This review may contain spoilers
Sweet if Dated Film
Unfortunately I could only find a very poor quality video of this movie with English subtitles, so my review is colored by my frustration with unclear pictures and bad subtitles.
This film is a sweet and engaging story that sets the standard for first love BLs in terms of storyline and emotional development. Many of the tropes we now see in gay awakening or first love BLs are present here, many years before the Thai BL industry got going. I found this very interesting. There is some homophobia which we also see in many BLs, especially early ones, which I don’t like. It’s frustrating to watch characters say they don’t want to be gay or are not gay when they clearly love someone of the same sex.
The third act of this film was really moving, and I cried when the MLs were separated. Ped’s realization of his feelings after Oí leaves was powerful even if it he never stated that he wanted to be a couple. It is implied enough by the end. I guess it was too much to expect a kiss, though.
Despite liking the story, it was a bit amateurish and lacked development. Certain parts felt abrupt and the dialogue was limited. (Or I thought so because the subtitles were so bad.) The acting seemed good through the haze of poor video quality, but I can’t be sure because it was hard to see their faces clearly.
Overall I’m glad I watched this, but frankly I can now see better versions of this story many times over. Still it was touching and very interesting in terms of the history of BLs. No one mentions this as paving the way for future shows. Maybe not many people saw it or know about it. I only found it because I needed to watch an early work as part of a Challenge.
I don’t think it deserves a good rating but it also shouldn’t be discounted just because it has flaws.
This film is a sweet and engaging story that sets the standard for first love BLs in terms of storyline and emotional development. Many of the tropes we now see in gay awakening or first love BLs are present here, many years before the Thai BL industry got going. I found this very interesting. There is some homophobia which we also see in many BLs, especially early ones, which I don’t like. It’s frustrating to watch characters say they don’t want to be gay or are not gay when they clearly love someone of the same sex.
The third act of this film was really moving, and I cried when the MLs were separated. Ped’s realization of his feelings after Oí leaves was powerful even if it he never stated that he wanted to be a couple. It is implied enough by the end. I guess it was too much to expect a kiss, though.
Despite liking the story, it was a bit amateurish and lacked development. Certain parts felt abrupt and the dialogue was limited. (Or I thought so because the subtitles were so bad.) The acting seemed good through the haze of poor video quality, but I can’t be sure because it was hard to see their faces clearly.
Overall I’m glad I watched this, but frankly I can now see better versions of this story many times over. Still it was touching and very interesting in terms of the history of BLs. No one mentions this as paving the way for future shows. Maybe not many people saw it or know about it. I only found it because I needed to watch an early work as part of a Challenge.
I don’t think it deserves a good rating but it also shouldn’t be discounted just because it has flaws.
Was this review helpful to you?
