ariel alba

Living Deep in the Closet

As its name suggests, 'Depth' (its pinyin is shēn chù) is a Chinese film that addresses the complexity of being gay and living deep in the closet.
The 2022 short film portrays the story of Yi Ran, a gay boy played by Zeng Huaiyi. Through this character, Chinese screenwriter and director Ding Yuhan explores internalized homophobia. Yi Ran lives out his sexual identity by working in a bar and pretending to be happy with a girlfriend, played by actress Lu Meishan.
But the sudden visit of Zhou Mu (played by Shang Guolong) disrupts Yi Ran's life, and when feelings explode and he can no longer control his desire, his closely guarded secret may be exposed.
'Depth' problematizes the issue of sexual diversity and the lack of acceptance of one's own sexual orientation. Its 10-minute runtime is sufficient to expose the typical behaviors and negative emotions of closeted gay people, such as fear, shame, disgust, anxiety, low self-esteem, and avoidance or denial of everything related to their homosexual orientation due to the fear of being rejected.
Yue Zongao's beautiful cinematography and Xu Qiang's photography contribute to reflecting internalized homophobia, which is nothing more than the rejection or non-acceptance of one's own homosexuality.
The final images serve as a metaphor for the fear many homosexuals suffer from recognizing their sexual identity.

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Stigma, discrimination, and the necessary social changes in a homophobic society

'The Teacher', the second feature film by director and screenwriter Chen Ming Lang, following her debut with 'Tomorrow Comes Today' (2013), develops a modern and sober melodrama that intertwines two plots: a tragic love story hampered by HIV and the resistance of a society that still distrusts differences.
There is no greater truth than that which expresses that we are witnessing one of those films that doesn't shout, but pierces you. The sensitivity with which it portrays love, identity, and the pain of the unspoken is devastating in the best sense. Each shot seems to stare the viewer straight in the face, as if asking them not to blink at the discomfort... and at the tenderness. It is cinema that is felt, thought, and stored.
Of special note is the technical and artistic execution, which is raised from a close local customs, leaving the artistic aspect in the background.
Starring Oscar Chiu, known for playing Tony in the cult film 'Story in Taipei' (2017), for his outstanding performance as the lead in the drama film 'Final Examen' and his recurring role in the Netflix romance series 'More than Blue: The Series' (2021), 'The Teacher', which premiered at the Queer East Festival 2019, features honest and passionate performances.
Set in a context of progressive openness due to the legalization of same-sex marriage, the film focuses on the more personal politics of a young man who finds his voice as he experiences his first serious romantic and sexual relationship.
Its effective introduction introduces us to Kevin (Chiu, who earned a Best New Actor nomination for this role at the Golden Horse Festival in Taiwan), a young Civics teacher who seems to have a happy and enjoyable life. Outside of class, he alternates his activism for gay rights, equal marriage, and Gender Equality Education with his romantic relationship with his boyfriend Jin Wu Gao (Chin-Hao Chang, known for his role in 'Hong Se Qi Qiu' (2017), a former factory owner a few years older than him.
With a mother (played by actress Tzu-hua Ho - 'Red Horse in the Summer Sky'm, 2022) who accepts her son's homosexuality, Kevin soon leaves the family home to live with his boyfriend.
In seconds, this pleasant existence is turned upside down. Upon openly admitting in class that he supports same-sex marriage, the teacher begins to suffer homophobic taunts from his students, frequent warnings from the school principal, and calls for his expulsion from parents concerned about the growing rumor that Kevin, in addition to being homosexual, also has AIDS. Suddenly, the teacher finds himself embroiled in a controversy that pits his profession against his sexuality.
At the same time, Kevin discovers that Gao is HIV-positive and has a wife (Winnie Shih-Ying Chang, winner of the Best Supporting Actress award at the Taiwanese Golden Horse Festival for this role), two issues that Gao has deliberately hidden from him.
Thus, Kevin must deal with the social stigma of HIV/AIDS and a conservative society's rejection of his homosexuality, which threaten both his romantic relationship and his job. With all these ingredients, the director female portrays the lack of democratic openness and the need for profound changes that go far beyond the political and legislative, in a conservative and homophobic society that today, even six years after same-sex marriage was approved, is reluctant to accept diversity.
But despite these dramatic events, 'The Teacher' maintains a certain serenity and dignity, and the camera only allows us glimpses into Kevin's life, often without exposition, such as the strange scene in which he attends Gao's father's birthday banquet or the brief episode in which his wife enters the apartment with a hammer.
Produced by Swallow Wings Films and Portico Productions, the openness of several characters, as well as the demonstrations in favor of same-sex marriage and the need for Gender Equality Education, reflect the situation faced by LGBT+ people in Taiwan.
On the other hand, the main heart of 'The Teacher' lies in the relationship between Kevin and Gao, from their meeting in a public restroom in Taipei to the couple crisis stemming from the secrets one of them has kept from the other. Despite having the option of building a romantic relationship with a happy ending, Chen Ming Lang opts for an unsweetened reality. Beyond depicting an unlikely and unrealistic queer utopia, the film aims to reflect a version of real life.
Thus, the film introduces the characters into a series of events that break with the idyllic setting to expose the stigma that members of the LGBTQ+ community have regarding HIV. The film also shows the lack of understanding, fear, pain, as well as selfishness and lack of empathy. A more faithful portrayal of the truth.

Of characters and actors

The dramatic plot of 'The Teacher' is supported by an impeccable lead cast and superbly acted supporting characters. Oscar Chiu leads the cast with great naturalness, expressing his character's metamorphosis with great interpretive power.
With a performance that is absolutely true to the script, Oscar Chiu portrays his character's evolution throughout the story, from his carefree demeanor, his passion for teaching, to the most tense dramatic sequences. Ductile, with a variety of registers and great empathy with the audience, Chiu manages to reveal himself as an actor of great naturalness and freshness. His character, who appears in several nude scenes, has a magnificent arc, and his passion and anger develop harmoniously until the crude confrontation in a hospital where he goes to find Gao, towards the end. The depictions of gay sex are also quite rebellious.
His character's fate is a revolutionary political statement, especially for Taiwan. Kevin has a well-defined relationship with his mother, who loves her son and doesn't shy away from discussing his concerns with him, while Kevin doesn't dare reveal too much to anyone. "The Teacher", calm and at times not condescending, reflects this reluctance.
Although Kevin remains an enigmatic character, the actor who plays him manages to convey his frustrations and joys with subtle facial expressions. And because of this, both the character and the film feel real.
Nearly defeated by a homophobic system that requires him to disclose his health status and hide his sexuality if he wishes to continue his professional work as a teacher, Kevin is able to learn from his own lessons, ensuring that there are glimmers of hope for the LGBT+ community in Taiwan.
Tzu-hua Ho delivers a performance full of truth and organicity, with a familiar, traditional magic that rounds out his work in front of the camera. For this reason, some of the scenes between mother and son captivate the viewer with their sincerity. The veteran actress gives a good performance, without letting Kevin know how much she truly cares if her son decides to never return to the house where he was born.
The scene in which the two are walking through the market and Kevin talks to her about Gao for the first time, even showing her a photo of her boyfriend, is brilliant. Ho's face reflects such a mixture of indignation and concern that it's not entirely clear whether he cares about his son.
For his part, Chin-Hao Chang draws a character from a more measured and steady stance. Consequently, almost all of his screen time offers a sense of remaining too stable, while the audience expects more visceral action from him. The exercise of restraint is understandable, but there are moments when he could shine brighter, but he doesn't. Despite not loving his wife, despite not sharing the same bed, for some reason they remain married.
Of all the characters, he is the most distant. And the actor plays him with a charm that denotes hypocrisy. His dark side is wonderfully demonstrated in the brief scene in which he leans over a canister of nitrous oxide, inhaling its fumes as if drinking from a fountain. I would have liked the relationship between Kevin and Gao to have had more nuances than what we're given.
Winnie Shih-Ying Chang also has a complex role: she has been abandoned by her husband due to a sexuality she fully understands, but still, perhaps to comply with social norms, she wants them to conceive a child together. Her character is sincere, but even her emotional state is measured and restrained.
A sequence in which he buys and then uses a hammer discreetly shows the dexterity and strength of his performance. The protagonist of one of the film's most hilarious moments, his character remains the most interesting, as she is less of a villain and more of a pragmatic and strong presence.
The dynamic between Kevin and the school principal, Mr. Lin (Chin-Yu Lin), also deserves attention. At first, he scolds Kevin for wearing his hair too neatly and demands that he be notified about his extracurricular activities, specifically those related to his political activism for LGBT+ rights.
Later, when the teacher is questioned by the students' parents, Kevin's sexuality seems less problematic than we thought, and he is even defended by his fellow coworkers. This, along with the presence of his best friend Jo (Shih-ling Hsueh), a more radical and visually open character, offered the possibility that Taiwanese cinema could open up even more after 'The Teacher,' gifting viewers with titles such as 'The Name Engraved in Your Heart' (Kuang-Hui Liu, 2020), 'Rizi' (Tsai Ming-liang, 2020), 'Moneyboys' (C.B. Yi, 2021), 'Marry My Dead Body' (Cheng Wei-hao, 2022), and 'Dear Tenant' (Cheng Yu-chieh, 2020), to name just a few.
The cast embodies that closeness, that social reflection that seeks to connect directly with viewers.
Chen Ming-Lang also never judges the characters' actions, as we see them make their own, often very human, mistakes. Because of this distance, the film's ending is always in doubt, and when it arrives, it ends mid-sentence.

Conclusions

The film reflects the relationship between Taiwanese society and sexual liberation, as well as the stigma still faced by people living with HIV/AIDS. While exploring the personal consequences from a realistic perspective, one that does not seek to sugarcoat the fears, prejudices, and experiences of members of the LGBT+ community, 'The Teacher' promotes the necessary social changes within a conservative society that still views those who are different with contempt.

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Love, Tragedy, and Queer Representations: The Path to LGBT+ Visibility in Filipino Series

Written and directed by Filipino educator and filmmaker Trent Joshua Asuncion, who has considerable experience directing LGBT+-themed films and series, including the short films 'Bakla', 'Third and Josh', and 'Distansya', and the dramas 'In This Kaleidoscope World', 'Saan, Sana Tayo sa Himig ng Musika', and 'Cut', all from 2021, he delivers a love story etched in pain in the drama series 'DanDanSoy'.
This is one of those series that you won't forget, one that remains forever etched in your mind and retina.
This isn't the typical romance that BL fans dream of, especially those who follow dramas produced by GMMTV and other Thai producers, where everything is illusory and the darker, more antisocial elements of queer theory are never addressed, those that don't challenge the status quo or explore queer desire as something alien to social expectations.
Filled with rawness, realism, sadness, and tragedy, this is a difficult series to watch, especially because it tells a story in which love is fleeting, grows on the edge of a precipice, and it seems as if everything is against its ability to flourish and exist in peace.
Set in the harshness of a rural area of a Philippine province, and set against the backdrop of the nation's enforced community quarantines to combat the pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus, the series produced by Star Image Artist Management and Aqueous Entertainment is both passionate and deeply tragic.
The story follows Cardo and Nathaniel, two young people from different backgrounds, one poor and the other rich, one raised in a rural setting and the other in the city, one accepted by his family as gay and the other rejected for it. Despite the poverty surrounding them, they have been happily dating for six years. But the arrival of the pandemic disrupts their lives, and they will have to expose themselves to the dangers of the streets in order to obtain food and other necessities.
The miniseries is skillful at depicting a sad and cruel reality: the high poverty rate in the Philippines contributed to the worsening living conditions and even the rising death rate of many poor Filipinos due to the impossibility of obtaining the necessary confinement amid the pandemic if they wanted to survive on their subsistence income. It also explains how poverty is an impediment to accessing medical services and how family rejection of their homosexual children prevents the latter from obtaining not only understanding of their homosexuality, but also the necessary financial assistance in times of need.
On the other hand, "DanDanSoy" explores the relationship between religiosity and poverty in the Philippines, seen from its psychological perspective. In a poor country like the Philippines, people tend to cling to something mystical as a way to escape harsh realities, such as death and poverty, and to find hope through these beliefs. For this reason, we shouldn't be surprised at how they can praise their God and then reject him when reality is either kind or unfavorable.
On the other hand, "DanDanSoy" explores religiosity and poverty in the Philippines, seen from a psychological perspective. In a poor country like the Philippines, people tend to cling to something mystical as a way to escape harsh realities, such as death and poverty, and to find hope through these beliefs. For this reason, we should not be surprised at how people can deny their God when reality is adverse.
The striking images, captured through the beautiful photography of Jasper Ezekiel Aquino, that transcend the plot or narrative, contribute to highlighting the realism and harshness of life for the Filipino population, where an estimated 25% of its inhabitants are poor and the incidence of poverty is much higher in rural areas (36%) than in urban areas (13%).
The script, written by Trent Joshua Asuncion himself, thankfully eschews the laudatory and pitiful vision that predominates in Asian gay dramas, and allows us the miracle of visualizing, in its five 15-minute episodes, the reality of two young gay men facing the pandemic and the rigors of life in a country traditionally governed by a semi-feudal oligarchy that protects the interests of the landed elite and where fragile governance structures have contributed to the persistence of poverty.
Extra points for the soundtrack and the performances of new actors John Gil Co and Gino John Gomez, who play Cardo and Nathaniel, respectively.
The casting team must also be recognized for selecting two actors who achieve good on-screen chemistry, in addition to breaking the stereotypes initially associated in the film and television industry with gay characters as comic relief or tormentors.
I like how the actor connects directly with the audience, looking directly into the camera. The creators of 'DanDanSoy' are very skillful at humanizing the characters and imbuing their actions with feelings, emotions, and meaning, not only when they talk to each other about their current concerns or their past lives before and after meeting, or through their interactions in the beautiful sex scenes by the light of a campfire that helps break the darkness reigning in the rustic cabin where they live.
The humanization of the characters is also present when the actors subtly break the fourth wall to convey their life experiences to the viewer, sharing health advice and the use of medicinal plants useful for dealing with ailments associated with the pandemic, or talking about the preparation of typical dishes from rural Filipino cuisine, which depends on subsistence farming and fishing. I'm also struck by how the two protagonists call each other "My love," instead of by their first names.
While they do not escape the portrayal of the homosexual character as a victim of a tragic and dramatic role in Philippine drama, Cardo and Nathaniel are very masculine, seemingly heterosexual men capable of accepting their sexual orientation and seeking the path to freedom, helping to change the public's mindset with their homosexual portrayals, unafraid to hide their sexuality for fear of retribution and discrimination.
Fortunately, Trent Joshua Asuncion doesn't seek to create a queer drama in 'DanDanSoy' that reeks of a commercialized spectacle, focused on fulfilling requirements rather than genuinely pushing boundaries. Moreover, he also eschews the formula that masculinity remains the key to widespread "gay" appeal in the Philippines.
The LGBT characters in the series are young people who earn a living by working in agriculture, manual labor, and construction, contributing to the true representation of the LGBT+ community while facing rejection from a heteronormative and patriarchal society, like the Philippine one, which doesn't accept homosexual protagonists because they "don't identify with them".
And this is also a reason for praise for everyone involved in the production.
In short: This story about a gay couple facing the pandemic, poverty in rural Philippines, and an exclusionary society is a gut-punch: you'll be reaching for the tissues.

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The story of 'Ang Lalaki sa Buhay ni Selya' ('The Man in Selya's Life') revolves around Selya (Rosanna Roces, '4 Days' 2016), a charming and provocative schoolteacher, who longs for a real commitment with salesman Bobby (Gardo Versoza, 'Kerida' 2003) rather than the purely sexual relationship she has with him, but the man refuses.
Tired of their complicated relationship and heartbroken, Selya runs away from home and ends up in a small town plagued by homophobes, bigots, and gossipy busybodies. There she meets Piling (Eva Darren, 'Bikini Open' 2005), who is also a teacher, and Ramon (Ricky Davao, 'American Adobo' 2001), a closeted gay man.
In an attempt to save his reputation and keep his homosexual relationship with Carding (Alan Paule, 'Son of the Macho Dancer' 2021), a married man with two young children, hidden, Ramon proposes to Selya. After hearing gossip from the townspeople regarding Ramon's sexuality, and his refusal to have a sexual relationship with her, Selya realizes that things will not end well, and returns to Bobby, only to regret her affair with this unscrupulous man when he leaves her pregnant and continues to refuse to marry her.
At this crossroads, Selya decides to return to Ramon and raise their child with him. Despite their platonic relationship, Selya is glad of her decision, realizing her worth as a woman.
Surprisingly, shortly afterward, Bobby reappears in the protagonist's life, intent on winning her back and starting a family with her and their child. Selya is forced to confront her own irony as she bravely defies the needs of her flesh and chooses the most rewarding and stable bond.

Curiosities

'Ang Lalaki sa Buhay ni Selya' was originally scheduled for release in 1997, but it became a resounding success with the censors, which is why it was released a year later. This controversial drama is based on the script written by Bibeth Orteza and directed by her husband, Carlos Siguion-Reyna, who has considerable experience as an actor, screenwriter, and director in a wide variety of genres (including the comedy-drama 'Hari ng Tondo', 2014).
The film is Rosanna Roces's second and final project with Reyna Films and one of the filmmaker's projects that addresses taboo subjects in Filipino cinema.
Winner of the Teddy Jury Prize at the Berlin International Film Festival, Germany, the Best Asian Feature Film Award at the Newport Beach International Film Festival, USA, and the Special Jury Prize in the Feature Film Competition at the Turin International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival, Italy, all in 1998, the courage of its creators with its premise must be highlighted, for its progressive nature, for its portrayal of homosexuals, for confronting the social climate of homophobia and censorship of the time in which it was filmed, which was little or nothing different from today's.
Watching it now, almost three decades later, the viewer will understand that its premise is neither novel nor does it represent a cinematic innovation, but its brevity and commitment to the story it tells undoubtedly paved the way for contemporary Filipino LGBT+ cinema.

The Best

The portrayal of a woman who faces her own prejudices in a community of gossipmongers, bigots, and homophobes, and who must choose between two men: a high school principal who is closeted gay, and a man who seeks a greater commitment to her.
Its messages of value, such as the unfair need to hide one's sexuality, the damage this can cause to oneself and others, and how minorities (including sexual minorities) have been forced to hide and even lie in many cases throughout history due to homophobia and intolerance.
The sudden change in tone.
The excellent camerawork.
The direction: Although some scenes needed polishing, it deserves applause for its recurring visual elements (such as the lattices) and, in general, for the beautiful scenes, the beautifully woven lines, the handling of the themes covered, and the long and well-thought-out sequences from the script to the staging.
The performances of the cast, especially the award-winning Ricky Davao as the troubled hero, are also very believable. Likewise, the character played by Rosanna Roces is very believable. With a more solid and nuanced role, Eva Darren achieves the best supporting role in Reyna's films.
Ryan Cayabyab's soundtrack is moving.
The juxtaposition of the two families in the finale adds drama and elevates the film.
The struggles of both Selya, a heterosexual woman looking for more than sex, and Ramon, a closeted gay man, are written in a way that shows them as true to themselves, regardless of the ultimate end. The character played by Rosanna Roces wants sex and continues to want it. The character played by Ricky Davao is gay and will remain so. And this is how homosexuality is portrayed throughout the film.

The Worst

The script, despite featuring witty lines and a rather unpleasant display of humanity, lacks continuity. The story struggles to identify Selya's true personality in her relationships with Bobby and Ramon. The dialogue is unrealistic. Above all, the subject matter is handled in a melodramatic manner that will put off most moviegoers looking for a more frank take on homosexuality.

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Whether we like it or not, we can only have one part of our partners

"Why don't you ever kiss me?" Mark asks his boyfriend Li Ting in the short film "Floss," by Chinese filmmaker Fan Popo, known for his documentaries "Mama Rainbow" (2012) and "Papa Rainbow" (2016), which address the experience of parents coming to terms with their children's sexual and gender identities in a society where family and face remain paramount. "I just did it," Li Ting replies without flinching. "No, I mean with tongue kissing".
By then, viewers have already discovered that Li Ting is harboring a strange secret: he's obsessed with teeth, both his own and Mark's, but especially with the delicate floss they use daily to clean them. His obsession even drives him to dive into the piled-up trash to retrieve a floss used by his partner. We soon discover that his paranoia has nothing to do with oral hygiene.
If in 'The Drum Tower', her previous work of fiction, also from 2019, Fan posed a story about the budding connection between an introverted student and a transgender shopkeeper in Beijing, in 'Floss' she explores the abject objects of our desire and the often unacknowledged loneliness of love, seen through the relationship between two young people in the Chinese capital that becomes strained after one of them develops an unusual fetish.
In the short film, the Chinese filmmaker (whose work is compared to that of fellow queer filmmakers He Xiaopei and Cui Zi'en for his "direct queer aesthetic", with a "media-savvy" approach, linked to the global LGBT+ movement and advocating for the acceptance of queer people in a more open and diverse society) introduces us to a pair of lovers: Mark (played by Xiao Ke) and Li Ting (Etsen Chen).
In the eyes of others, the two young professionals live a life no different from any other couple: they go out to dinner at luxurious restaurants, and after returning home from walking the dog, they settle down on the couch to watch movies together. Every night, in the bedroom, they have hot, energetic sex, in large quantities.
But an obsession grows in Li Ting's heart. When Mark, after shopping at the market, shows up at the house with floss sticks instead of the usual dental floss, Li Ting can't hide his Dissatisfaction.
That night, during sex, Li Ting shows no interest in emotional intimacy. Time and again, she offers her boyfriend excuses avoiding much more embarrassing situations. Distressed, Mark tells her at one point, "I don't think you like me at all." And he receives silence in response.
Matthias Delvaux's cinematography soon shows us that the photos of a happy couple decorating the apartment bear little resemblance to the sullen couple who live within its four walls.
From this moment on, things visibly change within the couple. Or have the images shown of the couple at the beginning only exposed a false reality, an illusory world? Have the two protagonists truly been happy? Despite the vigorous sex, is there passion? Don't the two seem to be living in separate, different worlds? Doesn't Li Ting look away from Mark while they have sex? Isn't he later tormented by dreams of being bound by a glowing spider web?
And that's when the viewer begins to understand what Fan is trying to tell us: the line between desire and disgust can be so thin that it can be erased at any moment and by any trigger: for some, it might be sweat, saliva, an unwashed body... For others, it's our partner's semen spilled on our chest during sex, blood, and pieces of chewed food.
The neurotic protagonist of the short film is aware of the abject nature of his own fetish. Expressing his obsession also entails shame and the silence that comes with it. That's why he prefers not to kiss Mark; why he chooses to look away when he meets her gaze; why he chooses to remain silent...
How much of ourselves do we hide from the person closest to us? That's the central question that 'Floss' invites the audience to reflect on, as it uncovers an uncomfortable truth: whether we like it or not, we can only have one side of our partners.
What's interesting about the film is that through the sexual obsession with dental floss, something certainly novel, 'Floss' examines contemporary relationships and the secrets we all have and jealously guard.
The film explores the communication barriers that exist between human beings, no matter how close or intimate we are with the people around us. Li Ting's confusion reflects the loneliness of ordinary people, especially those living in big cities.
Li Ting's obsession invites us to reflect on the intimate and idiosyncratic nature of fantasy and the power it wields, especially when it involves some aspect of reality that is often forgotten or forbidden in everyday life, as the Chinese director so aptly reminds us.
Presented at Palm Springs International Short Fest, Queer Lisboa, and Frameline: San Francisco International LGBTQ Film Festival in 2019, and Inside Out Toronto LGBT Film Festival in 2020, in 'Foss' the Chinese director accepts the challenge of tackling themes and approaches little explored by much of current LGBT+ cinema, to focus on the less attractive aspects of love and lust, in this case a fetish, to question the universal model of the monogamous couple.

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Welcome the cinema within the cinema in the BL

Among the first questions we ask ourselves when we are faced with a romantic series or film in general, and a BL in particular, is whether there will be an explosive or electrifying chemistry between the protagonists, if one actor will be comfortable with the other, if they will manage to be close friends so that everything they do together looks natural, if they will truly manage to build a bond over time so that their characters are believable in the eyes of the viewer, if even the chemistry will persist after the cameras and microphones are turned off...
BL series such as the Japanese '25 Ji, Akasaka', directed in 2024 by Horie Takahiro and Kawasaki Ryo, and 'BL Drama no Shuen ni Narimashita: Crank Up Hen' (2023-2024), by director Kumasaka Izuru, are one of the few audiovisuals of the genre that place cinema at the center of their productions.
How I would like to be able to visualize various productions in which, with great formal and plot diversity, they show cinema within cinema or metacinema, which allows the public to peek into the processes of film creation and the professional performance of directors, producers, performers and scriptwriters.
In this way, the viewer obtains privileged access to the backstage of the cinema, and suffers and enjoys the conflicts that emerge "behind" the camera. Likewise, you could witness a setting, the filming one, in which ego struggles, asymmetrical power relations, unforeseen events and human limitations are unleashed. Furthermore, like magicians who show their tricks, these films and series reveal the strategies that allow the cinematographic illusion to be generated. They also show us the underside of success and fame, and sometimes play with the transfers that occur between reality and fiction, between life and cinema.
'Actors High!', the 30-episode miniseries of just over a minute in length, broadcast on November 21, 2024 by Vigloo, tells us precisely about these topics.
The Japanese comedy introduces us to Matsushima (Ryo Shibuki), an associate producer in charge of preparing, in just three days and two nights, a couple of actors to star in a love drama between boys titled "Sunset in the Snow."
However, the task prior to the start of filming becomes difficult to overcome due to the refusal of the stars Shogo Aoyama (character played by actor Negishi Takuya, known for giving life to Raidou Hikaru in the 'Ultraman Ginga' saga), and Fujii Akira (Yutaro, who previously played the role of Miki Mahiro in the BL series 'Zenra Meshi' ('Naked Dinner'), directed by Kato Ayaka in 2023), to carry out their respective roles.
Gathered in a summer villa, the two actors will show that they feel uncomfortable while they rehearse their lines and seek to adapt to their roles, in which they will experience intimate moments and romantic scenes. Reluctantly, after learning what is required of them through reading the script, both express their intentions to abandon the film project.
Aoyama, who is looking to try something different as an actor after a string of successes playing heroes in action films, will be frustrated and surprised to learn that he will have to play one of the two lovers in a BL drama. Faced with the dilemma, Matsushima will try to assert his power of persuasion, arguing that getting involved in other narrative genres is important for the growth of actors.
For his part, Fujii, known for his youthful appearance and for starring in a long series for twenty years, which began when his character was just a baby, is not opposed to playing the romantic interest of another man in a BL drama, but is reluctant to have his character die of a terminal illness. Interested in persuading him, the producer in charge will argue that tragic melodramas enjoy the public's preference.
In the midst of the crisis due to the imminent abandonment of the project by the actors who cannot get along with each other, unable to motivate them, seeing the risk of not carrying out the order of the producer and the director of the play, Matsushima enters a state of panic that will lead him to hallucinate two meddlesome ghosts dressed in clothes from the Japanese feudal era.
These hilarious characters pressure Matsushima to insist that the actors not abandon the drama, warning him that they will curse him if the project fails.
But everything will become even more complicated when Heian (Gaku Matsumoto) and Bakumatsu (Takagi Nodoka), the guardian spirits of Fujii and Aoyama, respectively, declare that they also seek to make the two actors' relationship flourish in real life, as this would guarantee them being able to revive their own failed romance.
Before closing we can see the happy ending when Matsushima receives the recognition he deserves.
Through convincing performances, exaggerated reactions and silly, hilarious and extravagant situations, the comedy presents credible characters who will question, among other issues, the unrealistic narratives and frivolous and undramatic stories frequently present in BL series and films.
The Japanese series will receive the majority rejection of BL lovers for presenting very little romantic content, for the lack of chemistry between the actors, for telling a light story that consciously chooses to be frivolous and inconsequential, and even for being filmed in vertical format, but it fulfills its intentions of making the public reflect on the very nature of cinematographic representation, as well as exploring its operation and surprising viewers, through cinematographic techniques, of showing a story in which the characters are actors, act and even recreate scenes from a drama to be filmed in the near future.
'Actors High!' fulfills its purposes of creating a metanarrative, that is, a story within a story, which can add layers of meaning and complexity to the main plot, thanks to the well-achieved concept of "cinema within cinema."
Additionally, the series can serve as a form of self-reflection on the part of the director or screenwriter, allowing them to show and examine their creative process.
Don't miss it. Recommended for movie lovers.

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Love, wedding, tragedy and curse

At just 8 minutes, 'From Now On To The Past' constitutes one of the great milestones in audience and critical reception on the screen of the People's Republic of China in the last decade.
In this exponent of cinema that shows pure love with a gay theme, a magician predicts that there will be blood at the wedding. But it will still be celebrated, because fear and imprecation will not prevent Sang (Hu Ling Meng) from speeding up the marriage plans with Tian (Pei Zi Tian), although carrying out the betrothal is something that should not have even been thought of. Apparently, a kind of ancestral curse haunts true lovers.
In addition to the young couple, Da (Wang Keda), their good mutual friend who will serve as best man, will join the terrifying wedding. Full of complex and real emotional entanglements, which eventually lead to tragedy, the three prepare to wait for the dark day. Everything ready now for the unimaginable…
Directed by Chinese filmmaker Yang Yongchun, and released on November 11, 2015, the film shows an impressive and deep scene of intimacy between two men. Filmed in Thailand, 'From Now On To The Past' explores that love means giving unconditionally for the person you love, even the most precious thing one can have: one's own life.
Produced by Beijing Pansy Pictures Co., Ltd., the viewer can see how the relationship between Tian and Da has undergone subtle changes over time. Da suffers in silence, as his feelings for Tian have turned into same-sex love, and the two can only hide this love in silence. They both break the friendship of the brothers who grew up together, and even break the shackles of love on the rainy night before the wedding.
The film works, mostly, by appreciating the way in which the technical resources contribute to the scenario of growing sexual tension between the two men, the restlessness and fear generated by the curse; as well as the articulation of climates that range from celebration to the dark, very well conceived and managed.
With natural and attractive performances, the audience comes to understand that the three characters are full of entanglement and pain.
Note that while the magician's prophecy was coming true, Sang comes to remember the second half of the prediction, hidden from the public until that moment: "the person he loves the most will die".
The craft of the Chinese school is manifested here, in this sense, through photography and the work of the team of artistic directors. The music also contributes to the above, and in this section the weight falls on the interpretation of the actress and singer Hu Ling Meng to the closing song, which is titled "From Now On To The Past." The conjunction of the three fronts determines the impressive visual and sound display of the film.
Two other indicators of value of 'From Now On To The Past' are linked to the management of its cast, populated by famous local figures from cinema and series, and to the way of interweaving the story – wrapped in the cloaks of drama, fantasy, romance and melodrama – with the indigenous weight of superstitions and wedding celebrations.
As the film confirms, such procedures are still decisive in the culture of a country whose technological, scientific and industrial rise does not prevent the permanence of atavistic practices based on the convergence of beliefs from diverse origins.
If you ask me why this film has such a tragic ending, I would answer that the writer and director want to tell us that homosexual relationships can end in tragedy; that is to say, it is easy to get together and break up, without the support of family, friends...
The sad ending also better sublimates the theme of the entire film, such as telling people that members of the LGBT+ community should receive more support in our societies.

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A story about the transience of love

The lack of family support, the consequences of discrimination in conservative, heteronormative and patriarchal societies, the lack of friends, the nonexistence of a romantic partner, etc., can influence reinforcing a certain feeling of emptiness or loneliness that is often attempted wrongly satisfy with the fleeting and sporadic physical contact of casual sex, which sometimes has a price tag.
The LGBT+ themed short film reminds us that sex is not the solution to fill that void or that feeling of loneliness.
Distributed by Matchbox, the South Korean film released in 2021 explores the complexities of love, the human need to be free and human relationships, through an intimate approach and a visually poetic narrative.
Through the story of Soo Hyuk, a young man who silently cries out for help and works for a dating service run by a manager whose only interest is money, we will experience how the protagonist will experience the emotional ups and downs of an ephemeral love, when a The client hires him to spend the afternoon with him, but it may not end as they both expect, because while one hopes to find the dreaded violent sex, the other is looking for something more than a simple carnal relationship.
The meeting between prostitute and client, two heartbroken men seeking human warmth, will become a turning point in the lives of both young people, probably generating a radical change in their lives.
The director of the film (I would like to have references from the cast and crew) portrays two disturbed characters in an alienating environment, who will begin a brief emotional relationship, sharing their feelings and emotions, seeking the warmth of human company.
The story can convey a great feeling of melancholy. It may be the successful musicalization, or it may even be the story, with which it is difficult not to feel identified in a certain way:
- How not to feel identified with the client, a writer who needs much more than sex, and is looking for company to eat and talk while writing a novel... an anonymous client who uses the gay dating service for the first time and from the first moment feels worried seeing the newcomer sad, hurt, bewildered, stressed?
- How not to feel identified with a prostitute with a heart of gold who perceives himself as a sexual object for those who call the gay dating service looking for casual sex to hide the loneliness and pain in their lives. What does the cover photo want to tell us, if not the image of two men not behind a large window from where you can see the outside, but rather the bars of a prison from outside where you can see the sadness, the melancholy of their lives?
• How not to feel identified with the story of these two young people, which reminds us that there are people who are not here to stay with us, but who have a purpose in our lives. How can you not feel identified with the story of these two young people who forged a brief connection that helped them get to know themselves?
• How can you not feel identified with the end of the short, which sends us a message of hope, that everything will be fine if we take a sudden turn in our lives when they lead us to a dark and sad dead end?
In short, a tender erotic short film about the most prolific topic in gay cinema. What is old is new again. Transactional sex pales in comparison to a meaningful kiss.

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Nothing gives a young soldier more pleasure than being a dog loyal to his master

Based on the novel "Military Dog" (軍犬) by Petit (Xia Mu Cong), the Taiwanese short film of the same name shows an intense virtual erotic encounter between a "human puppy" named Li Jun-Zhong and his Master DT, while offers a glimpse into the unique BDSM scene, the well-known human-puppy play in Taiwan, influenced by Japanese shibari (繩縛) and culture leather/kinky/fetish from the United States.
Based on his own experience in the army, which, in Xia Mu Cong's words, is a gigantic sadomasochistic place, 'Military Dog', a psychosocial thriller of obsession, directed in 2019 by Ping-Wen Wang and scripted by Yi-Hsun Yu delves into the strangest and most provocative areas of the human mind, while viscerally penetrating all the spooky moments that keep us up at night.
Film that won the Gold Award at the Outfest: Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Film Festival 2019, tells us about a soldier who wants to level up through an extreme method, which involves his Master DT: entering the world of BDSM.
Shocking and full of suspense... a little fun as the soldier follows his Master's instructions via video call, 'Military Dog' received high ratings from critics and the public during its screening at the 2019 Outfest LGBTQ Film Festival and 2019 Outfest Fusion LGBTQ People of Color Film Festival "Opening Night Gala".
One night, in the military camp, the young soldier, played wonderfully by Chun Yao Yao, an actor known for his participation in the LGBT+ themed film 'Dear Tenant' (2020), by Wang Li Wei, accepts the proposal of his Master DT to become his "puppy" to demonstrate his burning desire and tremendous loyalty and submission.
The cast also includes Tommy Wang, an actor known for playing Eric in 'Dear Tenant', Kevin in 'Gentleman Spa' (2019), and Xiao K in the series 'Dark Blue and Moonlight' 2017), all of LGBT+ theme, who plays Junior Soldier here.
In an exclusive sphere where any activity can occur, Li Jun-Zhong as the "Military Dog", and Master DT (although his face can barely be seen through the mobile phone, in an outstanding performance by Li Yun Tsai, actor known for participating in several LGBT+ themed films, such as 'Bao Bao' (2018) and 'The Story of the Stone' (2018), like "Master", blur the limits of pain and pleasure through control and submission, the look, the compliance with orders, the speed with which he must react if he wants to gain the acceptance of the "Master", the dangers he must run to satisfy the Master's demands in a place guarded by other soldiers on duty, the sound of the urine when falling, one's own touch, smell and breathing.
What make the story more fascinating are the young Taiwanese director's imitation of an instructor's training and the oath of enlistment, culminating in the pleasure of built-up erotic tension.
Full of passionate and kinky exploration along, DT is referred to as "Master" and "He" in the story to indicate a relationship between a caretaker and a pup.
Naturally, Li Jun-Zhong's pronouns "he" and "his" (with "Military Dog" as his pup's name) are presented in lowercase. The purpose of this conceit is, first, to show the respect, love and adoration of the human cub towards its Master; secondly, prove that DT is the only Master of Li Jun-Zhong.
At the same time, the film adopts combined first and third person points of view to refer to "Military Dog", celebrating the fluidity and versatility of his sexual identity. In the film, viewers are supposed to understand that "I" is "he" (lowercase) is "the slave".
The film gains vigor thanks to Eric Chao's photography with flat colors with little color saturation seasoned with dark night nuances, and a sharp, penetrating music by Thomas Foguenne.
'Military Dog' focuses on sexual fluidity and the metamorphosis of humans into "dogs" in the context of contemporary Taiwan. Captivatingly shot, the film subverts cultural norms by outing the underground BDSM scene and imagining the military as a distinct site of queer performance, creating a layered act of queering what is normal or "vanilla".
Furthermore, this important and timely work questions the universalizing claims of queer desire and fundamental notions of the erotic, the individual, and the body. The short film seeks to document the existence of the Taiwanese BDSM scene and new sexual identities. It also offers the opportunity to imagine a new politics of sex, one that projects a vision of our queer past and future.
Moving away from stereotypical representations of queer characters as a group of suffering victims, Ping-Wen Wang explores and showcases LGBTQ+ experiences using new approaches.
'Military Dog' reaffirms the high level of social acceptance of Taiwanese queer cinema, while promoting greater awareness of the LGBTQ+ community. This film is a demonstration that the film industry is evolving, progressing and expanding queer productions, responding to increasingly deep conversations about queer issues and recognizing their commercial potential.

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From Chinese BL fiction to the colors of Southeast Asia

The plot begins when An's world is shaken after Jin, his adoptive brother and platonic love, returns to Thailand from the United States, after several years geographically and sentimentally distanced.
In this way, those who, between laughter and games, and without having any blood relationship, had grown up within the same family, meet again. But they are not children anymore. They are two university students. The reunion gives rise to the fact that, while both discover that some powerful and intense feelings unite them beyond being "brothers", An immerses himself in a journey in which he realizes a shocking truth from his past.
We are talking about 'Secret Love', a BL genre miniseries, directed by Content, the Chinese-Thai adaptation of the Asian giant's novel danmei, by J.W. "Secret Planet Series".
Produced by Bebravehud and distributed internationally by executive producers Wang Yuren and Wu Ben, 'Secret Love' leaves the viewer with a carnival of events, secrets, crimes, manipulations, intrigues, betrayals, revelations, adoptions, childhood traumas, reconciliations and love affairs
It is a short miniseries of the BL genre presented by QuStory, with 81 episodes of 2 minutes each.
Among the points to highlight, it is necessary to keep in mind the schedule for which it was conceived. 'Secret Love' was not created for primetime requirements, but to be shown on Saturday and Sunday evenings in China, Hong Kong and Thailand by HONGKONG QUKAN Network Technology CO., Limited.
It is a short miniseries of the BL genre presented by QuStory, with 81 episodes of 2 minutes each.
Among the points to highlight, it is necessary to keep in mind the schedule for which it was conceived. 'Secret Love' was not created for primetime requirements, but to be shown on Saturday and Sunday evenings in China, Hong Kong and Thailand by HONGKONG QUKAN Network Technology CO., Limited.
The fact explains several characteristics that today are understood from a more systematic perspective: the colors, the lightness of the plot, the construction of charismatic and attractive characters, the secret and forbidden romance for various reasons and the titanic strategies of the father of one of the two boys. for obstructing it.
It should be taken into account that, for years, we have consumed the products of the countries involved in the project that release BL series frequently, with different target audiences and, therefore, records of particular audiences. ELIMINATE
That a poor boy is adopted by a rich family after surviving an accident, at age eleven, in which his parents died; that in the future the same person who welcomed him into their home may be unfairly accused of causing his orphanhood; That someone he trusts is the real culprit of the murder, and ends up in love with his adoptive brother, may seem implausible; but in the vision of its creators it is nothing more than a functional resource that is inserted into an imaginative and traditionally light dramaturgical conception.
While Gu Hao Wei (Thitipol Nimsakul), the company's CEO and friend of An's deceased parents, and his wife (a role assumed by actress Ganitharin Pacharapakdeechode), have upset more than one viewer with their actions, the first for his homophobia and practice of domestic violence against Jin, and the second for carrying several blames, a point in favor is the overthrow of his negative attitudes due to the growing love between the young orphan and his own son, as well as the loss of control of the company when it passed into the hands of the adopted boy.
For his part, Uncle Q (Chakkritt Wangpattanasirikul) is a dark and negative character, who tries to manipulate An for his own benefit.
The fact that it is a short drama does not represent a serious problem for me: I watch the 20 weekly episodes, in a subtitled edition, one following the previous one.
On the other hand, the sum of all the episodes broadcast between Saturday and Sunday add up, in their entirety, to the approximately 40 minutes that the BL series that we frequently enjoy have. In total, the 81 episodes would represent four episodes in a series of this format.
We also have Turbo Chanokchon Boonmanawong among the cast, an actor known for playing Camp in the story 'Friends Forever', from the BL series 'My Universe', and Anda in 'Love Stage!!', who plays in this one. occasion to Lan; and Tee Vitsarut Suwinijjit, popular among genre lovers after starring in 'Restart(ed)', now adding the role of Tong to his resume.
The flashbacks that lead the viewer to understand An's past, the gloomy settings and, at times, the soundtrack of 'Secret Love', underline the dark elements of the story.
Despite some timorous performances (to be developed in the immediate future by the two protagonists), and the lack of depth in the story, the latter being a typical feature of short plots and low-budget productions, both in music and in dialogues, the viewer will also find a beautiful story of love and reconciliation, especially with oneself for hiding an atrocious family secret for years. All of these elements immerse us in engaging entertainment, and debuting stars Tle Matimun Sreeboonrueang, as Jin, and FirstOne Wannakorn Reungrat, as An, are especially charming.
Casting directors take note: Tle and FirstOne, in their respective first roles in their young careers, are two actors to be reckoned with, capable of conveying subtle shades of inner turmoil, of discomfort at finding themselves in love with someone of the same gender, then of his time on the 'TV Show DMD Friendship the Reality', Domundi's artist training program.
They both need a little more acting skills, confidence in front of the cameras. I have no doubt they will win in this regard.
The protagonists of 'Secret Love' had already participated in the 'TV Show SosatSeoulsay', precisely in episode 237, a television program that follows the protagonists and actors of Thai dramas.
In the script, which adapts the Chinese BL novel of the same name, the ingenuity of Wang Tinglian and Ding Wuen must be highlighted, by taking the original work and transferring its setting to Thailand, where the centers move between lavish mansions, companies and the university, with its pertinent allusions to studies, to obtaining the family company as an inheritance and to the search for success at any price, no matter if through crime.
And, if we talk about society, the series explores in a sensible way (and with high doses of sensitivity) certain topics such as male homosexuality, the emancipation of children from their parents, the breaking of taboos, self-acceptance and friendship.
The miniseries, with Chinese narrative inspiration and a warm mix of Thai essences, manages to satisfy the public thanks to the combination of melodramatic elements in an agile, light and attractive story.

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Can love change people into better versions of themselves?

Boy meets girl, or girl meets girl, or boy meets boy. Boy and girl, or girl and girl, or boy and boy fall in love, overcome some bumps in the road and in the end they are happily ever after. This is, with variations, the structure of most of the portraits of love that films and television series have left us.
Although it is evident that the vision of the relationships that world cinematography has, starting with Hollywood, is, to say the least, quite limited, cinema and television have contributed decisively – just like music, novels or advertising – to shaping our expectations about life as a couple. It also leads to frustration when, as often happens, the actual experience does not correspond to those expectations.
Much has been written about the role of television series in consolidating the myths of romantic love. Experts on the subject have identified up to ten myths: that of the better half (which assumes that we all have a predestined soul mate and we will only be happy with that person), that of exclusivity (the belief that we cannot love more than one person at a time), that of free will (which ignores that there are social, biological and cultural factors that influence our choice of partner), that of fidelity (which maintains that all our romantic and erotic desires must be satisfied by a only person), that of eternal passion (which leads us to think that the enthusiasm and ardor of the beginnings of a relationship can be maintained after months or years of living together), that of marriage (according to which, true love necessarily leads to a stable and lasting), that of love that conquers everything (the idea that love always prevails and there is no problem, inside or outside the couple, that it cannot solve), that of jealousy as a sign of true love (very deep-rooted, helps to normalize possessiveness), and the power of love to change people.
And I'm not referring to when we ask for changes that affect the personality of one of the members of the couple by asking them to stop being him or her, which can generate conflicts, when we demand permutations using the pretext that they have to do it "for love".
No. I point out that the way we build our personality, our hobbies and our way of thinking is also influenced by socialization, and depending on our life history there are some people who influence us more or less. In many cases, the person we choose to walk the path of life as a couple makes us evolve to become better individuals.
This is the force behind the Japanese series 'Doku Koi Doku mo Sugireba Koi to Naru', from directors Maiko Ouchi, Masataka Hayashi, Tatsuya Aoki.
Based on the manga of the same name by Keisuke Makino, the series, in the romantic comedy, thriller and legal genre, follows two young people: one of them is Shiba Ryoma (Shogo Hama), a 27-year-old elite lawyer with social anxiety turned into a the youngest partner of an important law firm. Regarded as the cold and ruthless "Ice King of Law", he is valued as legal advisor to numerous important clients, and Haruto (Katsumi Hyodo), a mysterious genius con artist, talented at disguising himself as another person.
Wearing a high-end suit, Ryoma is a perfect man who never makes mistakes and holds a position as a key member of the corporate legal affairs team of a large law firm, dealing with legal disputes such as mergers, acquisitions, and inter-company resolution. His hard heart has never shown interest in anything other than his job, but one day, at a bar where the president of his advisory board takes him, he meets Haruto, a con mastermind with captivating eyes, and a connection develops snapshot.
From that moment on, both begin to live together under the same roof, since Ryoma needs the work of an assistant to help him investigate the legal processes to present in court. Both join forces to solve complex cases, using unethical methods, while developing feelings for each other.
From that moment on, both begin to live together under the same roof, since Ryoma needs the work of an assistant to help him investigate the legal processes to present in court. The two join forces to solve complex cases, using unethical methods, while developing feelings for each other.
However, as the saying goes, "If you take the poison, it will reach the plate", and Haruto's "poison" gradually seeps into Ryoma's cold and firm heart...!
Produced by TBS Drama Stream and Netflix Japan, and scripted by Kawasaki Izumi, the series describes how two completely opposite people become secret boyfriends and solve legal problems in an exciting way.
If I admire something in Japanese BL series, it is their ability to delve into the psychological complexity of people. In this case, above other considerations, 'Doku Koi Doku mo Sugireba Koi to Naru' presents us with two very different young people with no initial ties to each other, and the sentimental and emotional repercussions that they will have to assume when one enters life of the other. None of them will be the same again.
Both will be marked not only by their involvement in the resolution of important disputes in a court of law. And in this look inside a shared existence is how the series delves into the depth of love between two human beings so different from each other, and how their lives will change from that moment on. The interpretations live up to the demanding level of this need to show how far love can go, and to what extent it has the power to transform people, for the better.
In his first leading role in a romantic drama, Katsumi Hyodo wins audiences over as her motherless character begins to love Ryoma's sensitivity and clumsiness. His love for Ryoma, his dedication to helping him solve important and complicated legal cases, will open the doors not only to the lawyer's house. When she meets Ryoma and realizes that he is in love with him, he stops being that man who gets into trouble by being part of a gang of scammers, and fully lives that love, opens his heart and tells her story, which is also linked to that of young people and adolescents who, like him, do not have a home and have been despised by society and even excluded from their family.
Despite this being the first time he plays a lawyer in a love story where he falls in love with someone of the same sex, Shogo Hama shows talent by building a strongly tsundere character, inexperienced in love, frustrated by his inability to express the feelings he gradually develops for Haruto. Win with high marks in this new challenge as an actor.
Ryoma, his character, is a fascinating young man who takes the viewer from coldness to warmth. The lawyer is strong, determined, determined and with a strong personality that projects an image of absolute control in his life, especially before his clients and his opponents in court. However, he carries the frustration of having been betrayed by his senior and having lost, for this reason, a trial that he had won.
The construction of this character allowed Shogo Hama to display a performance full of subtleties, in which Ryoma's external coldness contrasts with the moments of introspection and the decisions he makes since Haruto enters his life.
Over time, one comes to modify the other's behavior for the better, as they fight to resolve legal cases.
What will Ryoma do when his bosses find out that his assistant is a known scammer? Will love be stronger than his dreams of being a defender of the law? What will happen when Ryoma finds out that Haruto is the son of his worst enemy? Will Haruto's love warm Ryoma's cold heart? Will Haruto leave his past behind for love?
The toxic and romantic chemistry between Shogo Hama and Katsumi Hyodo, which almost transpires across the screen from the moment they meet, is one of the keys to the success of this unconventional series between an elite lawyer and a con artist, a few years younger.
These types of stories are preferred by the Japanese viewer, so having one of those plots set in the BL universe feels like a dream.

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Many times love is there, in front of you. All you have to do is open your eyes and see it

At times told with subtlety, other times with symbolism, 'Phupha | Nanfah' tells us a story of an interrupted love and reconciliation of two best friends in love, who due to misunderstandings and lack of communication will not dare to confess their feelings.
Directed by Choi Sittichai ('21 Days Theory') in 2022, the story tells a story based on real events, collected in a novel of the same name written by Thanyathorn Siwanukroh, and adapted by screenwriter Eakarong Coompromboon.
The beautiful soundtrack, composed by Sompob Pokepoom (Boy), is performed by the actors who play the main characters. These manage to convey to the viewer that tension between friendship and the love of a couple that is not always easy to manage.
With good production values, beautiful photography, vibrant cinematography, precise artistic direction in creating a heartbreaking and nostalgic atmosphere, a successful placement of flashbacks to mark the two timelines in which the story is told: past and present, and the electrifying chemistry of the two main actors, ''Phupha | Nanfah' tells the difficulties that occur when one of the lovers believes that love is not possible and chooses to put distance between them.
The story focuses on Nanfah/"Nan" and Phupha/"Phu", two young university students who, in addition to being single, physically attractive, enigmatic personality, dreams, professional goals and adventures, share a dormitory and have built a solid friendship.
The two promised each other that they would never leave each other's side, but Phu has developed feelings that go beyond those of one friend for another, and assuming that Nan does not reciprocate his love because he is in love with a fellow student, decides to break the promise, lie to his friend about his whereabouts and walk away from him.
Divided into two episodes, each focused on one of the protagonists, the miniseries tells the love story from their respective perspectives. The first, titled 'Phupha', introduces us to a heartbreaking but romantic story.
Through a fascinating emotional arc told in just over thirty minutes, we discover that in the present, Phu runs a coffee plantation with his uncle. Through a photograph in its frame that breaks the glass when it falls to the floor, as a symbol of their broken relationship, this character remembers his university years and his friendly relationship with Nan.
In this way, we travel to the past to observe an emotionally charged story, with heartbreaking confrontations, and powerful performances by Wattikorn Permsubhirun (Kiak) as Nan, and Kittikun Tansuhas (Kun) as Phu.
The viewer can appreciate how, despite their times not coinciding due to studying different careers, although they do study at the same faculty, both young people seek to enjoy moments in each other's company.
Their close relationship causes others to speculate about the nature of it, but both will deny having romantic feelings. Gigi (Heidi Amanda Jensen) interested in winning Nan's love, is one of those interested in discovering the essence of the bond that unites the two boys. On the other hand, Deena (Marima Suphatra Kliangprom) has set her eyes on Phu and hopes to get closer to him to win him over.
The relationship between the two protagonists becomes much more strained when Nan asks a reluctant Phu to help him learn the rudiments of the dance so he can participate in a competition. Seeing in this a possibility to strengthen the relationship with his platonic love, Phu finally agrees to be his rehearsal partner and attend professional classes together.
Through misunderstandings, and lack of communication, Phu perceives that Nan's interest in participating in the contest with her friend Deena is because she is in love with her, and this suspicion will generate jealousy, anger, arguments and new tensions.
Through his actions and a gripping inner monologue, the viewer easily comes to understand that Phu doesn't just see Nan as a friend. The episode satisfactorily shows a boy in love and tormented by realizing that his infatuation is not reciprocated, while Nan, unintentionally, breaks his heart, when in truth she also wants to share time with the boy with whom she has built a great friendship.
The audience will live, along with Phu, his intense journey of ups and downs, anguish and heartbreak, as well as incomprehension on the part of Nan as she cannot understand Phu's reactions to her actions.
Both actors are magnificent, one conveying his secret infatuation, jealousy, desperation, and rage resulting from unrequited love. It seems as if Phu's love for Nan flows like the grain of wood. Meanwhile, the other convincingly conveys the nostalgia, melancholy and pain of not being able to hug and laugh with his friend, the impossibility of putting his nose close to his friend's neck to smell the aroma of the freshly sprayed perfume, of capturing it with his hands to preventing him from getting out of bed and forcing him to lie down next to him again, the anguish of not knowing..., the suffering of waiting for the longed-for reunion and the long-awaited reconciliation.
The distressing tension between the two grows even more when Nan introduces Phu to Deena so they can meet, so the troubled lover assumes that Nan is looking to match him with someone else since she has no romantic interest in him. Later, Phu watches from a distance as Nan and Gigi talk and hug. Although Nan has no feelings for Gigi, Phu misinterprets Nan's action, so he decides to break his promise and walk away from him, but not before lying to her about where he is heading and the reason why, according to him, he unexpectedly must leave for Australia.
The second episode, 'Nanfah', which presents us with two young people who are no longer friends, because contrary to their promise, each one has taken different paths, masterfully portrays the suffocating anguish of a friend in search of the other, a friend in need of reconciliation and reunion.
Between them there is an abyss of silence and incomprehension. In the present, Nan still does not know the real reasons why Phu broke the promise and is no longer part of her life, so she tries to bridge the distance that separates them through constant messages through a computer screen or mobile. But his words and tears are met with only silence in response.
In his memory, he travels to the past, to the exact moment he discovers Phu's absence, just on the day of both of their college graduations. He remembers that Phu had promised to confess something important to him after finishing the formal act, a confession never expressed due to his departure.
In this way, the dramatized story tells how, through conversations held with the janitor of the building where the two young people sleep, Nan will suddenly understand the reason why Phu has abandoned him. This truth takes shape in his mind, and will prompt him to travel every year, for a decade, to the Australian city of Melbourne where he believes he will be able to find Phu.
That is, during his pilgrimage, Nan has discovered that Phu has secretly loved him for years, and that misunderstandings and lack of communication between the two are the cause of the separation. Therefore, at this time, Nan is not just looking for a friend. He is aware that he also loves Phu and wants him to return to his life.
On this journey of desperate search, Nan will find an ally in Khunkhao (Seagames Teerapat Angkanit), a young man of Thai origin born in Australia, who will develop unrequited feelings for Nan.
With an open ending, 'Phupha | Nanfah' leaves tensions and undefined relationships to be taken up in a series filmed in 2023 by Kongkiat Khomsiri, known, in addition to his work in horror and action films, as one of the directors of 'KinnPorsche' , and written by Thanyathorn Siwanukroh, who is also the screenwriter of the adaptation.
Kuk and Kiat once again shine as Phu and Nan, respectively, while the character of Khunkhao, with an unexpected turn that will pleasantly surprised everyone, and Deena and Gigi, return to provide diversity and color to the remake.
Like 'Phupha | Nanfah', its prequel is an ode to love and true and sincere friendship.

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Rewrite history and historical truth

The trick of rewriting history and leaving what is not appropriate in the landfill is old: the United States lost the war in Vietnam, but years later it had its 'Rambo', capable of single-handedly winning another vengeful invasion and thus giving comfort to the nostalgic.
Another example of rewriting history was pouring rivers of ink in the American newspapers of the time to blame Cuba and Spain for the blowing up of the North American battleship Maine, on February 15, 1898, with the aim of suing and pressuring the North American government to that he decided to intervene militarily in Cuba and rob the Cubans of their independence and sovereignty.
In fact, the Maine had arrived at the Havana port on January 25 of that year, with the excuse of making a "friendly visit", although, given the tension that existed between the United States and Spain, it was evident that the presence of the ship It was nothing more than one more in the chain of pressures that the North American government had been exerting on the Spanish government in what clearly constituted preparation for intervention, with annexationist and expansionist objectives, in the war that the Cubans were waging against the regime Hispanic colonial.
Let us also not forget how Western historians, especially German, British and American, began to rewrite history to detract from the Red Army and the Soviet Union in the defeat of fascism, and overvalue the intervention of the Western allies, which, although important, was not transcendental for the final victory against Hitler's Germany.
In truth, this war was won from fascism thanks, mostly, to the military and human effort of the U.S.S.R. and its people, who put twenty-eight million victims in the balance of death. However, this objective data is based, among many other reasons, on the fact that more than 70% of Nazi losses occurred on the Eastern Front and that it was the Soviet army that brought the German machine to its knees.
When the Allies landed in Normandy, back in June 1944, the Soviets were already advancing unstoppably towards the heart of the German Reich after defeating the Germans in the Battles of Moscow, Stalingrad and the Kursk Arch, decisive in ensuring a radical turn in the evolution of World War II. Even without Western intervention, Berlin would have fallen anyway and the Soviets would have even liberated Paris or Rome.
In the effort to manipulate history, Western historians forget that Winston Churchill himself, who at that time was the Prime Minister of Great Britain, wrote that "it was precisely the Russian Red Army that took the guts out of the war machine." Hitlerian", or the statement of Dwight Eisenhower, Commander in Chief of North American troops in Europe and future President of the United States, who was forced to publicly declare that "the great deeds of the Soviet Army during the war against Germany They aroused the admiration of the whole world.
I think about the above while watching 'Special: Drama Special Season 15: The Officer Discusses', written by Sudocrean Im Eui Jung ('Love According to Law', 2022).
Based on real events, this excellent work of the historical, dramatic and family genre, tells us, in terms of a relationship of friendship, murders and palace intrigues, how the Crown Prince Yi San (Nam Da Reum), summons the historians of Joseon to eliminate from the annals collected in the "Diary of the Royal Secretariat" the events related to the death of his father, Crown Prince Sado, who was murdered by his own father, King Yeongjo (played by actor Jo Han Chul), who was the twenty-first king of the Korean Joseon Dynasty (reigned October 16, 1724 – April 22, 1776), and by Lady Hyegyeong.
Aware that history can be manipulated if one has the means and capabilities to do so and, above all, if one who writes it in a real and objective manner is silenced, in order to ascend to the throne and consolidate his reign, Yi San, who reigned with the name of Jeongjo of Joseon (October 28, 1752 - August 18, 1800), and was the twenty-second ruler of the Joseon dynasty of Korea (1776-1800), he did not hesitate to assassinate anyone who opposed him in his efforts to try to clear the name of his father, who was considered incapable and weak.
History remembers that on the day Jeongjo finally assumed the throne, after the death of his grandfather, he looked at everyone present in the royal hall and said: "I am the son of the late Crown Prince Sado...". These words were considered a warning to those complicit in his father's death.
During the stage prior to his coronation, characterized by the chaos generated by the murder of his father on the orders of his own grandfather, King Yeongjo, who made the decision influenced by politicians opposed to the crown prince, Yi San demanded that the kingdom's historians Comply with your order.
However, Nam Yeo Gang (Tang Jun Sang), a young historian who in his childhood was sent to the Palace to keep the future king company, and with whom he develops a strong friendship since childhood, refuses to obey him and will seek to prevent the crown prince carry out his unhistorical plans.
When Yi San assures that by eliminating what happened from the annals he intends to refound the nation so that a new State can emerge, the historian Nam responds: "By erasing History, in what way will your Joseon be new?" This is the work of historians: in short, to study, describe, analyze, capture the past in writing, and protect the historical truth.
I would like to finally highlight the performances of the children Lee Chun Moo as Crown Prince Yi San [Young] and Choi Ye Chan as Nam Yeo Gang [Young].

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The time travel makes the film unique among other recent Taiwanese LGBT productions

Who has not ever dreamed of taking a walk through the gladiator era in the Roman Colosseum or playing chess with Napoleon Bonaparte? As long as mobile phones do not incorporate the function of taking leaps through History – something impossible and unusual, at least for the moment –, there is always the option of dreaming thanks to cinema.
For as long as we have been aware of it, the passage of time and its nature have fascinated humanity. Particularly in cinema, time travel and temporal paradoxes have proven to be a resource that, well used, has given rise to truly fascinating films, from well-established classics like 'Back to the Future' to recent gems like 'The Time of Huan Nan', a romantic Taiwanese LGBT+ adventure directed by Leading Lee ('Anywhere, Somewhere, Nowhere', 2014).
Starring Hsia Teng Hung, Wang Yu Ping, Edison Song and Chu Meng Hsuan, the film evokes other notable Taiwanese films, while exploring LGBT+ relationships, family relationships, parents' refusal to accept their children's homosexuality and the market traditional Huan Nan, with a history of 55 years, located in the Monga delta, bathed by the Tamsui River and the Xindian River, in the Mongka district of Taipei.
Inspired by true events, field research and production took more than three years and the film is a strong collaborative project with various departments of the Taipei City government. It was filmed on location in the district and cast many local market vendors.
Although the supreme objective of the film is to represent this historic place where thousands of inhabitants of the island capital converge daily, 'The Time of Huan Nan' is more than the sum of its parts and is a moving work.
Epic, intimate, and with intense colors, 'The Time of Huan Nan' reminded me of 'Les 7 Vies de Léa', a French series released by Netflix in 2022, and which also takes us back 30 years to 1991, but in This case involves teenagers. Something like this happens in the Taiwanese film, although not as complicated.
The film revolves around Chen Yao Hua (Hsia Teng Hung), a daring high school student who in the year 2022, in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, works in the historic market at the family butcher stall. While filming with his cell phone his father, Chen Bao Ding, who in the middle of a depression dances on the roof of the market with a sword, Chen is suddenly transported 31 years ago, to 1991, when his father was young.
The film shows that from this roof you can see the best panoramic night views of all of Taipei.
Mistaken for Liu Yong Hui, a missing high school student (which is why he will be called by that name from then on), Chen Yao Hua unexpectedly enters the circle of three inseparable friends: the young version of his own father (Edison Song), An Jiang Chang (Chu Meng Hsuan), her father's lover, and Yu Kang Ming (Wang Yu Ping), the only female member of the close-knit group of friends and who plays an important role in bonding the four gang members
From the first moments, Chen Yao Hua, who has traveled back in time to trace his father's history and discover why he suffers from depression, falls in love with Yu Kang Ming, but neither of them know how to deal with the other's attraction, and, in turn, discovers that his father is homosexual and has a secret relationship with Chang An Jian.
In this way, in this vibrant and vigorous scene converted into another character, these three homoeroticly filmed handsome men, and the charming girl, take the oath as the "Four Young Brothers of Huan Nan" They hang out at the market and flirt with each other while exploring life's possibilities.
Well filmed and with an outstanding rhythm, the film tells us how the four characters jump between 1991 and 2022, while they experience the changes in their lives and how their passions, desires and regrets develop over just over three decades; and how they can make changes to redeem the losses and pain they endured all that time.
All this against the backdrop of a time that is not tolerant for LGBT+ people in Taiwan, and in which the lives of the four friends will eventually be destroyed.
Full of warmth, sensuality and love, in this sense, 'The Time of Huan Nan' joins the list of Taiwanese films that explore homosexual relationships from martial law to today, as is the case with 'Your Name Engraved Herein', by Kuang-Hui Liu (2020), or 'Girlfriend Boyfriend', by Yang Ye Che (2012).
Likewise, like this last film, or 'Eternal Summer', by director Leste Chen (2006), 'The Time of Huan Nan' presents the dynamics of a love triangle between a heterosexual woman and two homosexual men.
Likewise, 'The Time of Huan Nan' evokes other Taiwanese films, while in its final stages it makes visual references to 'The River', by Tsai Ming-liang, while the dynamic between the four protagonists is reminiscent of 'Mongka', the film by 2010 year by filmmaker Doze Niu, including queer subtext. In this way, these two productions share the environment, taking as their setting that historic district of the Taiwanese capital, considered the oldest neighborhood in the city.
Likewise, the intimate bath that Chen Yao Hua gives to Chen Bao Ding reminds me of the bath, in which perhaps strangely because they are father and son the homoerotic aspect is more than hinted at, the one given by Ah Jie (Roy Chiu) to Zheng Yuan (Spark Chen), in 'Dear Ex', the film directed by Taiwanese Mag Hsu.
However, the time travel narrative makes 'The Time of Huan Nan' unique among other recent Taiwanese LGBT films, and its stylistic flair makes it superior to recent hits like 'Marry My Dead Body'.
This won't be the only bathing scene. This will not be the only intimate and homoerotic moment: the three men will enjoy themselves in a public bathroom, and in it the two young lovers will clean their bodies with soap and water under the curious gaze of Chen Ya Hua. Because yes, in 'The Time of Huan Nan' there will be no sex scenes, not even a shy kiss, but there are many dazzling close-ups of beautiful male faces, torsos and buttocks, and intimate close-ups and sexy players behind a ball in a rugby match
Beyond the good editing, the beautiful photography and an exciting and stimulating story full of convincing performances in which the four protagonists carry the weight of the film, with a powerful mix of charisma and excellent chemistry between them, 'The Time of Huan Nan' also seems like a movie that couldn't have been filmed anywhere in Asia except Taiwan.
The most obvious sign of this is its direct representation of LGBT+ characters and themes. While other Asian countries make films of this genre and theme, they are generally not for general consumption.
In just three months since its premiere on July 13, 2024 at the New York Asian Film Festival (NYAFF), 'The Time of Huan Nan' has become a very popular film. This perhaps reflects Taiwan's continuing reputation as the most tolerant place towards LGBT people in East Asia. Although the advances or setbacks in terms of the rights of LGBT+ people may be conditioned by who are the politicians who govern at the level of the entire Island as well as in each district, and impediments that threaten the lives of homosexuals, such as that a gay couple can adopt a child and the impossibility of having property rights and hereditary rights, the widespread success of this film validates and further increases Taiwanese tolerance towards people from that community.
Even the performances of the secondary characters, such as Chen Yao-hua and Chang An-jian's parents, are good, despite their small roles.
The flaws of 'The Time of Huan Nan' are mainly narrative. Chen Yao Hua is perhaps too indifferent to the many new discoveries about his father. Likewise, the film may not stick to its premise, with the time travel plot losing steam towards the end once Chen Yao Hua returns to the present, and is now seen to have been missing for thirty years.
It is dark and complicated to say the least. Especially when he has to worry about an unfolding tragedy: Chang An Jian's disappearance thirty years ago, so he must return to the past once again. But this is not a world in which the future traveler can alter events while traveling through time.
On the other hand, already in the endings, an overly didactic and explanatory section is introduced about the Huan Nan market and the Mongka district, which breaks with the tone and dynamics of the film.

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I see a thread of light at the end of the road

Through the intercultural relationship of Jie Cheng (Ivan), a well-behaved Taiwanese student, and Eric, a rebellious American exchange student, Californian filmmaker Steven Liang explores adolescence and acceptance in the society of Taiwan.
Despite his mother's objections, Jie Cheng, who lives under constant pressure from her, meets Eric and together they embark on a journey along the most dangerous road in Taiwan.
Their trip is cut short when Eric reveals that he must return home after graduation, forcing Jie Cheng to confront his darkest demons.
Beautiful, sensitive and charming, 'Coming Home' has been screened at 30 international film festivals, following its world premiere at the Seattle International Film Festival.
Having been selected to participate in the Beijing Queer Film Festival, LA Asian Pacific Film Festival, Outfest, San Diego Asian Film Festival, Asian American International Film Festival (New York), Boston Asian American Film Festival, Boston LGBT Film Festival, CineSLAM: Vermont's LGBT Film Festival, Festival de Cannes: Short Film Corner, InDPanda Film Festival (Hong Kong), International Student Film Festival PÍSEK (Czech Republic), KASHISH: Mumbai International Queer Film Festival, Marais Film Festival (Paris, France), Peace & Love Film Festival (Örebro, Sweden), Pride of the Ocean Film Festival, Q! Film Festival: Indonesia's LGBT Film Festival, Seattle Lesbian & Gay Film Festival, Taiwan Queer Film Festival, Bilbao International LGTB Film & Performing Arts Festival (Spain), Kansai Queer Film Festival (Osaka, Japan) and Asians on Film Film Festival (Los Angeles) ), speaks clearly about this film co-produced by Taiwan and the United States.
The film made history as the first gay-themed project funded by the Taiwan Tourism Bureau and was distributed by Outplay Films.
Written by Timothy Chang and Steven Liang himself, the film stars Yu-Ting Hsu as Jie Cheng, Benjamin Turman as Eric and Bi Lan Li as the mother.
Interested in telling stories about the resilience of those living on the margins, Steven Liang, an award-winning director and House Ballroom scene photographer, addresses themes of homosexuality and transsexuality, as demonstrated in 'The Extra Mile' (2013), A Better Life (2014), Afuera (2017), Emma and the Butt (2017), Falling for Angels (2017), and Transplant (2018), Coming of Age, among other productions.
Screened in New York as part of the 2015 Asian American International Film Festival, the film, written by Timothy Chang and Steven Liang himself, stars Yu-Ting Hsu as Jie Cheng, Benjamin Turman as Eric and Bi Lan Li as the mother .
The story is populated with thousands of small details, which enrich the look, and a grayer color that carries with it questions that the viewer must answer, if he can.
The song "I Need Your Love", performed by Grace, plays magnificently with the story, and creates a unique and fascinating atmosphere that allows the plot to perfectly connect with the viewer.
The story does not leave anyone who approaches it indifferent, and we all wait for the boys to have a happy ending, and the mother to finally accept her son's sexuality.
The photography and direction are commendable. The plot is beautiful, and although it may seem that all is lost, I see a thread of light at the end of the road.

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