color Rush' (2021) and in the two films derived from them, as well as in South Korean queer cinema for participating in the drama, action and crime genre film 'High Heel' ('Haiheel, 2014).
The girl is no stranger to Joon Won. "I was always here, you fool," she tells him.
For the audience to take into account the lipstick that falls from the male protagonist's hand on two occasions and rolls on the floor, the female clothing that both the boy and the girl (that is, the same person) fight over shouting "this is mine"; the mirror in which both look at each other to recognize that they feel good and better about themselves just as they want to be in body, mind and relationships.
The light at the end of the tunnel, the sea, the horizon, infinity, doubt, decision...
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A story about assuming sexuality and stopping hiding
A weekend, four people, a boy who knows what he wants, a girl with a broken heart, an effeminate cousin, and a boy who must assume his own sexuality and stop hiding.The series, from the production company Sanny Istudyo TV, introduces us to budding vlogger and podcaster Winston (Matthew Francisco), who finds a way to boost his channel by helping his friend Heart (Ramona Vega) find love. In this way, he will devise an extreme plan to find his friend a boy.
When he was a child, Winston's mother abandoned him and he never fully got over it. His violent father took revenge on the boy, locking him in the closet at home. Winston has grown up with trauma.
Heart, which has the ability to choose the wrong man, after her last boyfriend dumped her, posts a vlog about what happened and it goes viral on the internet.
The vlog is visited by Jaime (Allison Asistio), a singer-songwriter who recovers from heartbreak by writing a song about it. By commenting on Heart's video, Jaime learns of Winston's existence, and automatically falls in love with him.
Winston will help Heart pick up the pieces by putting her in contact with the winner of his virtual contest, who is none other than Jaime, who has decided to participate in Winston's plan to get closer to him. In the same way that Jaime chose Winston as the person he loved, Winston chose Jaime.
However, the plan to spend a weekend at a rented house in Tagaytay owned by Jordan (Gio Emprese), Winston's cousin, where Jaime and Heart are supposed to fall in love, becomes more complicated as Winston's feelings develop and falls in love with Jaime's free spirit.
'Win Jaime's Heart' features a screenplay written by Ajravii RGE AHJ, winner of the Palanca Award. The series is pioneering as it is directed by filmmaker Zyril Nica Bundoc, the first woman to direct a BL series in the Philippine scene, known for her role in 'What a Night! ' (2019) and 'Tambay' ('Stand-By') (2020).
The first impression I have of the series is that I am watching one of those reality shows in which a group of people with very attractive profiles go on vacation to a heavenly place, like the many programs based on the American international hit format "Temptation Island". But with the difference that in this case, whoever emerges victorious, instead of a cash prize, takes home the heart of the person chosen by him.
In 'Win Jaime's Heart' there are two winners: Jaime who manages to win Winston's love, and Winston who finally manages to accept homosexuality and stops hiding, allowing himself to feel good about himself and in his relationship with others from that moment on.
Winston, who has lived his entire life keeping an important part of his life hidden, which has been the cause of internal conflicts, low self-esteem and negative emotions, such as fear or sadness, has finally been able to accept homosexuality naturally and chooses "come out of the closet", revealing their orientation without major problems.
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This review may contain spoilers
It is absurd to claim that he has been censored or had scenes cut for showing alleged BL images
It is an error and a total absurdity to affirm that 'The Way Home' has been censored or scenes were cut, beyond the logical editing or audiovisual editing process, for containing supposed images typical of a BL series.'The Way Home' is NOT adapted from a Chinese BL novel, so it was not intended to be a censored bromance-type adaptation either.
The most striking thing is that those who affirm these fallacies, with clear political rather than artistic motivations, do not break spears when there is a strong rejection in the world of representations of homosexual love (not only in fiction, but also in real life), when European countries like Hungary, and other neighbors of China, such as Malaysia, Kuwait, Indonesia, Egypt, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and other West Asian nations, ban and censor those fictions that feature scenes where gay men, lesbian women or Transgender characters express themselves with a kiss, a hug, a gesture, or even a few words, as occurs in the films 'Lightyear' (Pixar), 'Thor: Love and Thunder' (Marvel), 'Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous' ( Netflix), Marvel's 'Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness', 'Eternals', 'West Side Story', and so many other films that include LGBT+ characters.
The most striking thing is that those who affirm these fallacies, with clear political rather than artistic motivations, remain silent when Donald Trump, just hours after taking office as president of the United States, has eliminated with a stroke of the pen the DEI programs "diversity, equity, inclusion", deeply rooted in that country, considering them to be "discriminatory" policies. It is sad how with their silence they become complicit in the war against policies, inherited from the civil rights movement of the 60s, which have the declared objective of promoting equal opportunities taking into account different criteria, especially in the recruitment process or access to jobs, students and aid programs, and which take into account ethnic origin, gender, disability or sexual orientation.
The most striking thing is that those who affirm these fallacies, with clear political rather than artistic motivations, do not break spears when in nations supposedly more liberated and committed to the LGBT+ community, such as the United States, censor films such as Disney's latest version of 'The Beautiful and the Beast', for including a gay character in the story, as happened in the State of Alabama, with movie theater and drive-in owners banning the exhibition of the film for showing an "exclusively gay" moment between the character Le Fou (played by Josh Gad) and Gaston (Luke Evans).
The most striking thing is that those who affirm these fallacies, with clear political rather than artistic motivations, do not break spears when in societies supposedly more liberated with respect to homosexuality, such as the United States, from the beginning of 2023 until today a process is being experienced of legislative violence and unparalleled setback in the human rights of LGTB+ people.
I am referring to the approval of anti-LGBT+ laws by different states that openly limit different facets of the rights of said community, which aim to put the members of this group back in the closet, and which will begin in 2022 when Ron DeSantis , the governor of Florida, approved the Don't Say Gay Bill, whose text prohibits teaching any educational content related to sexual orientation or gender identity to students between 3 and 17 years old, and requires that the educational curriculum necessarily define he sex as “determined by biology and reproductive functions” and gender as “binary, stable and fixed.”
Returning to the series
'The Way Home' was never conceived as a series that explores love between boys. From the idea to post-production, through the script, the series was conceived as a bromance, a drama of youth and family growth, which became a 16-episode audiovisual, directed by Xu Huikang and written by Ouyang Lou and Liu Shuyang.
The relationship between the characters can be defined as a bromance at most, they are just friends. As can be verified, its original name was 'I don't want to be brothers with you'. Also, don't be so hard on the Chinese BL community. I know Chinese BLs can never fit your typical gay drama criteria. But they still tell really good stories and one should appreciate them.
It has all those elements you would expect from a realistic high school drama with the son of a single father sharing a room with another boy his age. There are also many friend gang moments.
In fact, the most "gay" thing we can find in the series is the pink bicycle owned by Chen Long An (Yuan Ming Ze), a friend of the two protagonists and owner of the gym and school where the boys go to train as a crew. of dragon boats, and which can be interpreted as a symbol that identifies "safe spaces" for LGBTQ+ people at work or at school.
Starring Ma Baiquan, Zhang Kangle, Chen Xinwei, Yuan Mingze, and Yao Jingyuan, among other actors and actresses, the Chinese series tells us, in a family and youth drama tone, the story of He Jia Hao (Ma Baiquan) and Jia Shu (Zhang Kangle), cousins not related by blood.
Set in Xiqiao Village, a water town in Lingnan, the once prosperous He family now has only one son, He Jia Hao, an introverted and well-behaved student, who in addition to carrying the supposed hope of his family hides a secret in his heart.
He Jia Shu, the young man raised within the family as if he were part of it, was expelled from home after the family learned an unexpected truth. Eight years later, He Jia Shu finally returns to the village, and Jia Hao, carrying the blame for causing his expulsion, seeks to make peace with Jia Shu.
The series explores traditional culture, such as dragon boat racing in southern China, the dragon boat eye-dotting ceremony, and Lingnan lantern skills.
Initially, He Jia Shu wants to completely sever ties with the He family. However, after spending time with He Jia Hao he begins to slowly return to the family. Under the pressure of maintaining the conservative concepts of the He family, the two "brothers" who are not related by blood grow and mature together, breaking the prejudices of their elders, until they regain kinship and friendship, and understand the meaning of family.
Through the mutual redemption between brothers, the series reflects the power of family affection, breaking down the barriers of lineage, rebuilding family ties, and triggers the public's thinking about family relationships.
From the China Youku Web Channel, the series tells a story of the bromance genre, in the style of 'The Judge of Hell' (2021), 'Beyond Evil' (2021), 'Sandía Brillante' (2023), 'Rugal' (2020), among many others, to describe a deep and meaningful connection between two male characters who are always there for each other, support each other unconditionally and care significantly, but without actually having a relationship loving.
The relationship maintained by the protagonists is not the same as that maintained by the protagonists of films such as 'Call Me by Your Name', 'Brokeback Mountain', 'God's Own Country' or 'Happy Together', but rather like the one that exists between Chandler and Joey in 'Friend', Batman and Robin in 'Batman The Movie', Sherlock Holmes and his esteemed detective adventure partner Watson; House and his friend James Wilson in 'Doctor House', Troy and Abed, from the North American series 'Community', Pedro and Pablo in 'The Flintstones', Howard and Raj in 'The Big Bang Theory', Blake Shelton and Adam Levine in 'The Voice', Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, Martin Riggs y Roger Murtaugh, Ted, Marshall and Barney in 'How I Met Your Mother', and many other examples of bromances.
He Jia Hao and He Jia Shu are two straight men who really love and care about each other a lot. The chemistry, the friendship, the beautiful and unique relationship of brothers that these two actors maintain is undeniable, which only helps to worsen the catatonic state into which many lovers of the bromance genre fall.
The point is that these actors are too close to their audience, and that makes people love them more because it is almost as if they knew them in person. On their social networks they make comments that are regularly responded to by the other actors and the fandom implodes.
Although I am a lover of BL, I am also a lover of bromance. One of the things that hook the public into a fandom is that it has an attractive bromance, with attractive and handsome characters. This guarantees part of the success or failure of the film product.
Bromance, as I understand it, is a word in English used to define a friendship between two boys that goes MUCH beyond that. It does not necessarily imply a sexual relationship, but it is understood that their affection could be equated to having two brothers (hence the definition: bromance, a word formed by brothers and romance) or much, much more.
'The Way Home' managed to hook me thanks to the affection between the two main characters. The affection between them is such that they both pour their entire lives into each other. They sacrifice themselves for each other. Despite being so opposite, they complement and understand each other. Their friendship is unique because they are unique; They had to reunite with each other to be able to experience that kind of love that can only be felt for a true friend.
I am to congratulate the casting direction for the good judgment when it comes to choosing actors who have as much chemistry between them as Ma Baiquan and Zhang Kangle. The relationship between them began with fights, misunderstandings, distancing, which ended shortly after when they both understood that they need each other and that together they complement each other and work better for their own personal growth as well as their family.
And as the days go by, it's not just the work that works wonders for them, but they both realize that they feel genuine concern and affection for each other.
The wonderful "joking" relationship between the two actors leaves the screen and takes shape behind the scenes. It can be seen in the interviews they have given together…
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This review may contain spoilers
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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The cinema is full of magnificent villains that make your stomach churn and you despise them to no end, but there are other evil ones, who, despite being good too, stand out for the love they end up getting. Whether because of their charisma, the quality of their interpretation or because of their personal history that makes it clear that they are villains due to their circumstances, and because they have a corrupted soul.
Why are we so attracted to villains? What is special about them? It was Alfred Hitchcock, the British nationalized American filmmaker and screenwriter, who developed an impressive career and was recognized as the master of suspense, who stated that a film is worth what its villain is worth. And it couldn't be more true. That corrupt force of nature in harmony with good motivation is capable of raising a film or television product when it is most needed or elevating it to the altars. The filmmaker himself gave us several unforgettable villains, such as the couple formed by Brandon Shaw and Phillip Morgan in 'Rope' (1948), but the best was always Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins), son of Norma Bates, in 'Psycho' (1960).
Stanley Kubrick was another director who knew how to get the most out of an undesirable person, including Alex DeLarge (Malcolm McDowell) in 'A Clockwork Orange', the 1971 Anglo-American science fiction film, and Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) in 'The Shining', the 1980 Anglo-American feature film of the psychological horror subgenre.
For a long time, television and movies were about the "good guys" doing their job. 'The Sopranos', the American television series created and produced by David Chase and HBO, premiered in the United States on January 10, 1999 on the HBO cable television channel, which broadcast it uninterruptedly until its ending on June 10 from 2007, showed that audiences are also interested in seeing bad guys in action. The best works of the last 20 years confirm a strong inclination towards unpleasant protagonists.
Isn't life sometimes a horror movie? Aren't those "script twists" something we have to learn to deal with?
All of these works, and many others, share in common that disloyal, twisted, infamous, traitor and murderer with whom, however contradictory it may seem, we sometimes come to feel a certain empathy.
Although without becoming a jewel of South Korean television like the aforementioned films, 'Buddy Boy' ('Beodi Boi'), the short series of said nationality filmed vertically, and which follows Yuho (Cha Seung Yun), a boy from 18 years old who, together with Beom-jin, his father (Son Seung –taek), takes refuge in a quiet rural town due to the bankruptcy of the family business, shows several evil characters.
In the village, the young city dweller will begin a secret romance with Jin Gu (Lee Tae Gyu), while he will have to deal with Rina's jealousy, the domestic violence exerted by his father, and the disapproval of the conservative, patriarchal and heteronormative community.
Very intelligently, the director transfers to the heart of a small rural population the reality of a society that still does not recognize the right to equal marriage, and where there is no government policy to protect against the discrimination that persists in South Korea against members of the LGBT+ community.
The miniseries portrays how these people must hide their homosexuality for fear of being harassed and excluded even by their own family.
Repressions have always been the worst punishment that a person can receive or promote. 'Buddy Boy' explicitly expresses the levels that people who live sexually tied and repressed can reach. In just over 60 minutes it shows us a reality that exists in many countries in the world, including European countries, or the United States, where politically and socially they call themselves "advanced" in terms of human rights and respect for sexual and gender diversity but they still continue to maintain and promote conservative spaces and communities that do not accept manifestations of sexual diversity. 'Buddy Boy' serves as a denunciation of this reality.
The romantic and youth drama of 46 episodes of approximately 1.5 minutes each, produced by KS&Pick and promoted by the Shortime application, in which 'Falling For My Boss' and 'The Secrets of Male Students' can also be seen, has great amount of hidden messages, so watching it over and over again always encourages you to discover something new.
A father who physically and psychologically abuses his son, whose age he does not even know; the same father guilty of not having been able to save the marriage or the family business; a teacher named Kyung-Hyeon Ju (Soo-kyung Soo) who has sexual relations with an orphaned teenager whom she raised as her own son, while demanding from her students the "respect that I have taught them in the classroom"; A toxic young woman who has the obsession of winning the affection of the city boy, even knowing that he is not in love with her, but with the boy who sits next to her in class, moves evil beings.
Yuho's father, Rina and the teacher are very interesting imperfect characters, having more room for growth and allowing drama to be created due to their difficult characteristics. These actors and actresses show that the more imperfect the characters, the more drama.
Evil characters like them, who lost the compass of anything similar to love, brotherhood or paternal love, the latter two concepts never handled in the story, since it is understood that these people are guided by other compasses. That is why I am surprised by the rapid evolution of the first two characters towards the end of the story, when one shows that he has accepted the homosexuality of the two boys, while the other shows that he is worried about his son in the face of a possible tragic outcome. The teacher finds no redemption.
Welcome the villains to BL series and films. The reason there are more bad guys on screen now has to do with the fact that screenwriters want to create more unpredictable stories that have never been told before.
On the other hand, 'Buddy Boy' explores the clash of Christian and Buddhist religions, the conflicts between city and rural cultures, jealousy, unrequited love, the Church's view of homosexuality, homophobia, internalized homophobia, father-children relationships, the escape from repression through suicide, the teacher-student relationship, among other topics.
Bringing the issue of homosexuality to the heart of a Christian church, to seek to identify the two young people as homosexuals and expect the disapproval of the parishioners and the priest, is truly evil, especially if it is proceeded with selfish ends.
The character of Rina reminds me of Plenn Pleng (Aim Satida Pinsinchai), the girlfriend of Knock (Tul Pakorn Thanasrivanitchai) in 'Together With Me', or Namning (Brownie Supassara Suratnamaniporn), the love of Ram (Pop Pattarapol Wallaphasiri) in 'The Cuisine', who will commit real crimes trying to prevent love from growing between the objects of their desires and the boys loved by these. But unlike those, the character played by Shin Sang evolves towards the epilogue.
The open ending leaves a light at the end of the tunnel with the possible reconciliation of the two young people, because at the end of the day they love each other, and once both Rina and Yuho's father understand and accept the situation in which the two are involved protagonists.
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Love on the menu or menu without love?
Han Ji Yoo likes to eat and drink. Unlike his friend and roommate Park Ji Ha (Jeong Ho Gyun), Ji Yoo drinks to forget his sorrows. Recently, his boyfriend broke up with him and working on the marketing team of a soju production company, called Pai Syn Tang Liquors, even helps to get free samples of the distilled drink native to Korea and preferred by the youth of that country made at base of rice, potato, wheat, barley, sweet potato or dangmil, among other ingredients.One day, the extroverted young man must fulfill an assignment from his work team to find an up-and-coming chef to partner with to help promote the company.
In this way, Ji Yoo returns to the restaurant owned by the handsome and talented chef Park Ki Hoon and from which he was expelled for asking to be served soju. His mission is to convince him to be the chef of an advertising campaign.
But how do you get a chef who meets the proposed requirements when he hates alcohol and refuses not only to sell alcoholic beverages in his restaurant, but also expels customers who try to smuggle liquor into the restaurant? How could such an introverted person, with stage fright, who refuses to give interviews and does not even have social networks because he does not like dealing with others, appear on television programs and become an idol?
Han Ji Yoo's pleas to Park Ki Hoon to consider the company's proposal will be fruitless, which could even be very useful to promote his own establishment in the face of negative publicity from dissatisfied customers who cannot have drinks in his restaurant.
Han Ji Yoo refuses to take no for an answer, so she takes a part-time job at the restaurant in an attempt to get to know Park Ki Hoon better and find a way to finally get him to agree to work with her agency who runs the risk of being fired if he cannot convince the chef.
As the men begin to get to know each other, they develop feelings for each other. Hence, from the first moments in the relationship of the two protagonists, a powerful question arises: could love be on the menu?
On these budgets is built 'All the Liquors', the South Korean series directed by Kim Jin Yeol ('Individual Circumstances'), which fails to satisfy me for, among other reasons, despite showing Ji Yoo as an understanding and willing person to support Ki Hoo in overcoming his anxieties and internal conflicts, his character fails to achieve true character growth.
Likewise, the trauma due to which Ki Hoon rejects the consumption of alcoholic beverages takes too long to be explained, while the story does not fully explore the changes that have occurred in the character to suddenly not only allow the consumption of alcohol in his restaurant, but also to consume it himself.
I don't find it appropriate to start the plot with the breakup of Ji Yoo and her boyfriend. It is a scene that provides no tension or any usefulness to the development of the plot. Apart from being one more reason for the character to need to consume alcoholic beverages, this character never appears again, nor does he have any weight in the story. It only serves so that from the beginning we have the information that Ji Yoo is gay, which is laughable to say the least because as viewers we already know that the intention is to narrate a homosexual romance and that Ji Yoo is one of the members of the leading couple.
But the main problem lies in the fact that the promise of a romance does not burn and the story fails to show the passion between the two boys and reach the climax.
Despite a coherent, easy-to-follow story and cozy love scenes that tantalize the audience, the narrative is slow to develop and loses momentum rather than gaining it. The initial romantic sparks are extinguished in the ending with the waves of the sea where the protagonists go, while we left want to witness an attractive romantic relationship in which deep feelings are expressed and the audience is able to convince themselves that they are seeing two people in love.
The lack of chemistry and convincing romantic development between the protagonists manages to disappoint me.
Both Ji Yoo, played by Kim Joon Hyung, and Ki Hoon, the character assumed by Won Do Hyun, fail to act convincingly in accordance with the feelings and emotions we expect from them. They give us only a very superficial relationship, while the slight potential at the beginning disappears as does the tender love story that tepidly forges.
Like dishes prepared without seasoning, the story lacks flavor and fails to excite the public.
Is the weak romance due to the fact that South Korean idols receive rejection from the homophobic, patriarchal and heteronormative South Korean society and, especially, from their fans if they star in BL dramatized films, as has happened on other occasions?
Won Do Hyun is a debut actor in this role, and after this role he has never officially been in front of the cameras again. For his part, Kim Joon Hyung does have a longer career in the acting scene of the Asian nation, even being the protagonist of the films 'Streamer' (2023) and 'The Education' (2020), and appearing in several series as an actor guest or secondary character after 'All the Liquors'.
But aren't other actors who have convincingly starred in boys' love stories and are produced annually in South Korea at equal risk of being despised by fans? Or do Won Do Hyun and Kim Joon Hyung have no prejudices when playing homosexual characters but they will have qualms about being tender and loving on screen? Will the obstacle to the development of a passionate romance fall on the script by newcomer Kim Hoy Joon?
Or will these mistakes have served Kim Jin Yeol well? It may very well be like that, because in 'Individual Circumstances', a love series between boys released in 2024, the year after 'All the Liquors', its protagonists, Ha Yeon Woo, played by Han Jeong Wan, and Seong Woo Jae, a character who comes to life through actor JunQ, builds an emotional bond with more passion and love and both clearly show that they are in love with each other.
The truth is that the absence of seduction, the lack of romance, which also lacks ardent kisses, passionate glances, sublime gestures, convinces me that both characters are just close friends or were sitting in an intermediate space between close friends and more than friends. The lukewarm connection between the protagonists contributes to the lack of seduction in the romance.
Many find the secondary couple more attractive, composed of Choi Wan (Bae Shi Jun), Ki Hoon's assistant at the restaurant, and Kim Yu A (Han Da Sol), the deputy boss of the company where Ji Yoo works. How to value a BL product when the heterosexual couple has greater potential? Aren't these arguments for the work being condemned to oblivion?
With so many BL content productions, many of them South Korean-made, the technical and artistic teams should have taken their work more seriously to convince the demanding public.
Despite showing handsome actors and actresses, 'All the Liquors' is an artistically weak exponent of BL, whose main success lies in the fact that, luckily, it has only 8 episodes that last no more than 16 minutes.
This is not a completely disappointing production. One can still laugh and dream of sitting at Ji Yoo and Ki Hoon's table, tasting delicious dishes and drinking bottle after bottle of soju, but their story, without spirit, fails to move me.
So now I can answer: love is not on the menu. The menu lacks love.
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The value of a promise and the power of love
'The Promise' is based on that axiom that the Spanish group "La Oreja de Van Gogh" sang: "true love is only the first" with the story of an interrupted love, a love rooted in childhood and entrenched until adulthood, pure, transparent, chaste.For this reason, the series appeals to a nostalgia for the past, to an idealization brought to the daily life of its main characters, two children: Nanfah/"Nan" and Phupha/"Phu", who grew up together in a remote village in Chiang Mai and that, as children, they begin to build a very good friendship and fall in love with each other, as children fall in love on the threshold of adolescence, in a visceral and tragic way—a bond that is abruptly broken when both separate.
Narrated in two timelines: the past and the present, we see how in their childhood Phu and Nan meet and become inseparable friends. The two share dreams, adventures and secrets. They both promised each other that they would never leave each other, but Phupha can't help but fear losing Nanfah if he revealed that he is in love with him. When his feelings, which go beyond friendship, get in the way of the two, Phu decides to break the promise, lie to his friend and walk away from him.
Oblivious to the reason why Phu broke the promise, Nan searches for him for ten years without success. After this time, they meet again under unexpected circumstances, when Phu moves into the apartment across the street by a coincidence of fate.
At present, Nan and Phu's trajectories have taken different paths. Nanfah, masterfully played by Wattikorn Permsubhirun (Kiak), is a successful graphic designer and aspires to positively impact the world of cosmetics promotion for the Devonte company, for which he works. Meanwhile, Phu, played superbly and with great rigor by Kittikun Tansuhas (Kun), an introverted boy with a fear of the public, spends his time helping his grandmother Namfon (Ruthaiwan Wongsirasawat), an endearing character who will steal the hearts of the public, on the family coffee farm.
After moving to Bangkok, Phu focuses on fulfilling his dreams of running a coffee shop, but destiny has in store for him to become a famous marketing agency model under the care and protection of Nan.
From the meeting, the plot explores the changes in their lives, their personal aspirations, the friendly and working relationships they form with other people, the challenges they face, and how love and friendship intertwine to unite them again, while It also addresses themes such as family, forgiveness, identity and destiny.
With a melancholic and romantic tone, very different from other Thai BL series that I have reviewed on MDL, but also with moments of humor and tenderness, the drama tells us how the two protagonists feel confused and excited when they meet again after so long. However, misunderstandings and obstacles will arise that prevent them from expressing their true feelings. The physical distance has been reduced, but the old barrier takes time to disappear.
Carlos Gardel said that "20 years are nothing." The legendary Argentine nationalized tango singer is wrong in the song "Volver", composed with Alfredo Lopera. Ten years is a lot. It seems like a lot for two people who love each other to have to be away from each other for so long, but the series, based on a novel of the same name written by Thanyathorn Siwanukroh, who is also the screenwriter of the adaptation, and directed by Kongkiat Khomsiri, known, in addition to his work in horror and action films, as one of the directors of 'KinnPorsche', tells a story based on real events.
Both director and screenwriter know that it is important for the viewer to feel that in the voids caused by the absences, distances and disagreements of Nan and Phu in those years in which the lives of both take separate paths, without knowing about each other, lies the heart of the series, and it is the weight of that absence, of its melancholic background, that makes their reunion so beautiful and moving.
In the characters, the distance that separated them in their youth has become an ocean, which both will try to bridge once the long-awaited reunion occurs. And in this reunion of two children who fell in love, Kongkiat Khomsiri shows his talent because he avoids grandiose speeches, of unbridled feelings, and lets the camera show us what is happening without having to explain anything, spreading a sensation, breathing life into the image.
The director creates a delicate and moving narrative and each shot, each sequence, contains an emotion about to explode. There is no unnecessary accentuation, nor vain repetitions. There is good cinematography, and the dialogues are precise and brilliant. There is a lot of image, as an excellent television series should be.
As time passes, both characters, who express themselves through subtle gestures, glances and silences, navigate victories, losses, obstacles and disappointments. However, despite these setbacks and distances, they always find their way back to each other.
The series is wrapped in nostalgia and that melancholic atmosphere of the reunion of the protagonist couple that ends up becoming a love that overcomes everything. No matter the distance, the passage of time or the attempts of other potential lovers to win the love of the two of them. Nan and Phu are destined to make good on their promise and be in each other's lives for the rest of their lives.
We are then faced with a beautiful story about first love, the one that is born in childhood, continues in youth and is reborn in maturity. The one you try to stay alive hundreds of kilometers away, with a computer or mobile screen that separates an abyss of possibilities and in which you write and cry, and there are no answers or consolation. A feeling that is stopped and repressed by the emptiness that that person leaves, by not being able to look into the eyes, not being able to caress or kiss the other. Finally, there comes a time in adulthood when a second chance may present itself that could be the definitive one.
In this way, the series also explores the connection between the present and the past across two eras, while portraying the complexity of human relationships and the concept of keeping promises.
In other words, the essence of 'The Promise' lies in the evolution of the relationship between the main characters played by the magnetic couple of actors, from their childhood to maturity, addressing the complexities of their love, marked by farewells (or their absence) and reunions over the years. Through this time journey, it examines how divergences and personal challenges affect their bond, while highlighting the lessons and transformations they experience. Likewise, the series invites the viewer to reflect on the nature of destiny, love, promises and decisions.
As you can imagine, the meeting after a decade without seeing each other is full of emotion and meaning. Nan, who has many questions and demands an explanation for the disappearance, will find an evasive friend who refuses to answer her. They are no longer the two children, teenagers, or recent college graduates they once were, and their connection is revealed to be different: exciting but uncomfortable, satisfying but frustrating, free but in need of sacrifice, declarations, and reassurances. Faced with silence, both finally focus on rebuilding their friendship.
The dramatic force of 'The Promise' lies, above all, in the performances, and the staging is purely narrative. The series deepens a prequel in two medium-length films, filmed in 2022 by Choi Sittichai ('21 Days Theory', 2022), and named after its protagonists, 'Phupha' and 'Nanfah', also starring Kun and Kiak .
With very high production values, beautiful photography, vibrant cinematography, precise artistic direction in creating a cozy and nostalgic atmosphere, and successful placement of flashbacks to mark the two timelines, the series narrates the difficulties that occur when one of the Lovers believe that romance is not possible and choose to put distance between them: will the feelings remain fleeting and remain forever in no man's land? Can the two young people make up for time and keep their promise to always be in each other's lives?
As one of the best Thai-made BL series of all time and my favorite, the looks, the silences and a relationship that says more with gestures than with words shine. The actors manage to convey those feelings that arise between two people who know each other and have loved each other despite distances and secrets, and who meet again years later.
The secondary characters add diversity and color to the story, especially Party (Boss), Nan's best friend and Phu's rival; Deena (Marima), Nan's rival for Phu's love; Khunkhao (Seagames), Phu's unknown brother who will challenge him for Nan's love, Giegie (Mint), Nan's friend and co-worker, Ken (Lift), Devonte's director, without forgetting Oliang, Nan's cat who quickly becomes the son of the two protagonists.
Kiak and Kun manage to convey to the viewer that tension between friendship and love as a couple that is not always easy to manage. The human quality of the characters, and the use of the soundtrack to convey each of the moments experienced by the two young protagonists, with songs performed by themselves, keep the audience in pleasant tension during every second that the episodes last 10 episodes of about 50 minutes each.
Despite being framed in the romantic genre, 'The Promise' tries to go further in its narrative proposal, to become an ode to love and true and sincere friendship, a reflection of the differences between a person who fears revealing his feelings and another that hopes to listen to them, between two ways of facing life, that can come to understand and love each other above those differences.
In short, a beautiful and delicious series, one of those that leaves a mark, and a good one, because it will make you laugh, cry, sigh and dream of a love that transcends time, distances and countless obstacles.
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"Let us not be afraid to love": Reminder that even in today's challenging world love will always win
By way of introduction:After that fairy tale kiss between two boys so different from each other who became lovers during the school retreat that closes the award-winning boy love movie (BL) 'The Boy Foretold by Stars' (2020), Dominic and Luke , they are now entering a new stage in their relationship.
But being in a same-sex relationship at a strict Catholic all-boys school should never be easy. The pressure from their friends, their parents, teachers and the rest of the students is a practically insurmountable obstacle to a romance, even if it is destined by the stars. Despite everything that life throws at them, Dominic and Luke try to be strong and maintain their love.
Produced by iWantTFC, Clever Minds and Dreamscape Entertainment, the drama is based on trans Filipina screenwriter and director Dolly Dulu own personal experience, captured in her play "Ang Hangal."
With this interesting premise, the series brings back actors Keann Johnson and Adrian Lindayag, who play Luke and Dominic, respectively, to reprise their roles as high school students at an all-boys Catholic school, whose friendship turns into a beautiful romance.
The story:
After passing through the Metro Manila Film Festival and the success recognized by the public and critics of 'The Boy Foretold by Stars', the sequel series takes us through the last weeks of high school for the newlywed couple. formed by Dominic and Luke. We are now close to the final exams, the granting of sports scholarships and university courses, the graduation ball, the selection of the Valedictory, the preparation of the speech at the end of year ceremony...
And in this context, as disapproving glances and harsh realities begin to confront the main characters, it remains in doubt whether their bond will continue to exist after graduation day.
In this scenario, Luke, a straight boy who believes in destiny, and Dominic, an openly gay teenager who scoffs at predestination, are forced to take fate into their own hands, without any deck of cards or coin toss able to decide for them.
"Sugal ang pagmamahal, hindi ito para sa mga duwag" ("Love is a gamble. It's not for cowards"), says fortune teller Baby R, played by none other than Iyah Mina ('Horrorscope', 2021), in a iconic role.
From the events narrated in the 2020 film, life continues for the new lovers. Luke still has to tie up loose ends with his girlfriend Karen (Rissey Reyes). On the other hand, Gio (Vaughn Piczon – 'Fractured', 2023), Dominic's childhood friend (and secret admirer), returns to his life out of nowhere, and will also confess secrets.
In addition to trust issues, the couple also faces obstacles in the form of rejection after a "scandal": the two boys are reprimanded for kissing during the prom by the conservative directors of an all-boys Catholic high school.
The parents of both boys will know about the romance and sexual inclination of their children and will take positions on the matter.
Of actors and characters:
The character played by Adrian Lindayag is great. He takes his character and elevates it to the greatest heights and proves that effeminate people like him deserve their place in leading roles.
It is not common for effeminate gay men to be portrayed as romantic leads in LGBT+ productions. As an effeminate gay man, this actor plays the character of Dominic to perfection.
Beyond the viewer identifying with the way Dominic moves or speaks, his acting skills make him the ideal protagonist.
The interactions with his friends Timmy (Leinard Ramos) and Miguel (Jan Rey Escano) are so genuine and natural that you'd think the three of them really were a high school barkada.
When Dominic says one of his heartbreaking lines to Luke, you feel the impact of his words. Even his singing voice contributes to how attractive and charming it makes his character.
His performance is so moving that the actor doesn't need to open his mouth for you to feel something for Dominic. The trembling of her lips, the suppressed word, the tears falling, her eyes red from crying... are enough to make you want to cross the screen to give her a hug.
And Adrian knows perfectly well how the high school student he represents acts, feels and thinks.
Viewers can identify with Dominic, while also admiring him and seeing that they too are more than worthy of finding love, regardless of how society generally views them as mere comic relief.
Keann, remembered for appearing in the BL drama 'Worth the Wait' and starring in the LGBT+ film 'Run', both from 2021, is treading strange waters, especially for someone who has believed he is heterosexual his entire life.
The actor embodies his character perfectly, suddenly discovering that he has fallen in love with another boy. He appears insecure, he does not know how to confess his sexual orientation to his mother, he does not understand what is happening in his life, he turns to the fortune teller looking for what the cards are intended for him and for Dominic, he bravely faces the harassers, who are none other than his same childhood friends who now disown him for his relationship with another boy, for being "a faggot."
However, most of his lines are of support for Dominic and how to overcome all conflicts together.
The secondary characters of Karen and Gio will bring problems to the couple, but will only serve to strengthen the bond between them. After admitting their feelings, Gio and Karen accept that both Dominic and Luke are happy and that they fit into that equation. The journeys of these characters are totally refreshing. As viewers, we go from being skeptical of Karen and Gio to rooting for them because of the maturity they exhibit with their actions.
Philip (Jemuel Satumba - 'Onoda: 10,000 Nights in the Jungle', Japan, 2021) and other students disapprove and, to some extent, are disgusted with Luke and Dominic's romantic relationship. They demonstrate bigotry and homophobia, but they cannot prevent queer love.
On the other hand, Pim (Quiel Quiwa) and Mr. Oyco (Jethro Tenorio) show how equally rampant internalized homophobia is.
Outside of school, the series also shows how Dominic sees his queerness as something to be absolved of, which is a feeling that many LGBT+ people can relate to and is a reality that society as a whole can highlight more. Queer viewers may feel some discomfort watching these scenes play out, but it just goes to show how painfully real they are.
Despite discrimination and homophobia, a defiant celebration of queer life and love dominates the series. In the same classrooms and hallways that ostracize them, Dominic and his friends continue to bravely strut their stuff, standing up to bullies and bigots.
Dominic's relationship with Luke is proof that even in the eyes of the most hateful, anyone deserves happiness, regardless of how they choose to identify themselves. Some may say that such a depiction can only happen in a "perfect" world, but that's exactly the point the series is trying to get across: that stories like the one told here shouldn't need to be in a perfect world to exist.
Some reflections:
'Love Beneath The Stars' perfectly captures the innocence of a queer high school romance, telling the story of strange young love in its purest form.
As in 'The Boy Foretold by Stars', the six episodes of the Kapamilya digital series, titled 'Love Beneath the Stars', address topics such as sexual orientation, gender identity, homophobia, bullying, lack of understanding towards homosexuals, the stance of Catholic schools and parents when children come out, but here you will explore them further. And it is appreciated then that the director has opted for the series format, which gives her the opportunity to delve deeper into the characters and conflicts.
And the fact that the location is a Catholic school also adds a little extra flavor to the comedy-drama.
Although it sometimes treats these conflicts too superficially, we get a light and addictive series, with a great and emotional happy ending, which will bring both tears and smiles to the viewer.
And if for queer people high school is a difficult place, finding love is one of these institutions, especially if they are centers of religious education and exclusively for children, this could be an unrealizable dream. However, as fantastic an idea as it may seem, 'Love Beneath The Stars' proudly proves that it is still possible.
'Love Beneath The Stars' is not your typical love story between boys. The narrative of the romance between Dominic and Luke possesses a level of charm that surpasses most Pinoy BL output. The main difference from the rest of the crop of productions of this genre in the Philippines lies in the way the director chooses to approach certain themes and events.
I find it interesting the way it displays Dominic and Luke's love relationship. Their bond, without sacrificing passionate displays of affection for each other, depends on a healthy, innocent intimacy, which only amplifies how free of malice their romance truly is. That is, what the series demonstrates with these representations is that queer romances can be as chaste, honest, and sincere as any other type of romance.
The series ends with Dominic's powerful farewell speech, in which he exclaims "Wag tayong matakot magmahal!" ("Let us not be afraid to love.") As simple as it may seem, it serves as a reminder to many that even in the challenging world of Today, love will always win.
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This union is so powerful that the actor ends up becoming a "fetish" for the director, a blind belief in his talent, necessary perhaps so that his films turn out as the director expects, or because said actor knows and understands the perfection his vision; making their films develop as fluidly as possible, because the chemistry between the two is so natural that the final result is unique.
One of these artistic partnerships between actor and director has as protagonists the Filipino performers Ace Toledo and JM Martinez and the filmmaker Tim Muñoz, who apparently finds it almost impossible not to have these two actors in his film productions.
Being openly homosexual, most of his themes are gay in nature, having the filmmakers Marco Berger, from Argentina, and the Mexican Julián Hernández as his new idols.
In 'Estranghero', from 2016, Tim Muñoz's first film after filming some short films, he addresses a recurring problem in his work, an obsession, you could very well call it: heterosexual boys experimenting with gay sex. 'Estranghero' also marked the first foray of both actors into the seventh art.
In 'Lodi', from 2017, the director and screenwriter of the largest television network in the Philippines, ABS-CBN, for about 15 years, before settling in the United States, returns his fetish actors to the big screen. The protagonist, named Franco (JM Martinez), a sex worker with a beautiful body, is criminally obsessed with Brent (Ace Toled), a heterosexual boy, and will not hesitate to commit the most violent crimes to fulfill his erotic fantasies.
Accustomed to immersing himself in every detail of the production, from the script to the direction, from the camera work to the editing, Tim Muñoz builds in 'Hombre' (2018), the cinematographic anthology extracted from the Pinoy blog M2M Erotica, a drama of LGBT+ theme, Maduro and Ómnibus, with explicit sex, extreme sexual content and nudity that revolves around his recurring obsession and also features the prominence of his fetish actors.
Each of the stories that make up the film raises the question: what would a heterosexual man do in a gay situation?
Also known by the title 'When heterosexuals become homosexuals', 'Man' tells five stories that try to answer the previous question.
"Hombre" is a Spanish word for the English word "Man." And yes, we get plenty of them in this sexy and delicious gay erotic movie from the Philippines.
The main of the five film stories that make up the film and to which the rest of the stories are integrated is titled 'Blog', and stars Ace Toledo and JM Martinez, who play Bonnie and Cholo, respectively.
In 'Blog', a heterosexual man, Cholo, discovers that Bonnie, his cousin and blogger, who lives under his same roof, has fallen in love with him and fills the pages of a blog with his erotic dreams in which the two are protagonists. What will the straight boy do once he has discovered his cousin's secret?
'Good Boy' is the name of the second story. Starring Mark Roca as JV and VJ Gomez as Hiro, it revolves around a man whose vehicle breaks down late at night in the middle of a dangerous neighborhood. So he gladly accepts a kind stranger's offer to spend the night in his cramped room. Only to realize that she had already met her handsome host earlier that day.
Meanwhile, 'Batang Bilog' (English title 'The Boy for Circle') tells the story of a handsome gym instructor in deep debt who recently lost his job. When the debt collector knocks on your door, you have to figure out how to get out of this difficult situation. Especially when the attractive visitor is clearly irritated and has had enough excuses. This story features Jerson Bugarin as Dennis and Ordy Yu as Rockie.
'Turuan Mo Ako' (English title 'Teach Me'), starring Ron Canda as Benji and Mico Madrid as Ryan, takes us to the story of a young student who received an unusual gift from his girlfriend: a dildo. Now you are experiencing the joy of using it, but you are too embarrassed to tell anyone. One day, his brother-in-law discovers his little secret. How will you explain this?
Finally, 'Bayad Utang' (English title 'Payback') introduces us to a heterosexual renter who, in the middle of a night of bad luck, is pleasantly surprised when he receives a visit from a former colleague. His mentor in the flesh trade is now a successful businessman with a wife and children of his own. But what is he doing in his seedy place for sexual encounters between gay boys? This story stars Jerom Umali as Obed and Carlo Mendoza as Galo.
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And how better could it be if each of the boys is the other's home?
Welcome to Your Home and our worldWhat would the world be like where the homosexual does not have to repress himself, hide his condition, fear being judged, harassed, discriminated against by others? What would that great house be like for the inhabitants of the Earth in which love between children can be free and you do not have to fear critical glances and finger pointing or hide your own essence?
From the first episode, the Pinoy BL audiovisual 'Your Home The Series', produced by Arcana Studios Inc, defines what "home" is for each of the main characters.
Thus we can follow Bart, who lives in the modest comforts of the house he has known all his life, the picturesque fictional town of Barrio Balay, an area of mountains and lakes; and also to Bryce, who lives in a world of comfort in a space that he alone occupies. Each of them represents the type of home in which the viewers themselves have lived, expressing their respective definitions and how it plays a vital role in their future.
However, they both feel alone in the world, and they need to have someone by their side to accompany them, to help them make life more bearable: the first, because his parents died when he was a child, and the second, because their parents live abroad.
'Your Home The Series' takes an approach to imagining the "ideal world" that many people dream of, focusing on members of the LGBTQ+ community who fight daily for acceptance and respect in society in a tenacious fight to end to prejudices.
From director Amiel Kirby Ballagtas, the series serves as a letter of introduction to actors Kurt Mendoza ('Fit Check'), who plays the humble and dreamy probinsyano Bart Arceo, and Renz Kieser, who plays the arrogant, haughty and conceited boy rich man from the city Bryce Fajardo.
They are joined by Marc David ('Stay-In Love', 2020-2021) as Bryce's childhood best friend, Josh Villareal, Eurwin Canzana ('Rainbow Prince', 2022) as famous beatboxer Edwin Panganibanm and Angelica Radaza like Brendalynne Apurado, Bart's friend, all also in their first acting job.
Amiel Kirby Ballagtas, who also works as a screenwriter, joins Donna Rey and Jonathan Penarejo, to write a story that is born from an original idea by Dale Reciña about the coming of age of two young people who seek to find that special place where they can finally go call “home,” even if that means venturing outside your comfort zone.
The sound and music of Nhiko Victor contribute in the effort to tell us about the youthful adventures of accepting who you are, the different discoveries and the adventures of finding love, friendship and making dreams come true.
Jonathan Penarejo's editing and beautiful photography take us to stunning locations in the Philippines, each chosen with great attention to detail. The mountainous and city landscapes enhance the narrative, adding layers of cultural and emotional depth. From the waters of the lake near Bart's house and where the boys' emotional meetings take place, drawing the colors of the rainbow in the lens and with natural light, to the vibrant streets of the city, both day and night, Each scenario feels like another character, and contributes to enriching the general narrative.
As the producer describes it, this coming-of-age story is full of possibilities, creating a world where boys' love can be accepted by society, where it doesn't matter who you're attracted to, where you can be different because of your sexual preferences. It will not generate comments from those who do not know or deny this type of relationship, since judgment is left aside.
From the beginning, reflections abound in the form of monologues loaded with poetry, as we all do in times of loneliness, spending time mentally thinking about how this life has made the protagonists and their lives what they are, how to face situations can offer a sense of satisfaction, longing, or perhaps hope for the next day.
Using first-time actors brings a genuine, raw energy to their performances, making the characters incredibly relatable. Their performances are so natural and spontaneous that the viewer can at times consider that we are not watching a television series, but rather that we are witnessing from our window or balcony how real-life events unfold with ourselves or our neighbor as protagonists beside.
The characters' journeys, struggles and triumphs are portrayed with such honesty that they reflect the experiences of many members of the LGBT+ community.
And how better could it be if each of the boys is the other's home?
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But somehow, the emergence of dating apps into our lives causes people, when faced with loneliness, disconnection and discouragement, to leave their lover and look for another partner online. "Why put in the effort to make what I have work, when there are so many fish in the sea?" is a reality many face.
The idea of reflecting the feelings of many people (queer or not) who experience this situation comes from director HJ Habac.
'Meet Me Outside', the Filipino series from the creators of the fabulous 'Gaya Sa Pelíkula' and 'Marahuyo Project', blames the lack of romance on the thousands of human beings who prefer not to want to make the effort to commit because "it is much more easy to pick up your cell phone and connect with someone else to hang out".
With a script by Juan Miguel Severo ('Gaya Sa Peíkula', 'Dear Karl', 'Heaven's Waiting') and newcomer Jesse Rey Baban, we see the birth of a love relationship within the entire range of possible relationships in the dating world virtual, as well as the imposition that surrounds those first dates in which we try to give a better version of ourselves.
I find the creativity of the people behind the camera very striking when designing the opening credits as text message notifications. And in this sense, Mark Vince Gregorio also contributes in editing and photography.
The plot revolves around James, a rich young influencer from Manila with thousands of followers on social media, who has just suffered a tough breakup. However, upon arriving at the La Estreas resort, located in Rizal, his life will change when he decides to leave his wounded heart behind and get back into the game of the dating universe. In this case, he establishes a connection both in the digital world and in the real world, with Dale, a hotel worker, who for some time has had a secret crush on the idol he follows on social networks.
Here Kaloy Tingcungco and Genesis Redido, who play James and Dale, respectively, prove themselves again as actors, after their respective debuts in series precisely with LGBT+ themes, since the first is known for playing Martin Ilagan, a secondary character in 'Boys' Lockdown', from 2020, while Redido gave life to Joseph "Otep" Malaya, in the drama 'In Between', starring him alongside Migs Villasis, also from the same year.
'Meet Me Outside' is better written and performed by its two leads, a department in which they did not excel in their respective acting debuts.
The audience will get to know the characters as they talk in a friendly manner, which is pleasant to see as they feel as if they were two real characters. It seems very genuine to me, as I feel like a connection was forming in a world where, no matter how connected we may seem, we are often very far apart.
In this way, we can get to know that Dale is a humble local, breadwinner of the family economy, very clingy and playful in sexual and romantic matters, who considers that physical contact is his main language in love, so it would be difficult to get involved in a long distance relationship.
On the other hand, we will learn that James had an open relationship with his partner, but his ex-boyfriend violates the only rule of the agreement: falling in love with the other boy, the reason for the recent breakup.
While Jame wanted to see the face of the person he's talking to, Dale thinks that the guy on the other end of the line is only interested in proposing sex. However, Dale has never established a relationship with a guest because he considers it inappropriate due to his status as a hotel worker, in addition to the fact that the visitor is only on vacation, and would eventually leave in a few days.
And despite acknowledging that relationships are difficult to maintain with someone you meet online, since everything moves so quickly, Dale and James meet, talk, and establish a loving connection. As James assures us, he and Dale are taking risks and hoping their romance works.
The viewer will find convincing in Episode 2's use of Tchaikovsky's "Waltz of the Flowers" to represent the nervousness, the hesitation, the growing tension between the two protagonists as they interact via text messages via the dating app gay.
The structure of shorter episodes than usual for this type of series makes the show work, giving it a certain charm and keeping everything at a really good pace. However, this undermines the possibility of better developing the characters and conflicts.
'Meet Me Outside' also shows that kisses and erotic scenes are not necessary to show great chemistry between the two protagonists.
The soundtrack, in which you can hear the songs "Pavement" and "Danger", composed by April Hernandez and performed by TheSunManager, as well as "Silent Night", a traditional song, and "Pahintulo", by Shirebound & Busking, It fulfills its function of emotionally reinforcing and underlining the tones during various specific moments of the series.
So, dear reader, I invite you to watch 'Meet Me Outside'.
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An honest and emotionally captivating love story
'Hello Stranger' follows the life of Mico Ramos, the shy and socially inept college freshman, whose future revolves around four well-planned goals: get a college scholarship, graduate with honors, attend medical school and be rich. Having a girlfriend is not part of his plans, since a courtship could be, as he himself expresses, a distraction from his studies.It has the best three friends that any teenager could dream of: Kookai (Vivoree Esclito), Seph (Patricio Quiroz) and Junjun (Miguel Almendras). The four are part of an unpopular group of virgins and nerds, the Young Padawans, of which Mico is the leader.
The new coronavirus pandemic has caused the only contact between them and between them and the outside world to be through cell phones and, above all, virtual online meetings.
However, the protagonist's plans will be turned upside down when he organizes an online trivia night with his barkada, and Xavier de Guzmán, a popular and arrogant basketball player on the university team, arrives uninvited, insults them and virtually, without intending it. …changes everything Mico had planned with his life.
What would be Mico's surprise when he discovers, the next day, that his lively Literature teacher, Ms. Tina, whom the four friends call Jedi Master in a parallel universe, entrusts him with a rescue mission: to partner with Xavier to Make a school project together for your subject.
Xavier cannot refuse, as he is about to be kicked off the basketball team due to his low grades in Literature class. And this time he will not have the help of his girlfriend Crystal (Gillian Vicencio), who always does his academic work for him. He has to wade into the water even if it is up to his neck, as the student project, which consists of creating a dialogue based on a selected poem, “ Sa Kasintahang Nilimot Na,” by Benilda S. Santos, will be graded after being performed virtually.
Mico, for his part, will not be able to avoid contacting the haughty and failed student, since the final result of the other in the subject depends on the evaluation of one.
Did she know what the Jedi Master was doing when she paired Xavier and Mico for the class project? Did you know that this circumstance would cause significant changes in the lives of these two strangers, who didn't seem to like each other very much?
It is evident that all this happens with a well-defined objective: there would not be a story to tell if Xavier and Mico had not begun their relationship between insults and bad faces due to the hostility created beforehand, if there were not a school assignment to complete and the two of them paired to carry it out.
The truth is that if they learned anything from their schoolwork, it is to be honest with everyone, especially with yourself, and express what you really feel or you risk losing the person you love. In this sense, from the Literature teacher we will hear: "Happiness should not be based on how people perceive us, but on how we really see ourselves."
The series, filmed with zoom, revolves around this premise, and is revealing for those who hide their true identity. With just the right drama, it exposes only honest feelings waiting to be expressed from one to the other, seen from Kookai's confession to Mico, Seph's to Kookai and, above all, the one that the public impatiently awaits: the declaration of love. from Mico to Xavier.
It is never easy to confess deep emotions, but the protagonists find the courage to express their feelings, and thus find the freedom that is denied to them by a patriarchal and heteronormative society that tells you that loving someone of the same sex is not correct.
Even knowing that their feelings may not be reciprocated, the protagonists are convinced that choosing silence always leads to regrets and that those who are brave enough to be honest with themselves will be rewarded with the truth, because our own destiny is in our hands, we love who we want to love, and our choice and decisions in life will always win.
Therefore, the series strongly insists that what matters is that LOVE will always remain LOVE, and no one can break that.
'Hello Stranger' is not perfect. But what distinguishes it from other BL series is its simplicity and at the same time a great love story; its good writing and execution, in which each episode advances and deepens the story and makes the viewer intensely anticipate the next chapter.
At the same time as a romantic comedy and about coming of age, the series is directed by Filipino filmmaker Petersen Vargas, who has several films and series focused on identity and sexual diversity, such as '2 Cool 2 Be 4gotten', winner of the Best Film award at the Cinema One Originals Film Festival (2016) and Audience Award at the Turin LGBTQI Film Festival (2017). He is also known for being the creator and director of the first Filipino gay web series, 'Hanging Out', and the short film 'How to Die Young in Manila', starring Elijah Canlas and Kokoy de Santos.
A team of screenwriters led by Patrick R. Valencia (Always Be My Maybe) and made up of Kookai Labayen, Ella A. Palileo, Isabella Policarpio, Joanna Marie T. Reyes, Rhed Sandico, Daniel Saniana and Kris Ann de la Peña, are the charged with drawing characters and developing conflicts that revolve around the love attraction and unlikely relationship of Mico and Xavier, two seemingly straight boys, as they navigate schoolwork in the midst of a pandemic as strangers, enemies, partners, friends and much more further.
Although the series is not the most innovative in its plot, it makes up for it in the way in which all the characters do their staging and carry the plot.
The team behind the cameras, in which Carlos Mauricio also excels in Photography, comes together to provoke a roller coaster of emotions, while they let us visualize a calm and sincere story about the healthy love relationship of Mico and Xavier.
The acting of the protagonists is great. The character of Mico, played by actor JC Alcantara in his usual self, will bring tears to your eyes through his pain, and laughter due to his contagious joy and overwhelming joy, with his expressive eyes, sometimes tearful, sometimes smiling, and marked dimples that furrow his face. With a convincing performance, he adorably looks, shyly, away when he realizes that he has found love.
"Why do we have to become partners in this project? Why do you have to become friends with me? Why are you always teasing me? Why do you listen to me talk about my problems? Why did you give me the chance to find out who I really am I met the real Mico thanks to you. I learned to love because of you. I didn't want this to happen. And to be honest, this isn't really your fault. I like you, Xavier. You are the only thing that was never in my plans. But you are the only thing that makes me happy. I thought you taught me to fall, but honestly you are the one who taught me and showed me that I can fly," Mico will confess to Xavier.
And he, at another time, will respond: "Mico believed in me more than I believed in myself. He not only changed me. He made me a better person."
As for Tony Labrusca, he categorically dispels all doubts that the viewer may have about his character in the first episodes, proving himself worthy of the role of Xavier as the 8 chapters of about 20 minutes each progress, exuding the development of a character from a very popular bad boy image on social networks with more than 25 thousand followers on Instagram, to growing personally and spiritually as a man who deals with the confusion of having fallen in love with another man, at the same time that capable of feeling pain and expressing emotions.
Both actors, with amazing chemistry that exudes genuineness, convey love outside the heteronormative bubble with such reverence and authenticity.
With exquisite cinematography, all the supporting roles have their fair share of on-screen moments, achieving high marks.
I don't want to end the review without mentioning the soundtrack, in which its main theme stands out, "Kahit Na Anong Sabihin Ng Iba", performed by the same actors, which already occupies an important place among my favorite music.
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