3
15
1
4
1
1
อย่าหยุดสู้! -- Never Stop Fighting!
I usually only watch variety shows when I'm feeling really, really sick. So, when I clicked start on the first episode of "Running Man Thailand" in late February, I didn't expect to get hooked on the show and to wait impatiently for the next episode to air each week.Somehow, the regular hosts, their guests and the technical crew made this show highly addictive. There's never a dull moment, even if some episodes scratch the two hour mark.
Granted, not every game met the mark (I think the game inventors severely underestimated the difficulty of the Pattaya Beach games), and I didn't think the "couples' episode" (ep 5), was the best of ideas -- but overall, the games were well-designed, and made so that every participant could shine at least once.
Episodes were also edited on point for the most part; the editors built tension incredibly well and I think they found the best scenes to tell a good story for each game. The amount of material must have been huge, so I really think this is impressive work.
The regular hosts were delightful! I love how competetive all of them were -- nobody backed down, even when exhausted or cornered. NuNew was a wonderful surprise. I also liked how they grew over the course of the season -- from people who knew each other in passing as professionals in the same industry to team members (or opponents) who know each other's strengths and weaknesses.
However, even with all of these great aspects, there's one thing that makes this show stand out: The hosts (and guests) all genuinely seem to like each other. I love how happy they are when an opponent does something extraordinary; I love how they step back after a fight and check if the other is okay. There never seems to be even a second of animosity between any of them.
Of course, one never knows how much exactly is scripted in shows like these but I think there is some genuine fondness among the participants.
Overall, I enjoyed almost every minute of "Running Man Thailand". I really hope the producers will consider a second season.
For those who consider watching just one episode for their favourites -- you can, of course, and it's likely you will enjoy it. But I really recommend watching all ten episodes for the development of the dynamics between the regulars.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Set in a fantasy land with a timetravel/body swap trope at the centre, "I'm the most Beautiful Count" balances three (Western) genres: comedy, romance and political intrigue. It starts out as a simple comedy, slowly adds romance and lastly edges into the political plot -- I liked how the script never forgets any of the three and usually manages to combine them nicely.The romance was maybe too underwhelming for some -- the focus is on the revolution plot for quite some time, and we don't really get the two main characters be lovey-dovey together, which, in my view, wouldn't quite fit them anyway, since they do love to bicker with each other. I liked that they made it clear that even after declarations of love there will be misunderstandings and a continuous re-balancing of boundaries. I also liked how the script acknowledges that you can love one person dearly while still being attracted to another -- it's the decision if you'll want to act that makes or breaks a relationship. (That being said, I think Prince!Worradetch should have just taken all three of the men -- Kosol, Banjong and Jade -- into his harem.)
The comedy was there on-and-off throughout the series, and I liked its use until the start of the last episode. Mainly it was Prince!Worradetch being extra again and again, and their surroundings having to somehow cope with it -- but I felt that it never laughed *at* Worradetch, only with him.
While the plot about the revolution is not ... revolutionary, I found it to be solidly done for the most part. It took over much of the runtime during later episodes, as is only right, and there were some narrative tricks used to make a rather straightforward plot more interesting. For a while there I thought that we might even get an ending that was not a happy one -- but unfortunately they pulled the rug there from under our feet, and not one time, not two, but three times! And while the first one was an almost-clever plot twist, the second just cheapened the emotions they made us go through -- and the third diminished the taste of victory and justice in favour for unhinged comedy. (There is a reason why in old fairy tales the villain *always* gets punished.)
Those two last rug-pulls are tied into how the screenplay flips the mood on its head in the last episode -- we go from light-hearted plot with serious messages to silly comedy that forgets all the hardships and all the bad things that happened before, just to make a happy ending with glitter and rainbows. That was *not* needed at all. A victory that acknowledges the sacrifice that was needed to get there tastes even sweeter, don't you think?
Another great let-down were the female characters. We have our main characters who want equality and justice for *everybody* to live how they want. And the screenplay? Gives us exactly *two* women who even are in more than two scenes or so -- and one of them only appears near the end of the story. The other has exactly one reason to be there: To be the jealous antagonist for Worradech's romance arc. She doesn't contribute in a meaningful way to the revolution other than to look pretty and cook meals with chili paste. Was it really too much to ask to give her at least *one* other character trait or purpose?
On a technical side, this drama was well done. They obviously only had a limited budget -- and clever use of locations and filming angles made the world richer looking than it was. (An advantage of setting this in a fantasy land, no need to be too fussy with historical accuracy.) Fighting scenes and anything that needed a crowd looked slightly empty with only a handful of extras, and that might be the reason why there's no huge battle scene -- but I'd rather the producers and writers look for clever solutions than rely on CGI (or worse, genAI). And I think they did well with their solution, the final takedown fit Worradetch and his companions' characters extremely well, I think.
While the actors all delivered a solid performance, let me point out that I loved Nut here: He was able to switch easily between the effusive Prince and the more reserved original!Worradech. The other actor who impressed me was Lee Asre, who played the slave "Jade", who was often seen just kneeling in the background and still never fell out of his role. He showed his character's development well through his body language which relaxed incrementally with Jade's growth of confidence.
Overall, I loved this production despite its flaws. I found it engaging, never boring; and it delivered a thinly-veiled political message with its comedy, which is my favourite style of story.
Before I come to my concluding three questions, let me makes two quick detours:
Detour 1:
Prince / Worradetch calls themselves กะเทิย "kathoey". Now, I'm not Thai, so this is all from my observations from a distance, but from what I've seen and understood, กะเทิย is a concept that doesn't fit into our neat Western boxes for identity, it is something quite different. A gay man can be กะเทิย, as well as an effeminate man -- it's a spectrum that reaches up to what we call "trans woman" in the West. So, while Prince says "ฉันเป็นกะเทิยค่ะ" "I am Katheoy" they are using ฉัน, which is usually a "female"-associated pronoun, but can also be used by men. So, it doesn't mean that they say "I am a (trans) woman" (in the narrow Western sense).
They are simply กะเทิย -- that's why I prefer the term to use as it is, and not try to translate it to a Western term that will not fit in most cases.
Detour 2:
To have a drama with a katheoy character in a main role is rare. To have them be shown not as the butt of the joke but as a competent, complex human being who succeeds outside of the "assigned" careers of fashion, entertainment or beauty, but in politics of all things, is even rarer.
Actually, I only know of one other drama like this, and that is "ผู้ใหญ่ลีศรีบานเย็น" ("Headman Lee of Sri Baan Yen").
So, while I know that webtoon fans were upset that the screenwriter decided to tone down the political side and set the adaptation in a fantasy land, for me it is already a feat that "I'm the most Beautiful Count" was adapted as a drama at all. It's one thing to be a webtoon with a (relatively) small readership, it is quite another to be a drama made by an established production company and published on a major streaming platform.
This is why I am not at all disappointed -- it's much less risky to have the main characters (the good guys) push for the abolishment of the monarchy that way. For those who don't know, Thailand has one of the most restrictive lèse-majesté laws in the world. In 2023, the party who won the most votes in the election was even dissolved by the courts because they had campaigned for a less restrictive law. So, I cannot blame the production company and their writer at all for erring on the side of caution, even if that made Thai fans of the webtoon upset.
(iirc, they were upset by more than that, but I can't remember the specifics.)
Was it good?
It was well-acted, the romance and the revolution plot line were nicely balanced, and the crew used their budget well to tell a story that should have been much grander in scale. However, the drama also had a few major flaws.
Did I like it?
I thoroughly enjoyed all of it! Even the two rug-pulls and the ridiculousness of the last episode couldn't detract from that. I might even rewatch the series.
Who would I recommend it to?
To those who like to see a kathoey character in a major role. To those who don't mind over-the-top ridiculousness and are able to see the political messages behind the comedy.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Road trip drama
"The End of the World With You" is, at its core, a road-trip movie -- in drama form, with a romance and instead of just one character dying, it's the whole world.And the world here feels very real -- the way the drama is filmed, acted and edited makes everything feel very grounded. There's no flashiness; sets and colours are as realistic as they can be, and as a viewer, I felt the heat of the sun, the refreshing water, the lushness of a Japanese summer.
As usual for the genre of "road trip", it's about reflecting ones past, bringing up regrets and giving character(s) their last-minute character development. And there's always the question in the background: Will we believe in a miracle?
The miracle, so much can be said, is heavily implied here but not fully confirmed. I like it when a story like this one stays open-ended, others might not be satisfied.
It took me years to start this, several days to get through the first two episodes. First because others talked about it being "hard to watch" and "toxic" (and I should have known then and there that this opinion is utter rot, the word "toxic" is as much of a bad sign as "heart-warming") and then because it seemed as if this would be another BL about lost-and-found-again love told only from the perspective of the "uke" character. But near the beginning of episode 4 I saw that this would be more.
The drama started to really go into the road trip part: picking up new party members, encountering different strangers and situations, and going deeper into the past of the four characters, which (of course) are intertwined. During this second half of the drama, Ritsu undergoes a very subtle character development -- maybe a bit too subtle for the average Western viewer. He has to confront his decisons of the past, whether good or bad. He has to face the results of his decisions -- especially what his actions towards his then-lover did to Masumi. With typical Japanese restraint, both of them quietly resolve their tension and understand each other's feelings with the prospect that their lives might end in a few days.
Or it might not, and that is the main crux of the drama and of life: We know we will have to die, but it's not certain when. Masumi and Ritsu will probably die tomorrow, but maybe, if a miracle happens, they might not. We, the viewers of the drama, will probably live longer -- but maybe, if a disaster happens, we might not.
The question is, how will you go on regardless?
Was it good?
It was made with care and a limited budget. It's surprisingly realistic for such a fantastic scenario.
Did I like it?
Yes, and much more than I thought I would. I loved the subtle and understated character development of Ritsu's.
Who would I recommend it to?
Actually, I think every BL fan should at least try it and see for themselves.
Was this review helpful to you?
Whichever aspect I consider -- story, acting, the pace, the set design, the message, how music and silance are used -- there is nothing I would want to change.
"Our Dining Table" is a gentle, slow-paced romance, tied together by simple but delicious food and an energetic little boy.
Both young men are missing something in their lives -- Yutaka is the more obvious one; since the story is mostly told from his perspective, and his loneliness and his problem with eating in a group is at the centre of the story -- but Minoru is also alone in his own way: Caring for a pre-schooler as a 23-year-old, he is only met with incomprehension from his peers, and so has lost most of his social circle.
While I was interested in Yutaka's story about how he found his own family, as well as delighted by Tane's overwhelming cuteness, it's Minoru who makes me come back to this drama. I love watching his face, and especially his eyes when he looks at Yutaka, and how their expression subtly changes over the course of the story, from interest to happiness to resignation and finally, to a gaze that is so full of love that it almost feels intrusive to watch him.
And it's not only Minoru's actor's ability that elevates a lovely story to something special -- it's all of them. The child actor, of course, but also the father's actor, who infuses the character's silliness with genuine fatherly love for his sons.
"Our Dining Table" is one of two dramas I choose to rewatch whenever I despair of humanity.
Was this review helpful to you?
เพราะเขามีหัวใจของหมอ
I breezed through this drama -- the acting is top-notch, the script (with one exception) incredibly well-written, and the characters are not only consistent but also multilayered.First of all: The acting.
There is really nothing to complain about. From the main cast to the small roles, there was no awkward moment or a moment where I would have said that something didn't fit with the character or the scene.
Especially for some of the main cast, whose characters are more of the ambivalent type, they managed to make me like or dislike them, as needed by the respective scene.
The script is overall very neatly written. It gently leads us through the lives of a group of doctors in a Thai hospital; with Doctor Talodgan and his journey through self-doubt and grief at the centre, and several other story lines around him, some just an episode long, others are weaved through more than half of the total runtime.
There is a set-up of an important plot point right at the beginning, and then, especially after episode 5, more and more story lines are gently introduced. There is a lot going on between episodes 6 and 14 -- but somehow the drama never feels crowded or rushed; on the contrary, there is a lot of space to work through the emotions we feel together with the characters as well as space to breathe between events.
The story picks up pace in the last two episodes, where the crime plot and its fall-out come to the forefront and the secrets of the past are revealed -- here most of the long-term story lines are tied together into one.
There is one revelation in episode 14 that in my opinion didn't fit the rest of the narrative, as well as a brief dip into a cliche in episode 15, but that is overall negligible.
"เพราะเขามีหัวใจของหมอ -- Because they have the heart of a doctor" is at the centre of the drama -- which is question of what it means to "have a doctor's heart", i.e. the ethics of being a medical professional. Around it there are other issues that are discussed by Thai society: for example the influence of social media on public perception or how money, political power and social status are still a deciding factor in whether a person gets preferential treatment in society. I also liked how the drama places importance on mental well-being as part of being healthy, and de-stigmatizes seeking professional help in these matters.
The characters are very consistent -- and most importantly, nobody except for two background (but influential) characters is solely a hero or a villain, not even the hospital director. The script gives every character a reason for their actions and feelings as well as the chance to grow throughout the series. I found this the most obvious for Talodgan's friend and colleague, Tonnam, and for the female intern, Fon.
Relating to that, there were many points where the script could have veered into lakorn territory, with jealousy, love triangle or revenge plots. It didn't.
There is a slight romance arc, but it's more simmering in the background, and even the love confessionss are extremely understated.
Overall, the characters are *adults* and medical professionals and act accordingly.
The medical aspect seems to be very accurate -- given that there are several messages about healthy living, organ and blood donations and other medical issues that are relevant for the average citizen, and that medical ethics are at the centre, it's good that the writers and the director paid a lot of attention to this. I loved how they showed the doctors as professionals, and that there is no more drama in the cases than needed. An normal operation is already tense enough, you don't need extra dramatics.
A last note: The background music was sometimes a bit too sentimental, but I loved the percussion part in tense moments, which sounded a bit like a heart beat.
Was it good?
Yes! It had very tidy writing, and the acting was superb. I liked how they weaved character development, a sound plot and messages to the public into one engaging drama.
Did I like it?
I loved it and finished the whole thing in days. I love the unhurried pace, and how every character has their redeeming qualities. Also, the romance was barely there.
Who would I recommend it to?
To anyone who watches dramas for the characters, who can cope with a pace that takes its time to arrive where it was going, and who doesn't need a blazing romance.
Was this review helpful to you?
Twists and turns, steeped in Thai spiritualism
"Shadow" is an all-around solid supernatural mystery (not horror) with some gay main characters. It's not a romance, and there are no BL tropes in sight.So, anyone who wants a BL romance should maybe not watch it.
However, those who are interested in a ghost mystery with a lot of twists and turns, to the very last second even, might have a great time with it.
Before I go into my thoughts about the script, let me say a sentence or two about the actors. They were fantastic!
This was only the second role of Fiat Patchata's that I saw him in. The first (in this year's "The Death of Khun Phra") was so different that I almost can't believe that this is the same actor! Both Fluke Natouch and Poon Mitpakdee were excellent; and Utt Uttsada led me by the nose with his portrayal of Brother Anurak.
And Singto Prachaya? If there was any doubt at all that he was brilliant as Dan, any doubt would have been swept away by the last eight minutes of the drama.
The sets, the camera work, the background music and the colours were appropriately done for setting the mood of each scene; I admit I am not overly fond of the end credits song.
The script though.
The script was *everything* I look for in a supernatural mystery.
It led me from one question to another -- I had so many theories while I watched it, and most of them made a lot of sense at the time, but then with the next reveal, all of them had to be discarded. And it was well-written in that regard: the new information *always* made sense, and in the end I saw that I had picked up on some important hints and foreshadowing, without understanding what I saw at the time.
When the story ended, there were only very few loose threads and unanswered questions, none of which concerned the main plot.
Apart from all the the parallels to "Hamlet", one other thing in the script I adore was that it managed to include some metaphorical commentary on some other topics, for example on Thailand's history and the influence of western culture, on how being viewed as different can lead to self-destruction, as well as how abuse shapes children, and more.
Just a few, hopefully non-spoilery examples:
* The forest spirit whose mutually beneficial co-existence with the locals is cut by the arrival of western (Christian) culture, and is consequently becoming twisted and malevolent.
* The silence of Thai society about the events of 6th October, which they call "Red October" in the drama (I suggest to read up on it, this is *the* scar on Thailand's communal conscience), ultimately leads to more pain and mistrust in the present.
* Trin, Dan and Nai are different from the norm -- and the difference in how they are dealing with it and if they have the good kind of support leads to growth or destruction.
* An abused and lonely child is easy prey for the next abuser, who can use the child's needs and trauma to forge a connection and the illusion of safety and belonging.
"Shadow" is also deeply intertwined with Thai spiritualism and Buddhist believes, and I'm sure I didn't understand all of it. Like with the events of 6th October, the writers assume that the audience are aware of it, and I'm sure that Thai viewers understand much of what is only implicitely said that I don't.
One belief that does seem to be extremely important is the concept of "karma" -- that is different for everybody from birth, and that we might be able to escape, or not.
I also suspect that the Thai and Buddhist way of seeing the world influenced the ending and the overall meaning of the drama -- which might lead to some disappointment by western viewers because it means the story goes towards a different conclusion than westerners might expect or hope for.
So.
Was it good? -- Yes, the script was solid and engaging, the acting excellent.
Did I like it? -- Oh, yes. It had everything I want in a mystery, made me develop theories and ideas and gave me lots of twists, right until the very end. And I *loved* the ending.
Who would I recommend it to? -- To everyone who likes supernatural mysteries, and like to explore the mystery together with the characters. Not to those who are looking for a BL.
Was this review helpful to you?
The awards are certainly well deserved. The acting, the soundtrack, the cinematography, everything served to enhance an already incredible story.
Here are some aspects that impressed me:
* The whole drama is not something to watch casually. Every minute is relevant, every twitch or facial twist is an important part of the story.
* I loved how I got to see only bits and pieces of what happened -- and had me mistrusting everybody throughout the series. Especially during the first episodes, which left me reeling with their cliffhangers. And then there was some new bit of info which slotted seamlessly into what I knew but changed all my ideas on what was going on.
* The first episodes made me guess and mistrust to the point where I expected a new twist even to the very end, when in other dramas I would already have been bored by the predictable plot -- I did no longer trust my own deductions nor my knowledge of the genre's usual plots, culprits and tropes.
* Every character is just shades of grey. Everybody's got their motives and reasons for their actions. Nobody is purely good, and still, a lot of them are somewhat likeable. That is something not a lot of dramas manage to do.
* I loved the role smiling and laughing played in this drama. I think the times when a smile, a chuckle or a laugh was really genuine instead of expressing any kind of negative emotion could be counted on the fingers of one hand.
* While the female characters were in the minority (no surprise there), all of them were strong, independent and active characters in their own right. (Apart from the victims of the serial killer, which was one of the few genre-conforming elements.)
* And last: No romance! Always a plus.
If you are a fan of mystery thrillers, this one will be worth your time!
Was this review helpful to you?
What I liked best:
* The initial premise is different and interesting, the story arcs well paced and in the end, all story threads are neatly tied up. Even if they ended the series with a glimpse of a new plot, it felt more like a "this is not the end" than a cliffhanger.
* The main character was extremely well acted, I loved the facial expressions (or, sometimes, the lack of them) and how the actor moved his body, we never forget that this is actually a dead body, not a living being.
* The comedy was there duiring all the episodes, and varied between spoofing Zombie movies and the detective genre, slapstick-y routines and just plain hilarious situations.
* The mysteries were not too simple, but simple enough for a comedy.
* Some K-Dramas I've watched have a weird slump in pacing or story in the 9th to 11th episdes. This one doesn't, every episode was interesting or funny enough to keep me watching.
* There was no romance between the two main characters, only a hint of interest on the woman's side, which is not even recognized by the zombie detective.
Was this review helpful to you?
Things I liked most:
* The female characters! Although they were still in the minority, they were fantastic! The two main female characters were an equal part of the cast -- in most cases the female forensic doctor was the one who found the deciding clue, even. Both were shown as professionals, with interesting personal lives, own ambitions and well-rounded personalities.
* The team! We get to know all five (hm, six) people of the UDI well, and how they learn and grow together. They start as distant, even uncomfortable colleagues -- and in the end, they work as a well-integrated team. Some of them get some character development, some don't really need it.
* The supporting cast! Even they got a personality, some are more mysterious, some antagonistic, some familial. All of them clearly have their own motivations and goals.
* The acting! The directing! The soundtrack!
* No Romance! Well, over the course of one or two episodes, the male part-timer wonders if the female lead might be interested in him, and it seems he wouldn't have rejected any advances -- but! That fizzles out and is never even thought about again.
(Although, as I read through the other reviews, I see Orangevine's who states that "There is also a love triangle (with the caveat that one must be well-versed in Japanese romance tropes to spot it)". I'm obviously not well-versed, so I don't see it.)
* Minimal gore! We see blood, contusions, discoloration of the skin, some wounds, the occasional part of an organ preserved in formalin. Faces of the deceased are never disfigured, there are a few scenes where we see how the scalpel starts to cut, but never any opened bodies or any inner body parts while the autopsy is in progress.
All in all, it's remarkably respectful of the dead (compared to US productions) and there's never any kind of voyeurism.
* A fascinating insight into Japanese culture! Concerning death, and how the deceased and those who have contact with them are regarded and what it means for the politics around them.
* Last but not least: The cases! Not every case is a crime, but they are all interesting. The first one is noticably from before CoViD. The seventh had me in tears, that one hit close to home for me. The overarching plot was also intense, and was the main focus of the last three or so episodes, and tied all the personalities and their development together.
Was this review helpful to you?
This show is a fantasy for all of us who belonged to the "nerds", the "weirdos", the "fat" people or whatever group we belonged to and thought we would never have a chance to get the popular guy -- to make our secret crush our one true love.
First of all:
1. Toh is a very special kind of guy. His brain works differently to "normal" people. (I think people nowadays call that neuro-divergent.) He's also a rather campy gay man, which marginalizes him further and colours his world view heavily. This makes his actions hard to watch, although for him, they all make perfect sense.
2. Toh's friend group is loud, queer, a bit weird -- the whole show is made of camp.
If you can accept that and roll with it, you will have a very good time with this show. If you can't, then you should probably watch something else. I get that these over-the-top kind of shows are not for everybody.
Second:
1. What I loved most is the friendship between Toh, Daisy, Som and KaoJao. They are all supportive when it counts, pushing the other when it's needed,and not above teasing each other. It was also great how easily the two gangs mixed, the weird one and the popular kids. Toward the end, they were still very much present, and that's not something you always have, that the couple(s) don't forget their friends.
2. The second main thing I loved was: Those characters who are different (nerdy, queer, chubby ... just "different") usually only get supporting roles, mostly no love interest, and are often there mainly for comic relief. In this series they are the main characters! And they all get a love interest! AND, and this is the thing that made me give ten stars, none of them is required to change for that to happen. How often have we seen that the "ugly duckling" turns into a beautiful swan in the end? Not here, Toh remains his usual self, glasses, bowl cut and short trousers included.
Third:
* Kudos to the director: There are so many ensemble scenes, and even if they are not in focus, I haven't seen one actor fall out of character. It's a joy to watch the reactions and interactions in the background.
* Colour, audio and overall cinematography was fine. The background music was always there, as if whoever was in charge of it had a "horror silentiae", and sometimes too loud. I do love "แอบหลงรัก ", §ดั่งดาว" and, yes, even "Ooh My Loove".
* One thing that threw me out of my enjoyment of the explicit scenes was that they opened the condom packets while still dressed -- where are you going to put it then? (Also, I'd really like some lube sometime...)
Fourth, and that's the last one:
And I have to talk about it because I like to rant about the prevalence of top/bottom-tropes in Thai BLs, this was actually toned down a lot here. It was still there, and I wish we could get away from the "pushy" top. (Even though Sky was quite sweet later on, I'm not too happy about how he pursued Jao in the beginning and the grabbing around the neck/chest thing.)
Still, there was no feminizing a partner who was not like that in the beginning, that's good. Also no infantilizing whatsoever. The use of "wife" was mainly used to describe the roles during sexual activities, not as a character trait. Partners in two couples offered to switch roles if the other wanted it.
"Tops" were also at times insecure, emotionally open and one of them not really adept at flirting.
I also firmly believe that the bandana in Nuea's right backpocket (in episode 7) was intentional, and you can pry this headcanon out of my cold, dead hands.
Overall, a firm recommendation from me, if just because of the great representation of characters who are otherwise never in the spotlight.
[This is a slightly edited version of the review I posted on Viki.]
Was this review helpful to you?
All in all, it did not wholly deliver on its promise.
The premise I liked, four young people who have to come to a decision and their own standing point regarding their position towards platonic and romantic relationships -- and issues of belonging to a group versus being who you are. Even the love triangle made sense within these topics.
The execution, though, is stilted and at times too slow.
These are definitely directing choices, not the problems of the actors -- as soon as they get to do something, they start to shine.
For example, I don't understand why the actors stand right in front of each other in most conversations, with their arms hanging down without movement (and the whole drama is conversation-heavy) -- alternatively, they talk while walking next to each other at a snail's pace. I suppose the director wanted to convey some kind of awkwardness -- which is a good idea, since the characters definitely don't feel comfortable for most of the time, but it just gets boring after a while.
Also, the characters (with the exception of Namgoong) all have similar mannerisms (or, if I want to be a bit mean, the same mannerisms) -- including the teacher, which I mistook for another student in several scenes.
There were also some minor issues:
* At times, the background music did not quite fit the mood -- I'm also not a fan of the "plink-plink"-kind of music.
* The scene with the adult toys in the beginning was never resolved, and did not fit in with the rest of the story.
* I could have done without the kiss at the end -- it feels as if the writers or the director said: Oh, the audience also wants a kiss, so lets add it somewhere. A hug or some light cuddling, or even sitting very close to each other would have fit the overall mood better.
* I'm also not too sure about the female character, but since she had her own story arc and character development, I'll let it slide.
The plot itself, with its theme of exploration and the awkwardness of navigating relationships in adolescenece, is fine, and surely of interest to many. It's just that the way the series is brought to the screen cannot convey all the depth and the emotion it wanted.
Maybe if the creators had been clearer of the intended audience and made some bolder choices for directing according to that, it would have been more on point.
Overall, I found it okay to watch, but not worth a second time.
Was this review helpful to you?
So, yes, I don't mind the wonky audio quality or how the change between scenes is often less than smooth. I can focus on how the actors do their best (and mostly succeed) and on the interesting camera angles.
What I do mind is if the script is not good. You don't need a high budget to write a good script -- you need a vision. And I think this is where the weakness of this film lies.
The three stories are very good -- on their own. The shy and confused boys experiencing their first love feels very grounded in reality, the close-ups and the wonkiness of the camera work support the viscerality of the story. The second changes genres -- from slice-of-life to horror: And this, too, has interesting lighting and camera angles, and is quite well written, with somewhat of an open end even. And the third returns to a more sensitive topic, and this screenplay makes us feel for all three men in just twenty minutes.
In the last few minutes, the script tries to tie the three storiess together -- but ultimately fails. There's a theory in the comments on kisskh, but the mental twisting it requires to make it work (and even then there are too many details that just don't fit) makes me think that these originally were three seperate stories, maybe even sperate projects.
letterboxd lists three directors for this project, and the difference in styles in the three stories indicate that each one was directed by one director. I suspect that they only noticed at the end of their work that they maybe should try to make the stories into one, which is why things don't really fit together.
In my view, they did their project a disservice by doing so. Each of the stories is not bad on its own; this could have been a simple omnibus. Each of the stories shows a different age in life already (teenagers, young adults, adults). The Thai title เพราะรัก...ไม่สิ้นสุด "Because Love ... never ends" would make a perfect starting point for a journey through the stages of life; just choose some middle-aged actors for the third story, and you already have it.
The three directors chose to do differently, but I don't think it works well enough.
Was it good?
Each of the stories were not bad for an indie production. The whole doesn't make sense, unfortunately.
Did I like it?
If I pretend that the stories are independant from each other, then yes.
Who would I recommend it to?
To those who want to peek into the history of Thai gay cinema. Not to BL fans who are used to recent productions and want everathing to have the same production quality.
Was this review helpful to you?
However, despite all of these technical issues, the film is worth a watch. Both main leads do a good job of portraying their characters -- I wish some of the newer BL productions had this high of acting quality -- and since this is a character driven story, that is the most important part for me.
Tum's story, who is the character we mostly follow in the beginning, is a classic coming-of-age story: He leaves the familiar shores of home and sets out into the wide world, where he meets people whose life is unusual for him, goes through rites of passage, falls in love, makes peace with his father, and finds what he wants in life.
Personally, I find Kim's story much more interesting -- he is a boy who is very lonely, who drifts over the island like a ghost. He is the one who embodies the feeling of "other" that makes us feel Not Seen. A supporting character puts it like this "มันคงจะดีนะ ถ้าใครสักคนเห็นเราอยู่ในสายตา" -- "It's probably good, right? When someone has us in their view." This desire to be seen, to be understood, is a very human trait, I think.
This could have been maybe made a little bit more obvious for the casual viewer; instead the writer tried to insert another metaphor into the story -- a metaphor which is related to wate: Pivotal scenes are often either in the rain or at the sea shore, and the girl who ties two storylines together is called น้ำ /náam/ "Water"), so I suppose this is intentional but I'm not sure what it means.
Together with the aspect that there were some scenes that didn't add much to the story, I think that the script could have been tightened slightly to make the theme clearer.
One last thing: The film is tagged with "BL", "gay", "young love" and "sexual awakening" on GagaOOLala, but it isn't, not really. In my view, it's less queer than "Confetti", and that one went over the head of many viewers, according to reactions on letterboxd. It's perfectly possible to view "Summer to Winter" as a film about a strong friendship between two young people.
As it is, it's a fine low-budget film, with some beautiful shots of Koh Tao, decent acting by the main leads, and a good, though not great, screenplay.
Was it good?
Overall, I think this was actually quite nice for an indie low-budget film.
Did I like it?
I would have liked it sightly better if the editing had been a bit gentler, but yes, I did.
Who would I recommend it to?
Not to people who only want to watch BLs. To those who love coming-of-age stories, and who like metaphors.
Was this review helpful to you?
The romance starts off strong -- and then comes to a complete standstill for six episodes. In that time, the series discusses how workplace dynamics (in particular hierarchies and the concept of seniority) influence the quality of work and of work life. It also picks up themes like bossing, the culturally significant concepts of "saving face" and เกรงใจ /greng-jai/ (the feeling of not wanting to burden people who have seniority/authority with your own needs or wishes), office gossip and others. We follow Pat in his first months at the office, and how he learns to find his own place in this world. The difference between his coworkers (who expect the Thai way of doing and saying things) and his superior, who is, even by my German standards, extremely up-front and blunt with his feedback, is striking; and I expect this might hit a nerve with Zillenial Thai viewers.
We also get to see how his friends go through things: getting prgnant, breaking up, living through unrequited love ... all of the things many young people in their twenties experience.
"Step by Step" is also the first Thai BL series I've watched that takes work issues seriously and not just as pretty background for a sweeping romance. The inter-office work as well as the lingo and the workflow felt quite realistic -- I'm not sure if it actually is, but if there was any nonsense, I didn't notice it. It certainly was better than whatever they did in "Bed Friend" or "A Boss and a Babe".
After episode six, the focus pivots towards the romance -- and while I liked how they gently re-introduce it at first, the whole thing takes a nosedive near the end of episode 8. It recovers slightly in episode 10, when the same-sex relationship between boss and employee becomes known and thus an issue (but only for this episode), and then never fully recovers again. Here are some (hopefully non-spoilery) examples of things that went wrong:
* The timeline went wobbly -- what we get in time stamps, doesn't make sense.
In the beginning, Pat is 25, his friend knows she is pregnant (and in the third month of pregnancy), and Jeng gets a year to turn the department profitable.
Sometime later Pat has a birthday, then his friend gives birth, then we get a small time skip of three months. But then there's almost tow quarters left of the year Jeng had?
After that, there's a time skip of two years, another of birthday of Pat's -- and in the last minutes of the series, he says he is 26 years old. Sigh.
* The secondary pairing doesn't get a resolution at all, after a lot of dramatics between episodes 5 and 10 or 11.
* Some supporting characters are important in the first half, and then never come back. One supporting character has a 180°-turn with her characterization.
* Jeng has a breakdown in episode 8 because of his feelings -- there was never any hint before that he was that deep in love. Overall, the progression of emotions was uneven; especially just before and after they got together, there seemed to be a jump in attraction/love; which could have been prepared better.
* Let's just forget the lakorn-ish birth scene, which happened in a public bus with onlookers filming, and which had never any impact on anything else.
* The conflict between Jeng and his father never gets resolved. Jeng even says "this was too easy" at one point, but there's never any follow-up. (The father was also a severely underutilized character. And maybe all the more jarring because his actor was good enough to give him characterization where there was none in the script.)
* In episode 12, which is overly long already, with 1 hour 49 minutes, instead of resolving the remaining conflicts (e.g. the secondary couple's story), the last 30 minutes were spent on Pat and Jeng being domestic together in unrelated scenes. Also, Pat was ukefied in these last scenes, which, for me, made all his character growth kind of pointless.
And it's really a shame that the writing falls apart to that extent. We have this really well-introduced office and its work dynamics. We have a diverse friend group, that even has a token het couple, with interesting romantic and platonic relationships. We have a discussion about social issues about society and workplace politics. And then nothing of that is used to the fullest, and in some cases, not even resolved. I wished a ThaiPBS writer would take the same premise and run with it -- to think that they could do another "The Summer We Met" with this? I would love it. The potential for something special was there.
It's strange that despite these issues, I ended up liking the series anyway. Maybe because the first half was so strong for me. Maybe because I really liked both Pat and Jeng, and they did make me feel all aflutter when they were together.
Was it good?
In regard to production qualtiy and acting, it was an average Thai BL. It could have been a perfect ThaiPBS lakorn, if the romance had been reduced to a minimum and the social commentary about working as a young adult and issues of nepotism and class had been more developed.
It's also really unfortunate that the ending just fizzled out.
Did I like it?
Despite the issues the series had, I liked it fine, strangely enough, especially the first six episodes. I might even rewatch it some day.
Who would I recommend it to?
To be honest, I don't think I would recommend it. I would not advise against watching it, for those who like to watch a story that's slow to unfold and focuses on work relationships.
Was this review helpful to you?
I had no idea how this ended up on my "Watch Later!" list on iQIYI, and was not aware at all what this would be about. So, it took the first two episodes to figure things out -- is it horror? Mystery? Thriller? Elements of these were present in the first episode -- and the second turned out to be more on the silly side?
Finally, I understood that this is a collection of short stories -- they are just all happening in a remote run-down hotel.
Now, short stories are a genre that not everybody can get along with. They tend to have no real introduction, only outlines of characters, and often an abrupt or open ending. Nowadays, when we are used to media that spells things out more often than not (and, when in doubt, more than once), we are occasionally thrown by this form of story telling.
Keeping this in mind, these twelve short stories (each of them just about ten minutes) were well done. In each episode, we get a guest (or a group of guest) who come to the hotel -- and most of the episode is spent trying to find out what on earth is happening, who they are and why they have come there. All of the stories are more or less absurd, some silly, some surreal. Some with a layer of meaning below the obvious.
It's very clear that this was made on a shoestring budget, but that it was used well! The location fit well with the stories, and the actors were mostly doing a good job -- with the shortness of the stories it was occasionally hard to tell. I wish the writer had given the recurring cast -- the hotel's employees -- a bit more character: Not necessarily multi-faceted, broad strokes are more than enough, but just slightly more -- especially the two female characters stayed too bland.
I did like how they integrated elements of horror and mystery as well as rom-coms, mixed with comedy, into their little absurdist stories -- you'd never quite knew how things would turn out.
Overall, it was a nice change of pace, and I enjoyed some episodes a lot, other were ... forgettable, which is the norm for me with anthologies. I liked the dramatics of the hotel manager and the absurdity of the short stories.
If the English subs on iQiYi had been better better (they were machine translated, and I occasionally had to guess what was being said), this would get a rec from me.
Was this review helpful to you?
