Saeng

Finding closure and moving on

This is mainly a story how people who are stuck in limbo after a close person's death (a brother, a friend) find closure so they can finally move on.
(Through the power of Love!)

... and I think this is why some might find that the romance part doesn't get enough screen time. This has been a point of contention in other recent (BL) productions too, that as soon as another story line gets more screen time, the romance part has to be cut a bit, which upsets some people.

If seen from this angle, writing choices make a lot of sense -- because grief needs time, grief is remembering the past, and letting it go. Trying new things can help, as can reliving the old things.
Neil needs someone to push him out of his fugue -- which Sea finally does. And only now that he is able to finally face the loss of his brother, his friend Reese, who until now had dedicated his life to help Neil, can also finally find his own new goal in life.

So, with these thoughts in mind, these are the things I loved:
* The time that was dedicated for flashbacks, and the way we got to see them bit by bit, to understand why the loss of Matt hit all of them so hard,
* the ugly crying -- crying is not cute, and if you really cry, then you don't care what you look like, you don't care about the snot and the mucus, you are just crying,
* the talks between Reese and Neil, which were so important for both, and obviously did not happen before,
* the way they found closure -- and that the writer chose to not go the route I expected in the beginning. This is obviosly onbly the start of a new part in the characters' lives.

Other aspects I liked:
* no romance arc between A-Liang and Ting Fei,
* the choice to show Sea's and Neil's first time as sensual rather than sexy,
* the way they chose to bridge the language barrier -- whenever Orca talks to anyone but Reese (as long as he doesn't want to rile someone up), they all talk in English. Heavily accented English, with grammar mistakes -- just as you would expect from people who speak English as a second language. For Reese and Orca, on the other hand, the writer makes it very clear that they both have been learning the other's language in secret -- they just choose not to speak it as long as they are at odds with each other.
* Actors were great -- I liked how Reese's actor gave it his all during the crying scenes, and I could watch Neil's eyes forever.

One story arc that got lost a bit for me, was Sea's story -- mainly how his feelings evolved from adoring his idol to loving Neil as an equal. I don't even think it would have taken much, just a small gesture or look here and there. It's already there, just not clearly told.
(I also wish they'd given him a different hair style, at least for the concerts. Especially during the last concert, his hair and his make-up made him look even younger than usual.)

I'm not too impressed with how the makers chose and used the background music. I'm not talking about the songs the characters sing, those are all right, if not my kind of music. I do think though that in a drama with music as a main theme, there should have been more focus on the effects background music can have. In several scenes, I found it distracting (silence is also very powerful! And it could have been used to its adavantage!) and overall, it was mostly bland.

All in all, it's a solid production, with a well-rounded cast and no glaring mistakes. "Finding closure through the power of Love" is a well-used trope and it's not badly implemented here at all.
Worth a watch.

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This was extremely hard to watch for me, and also to write a review, because my mother heard exactly the same diagnosis - and there was one scene in the film that came very close to how my mother died.
Mother-daughter-relationships are also at the centre of this film, not all of them are good or even resolved at all.
So, if you're also sensitive to the topics in this film -- late-stage cancer, death of a parent, mother-daughter-relationships - then you might want to avoid it.

That being said, the actors are excellent! This is one of the reasons I couldn't not finish the film, because the actors, child actress included, portrayed their characters so well that I was already invested in their story and needed to know how it all ends.

Regarding the story, apart from my personal hang-ups: The three main characters, are all female -- and they are who are shown as the ones who shape the family, who take on the challenges life throws at them -- while the men are more passive, even weak.
The thing is, the mother is shown too much as the "self-sacrificing prototype", which really got on my nerves after a while. I wish the mother had been given a bit more time for her own struggles, her own pain, her own grief for having to leave her family. There was only one scene, right after she heard her diagnosis, when she broke down, alone in the hot bath (excellently filmed, btw), and then, once, near the end. All of the rest showed her being dedicated to her growing family -- but a mother is also a person with her own life, and I really wish the writer had given her that. It wouldn't even have taken a lot, maybe just her wiping away a stray tear, looking at an old photo, hugging herself in the kitchen ... just show us that there's more to her than just "devoted mother".

Overall, I can see how many people would love this film, even maybe find solace in it -- and most of the aspects I did not like are more related to myself than to the film -- so if you think you can watch something with the above-mentioned topics, then you should definitely try this one.

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Scattered mess of beautiful moments and weak scenes

I postponed writing a review for this drama for years now -- there are some parts I am still in love with, but some are just frustrating.
The show is a mess of scattered plots, good acting, average music, fantastic plot ideas, weak acting, and some touching moments. So, any star rating would be wrong and right at the same time. (But MDL doesn't let me post this without a rating.)

First of all, I know that the makers of this series were unlucky with their timing, first it was aired earlier than planned and then there was Covid. But still, there are some structural flaws:
* I think the writers bit off more than they could chew when they introduced all of these side couples. They distract from the main storylines, and are not developed at the same time. Even without covid, if they'd cut down Tutor's and Fighter's storyline to incoporate Zon's and Saifah's -- where would they have put the side couples? There's just no time!
* Overall, the script is not very consistent, subplots are introduced but not resolved, some scenes are not connected to the whole script -- and it cannot all be due to interruptions by covid.
* The premise of Zon thinking he could be in a BL novel was an interesting one but was basically dropped after a few episodes. The question of "Is it real?" could have elevated this above the common-troped college BL story.
* Zon's endless waffling between shameless flirting and borderline homophobic panic attacks was just annoying.

There are some other minor things I did not like very much, which was the crude humour in the beginning, the way Zol's disregard of privacy and wishes of the real people she is writing about is never resolved, and the dynamic between Saifah and Zon.

This couple adhered more to "usual" BL tropes than Fighter and Tutor, which I tend to find boring, sometimes irritating. Otherwise, it was a cute kind of innocent first love. Some people seem to very much like it.

So, until here, it's maybe average, and I'm generous with that assessment.

But then, there's Tutor's and Fighter's love story. And if it wasn't for all of the points above and some other, minor, things, I'd rate this show much higher because of their story.
* I love their push-and-pull-relationship. At first, it's more of a rivalry which develops into more as they both struggle with their own feelings.
* Both are equals in this relationship, both are able to give and take, and learn to lean onto the other and give strength.
* At the beginning, both are -- in differing ways -- closed off to other people and are keeping their inner self for themselves. As they learn how to deal with their feelings for each other, they learn how to open up and show their underbellies. Especially Fighter is beautiful in these vulnerable moments, when he allows himself to submit to Tor.
* All in all, these two characters show some well-acted character development and a beautiful story arc.

Other, minor things I loved:
* Zon's gang was hilarious, I do love that kind of humour.
* Kae (the café owner) was as supportive as he could be, while himself strugglingas a member of a minority group and in unstable financial times. His scenes show that there could have been more, that the writer was capable of better writing but chose to focus elsewhere. (Or, rather, distribute their focus to everywhere, so there's no focus at all.)
* Blue is just ridiculously cute.
* Also, Hwa's character was interesting. I'd loved to see more of her emotional journey and what was going on in her family. but still, the glimpses we get are fascinating.

So, what to do about a rating? I love the Tutor/Fighter parts (10 stars), and I have watched those again and again. I am frustrated by the side couples (3 stars), and disappointed by Zon and Saifah (5 stars).

I can't recommend it, but I can't not recommend it either -- watch at your own risk.

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oof...

That was surprising.

What starts as a one-night-stand, awkward testing of interest via small talk and slight kink included, ends as something ... very different.
(tw for violence, maybe murder, rape)

This is only 16 minutes long, and the plot could be summerized in no more than three sentences, but there's so much to pick apart in the characterization of one of the main characters, especially in the second part, that it easily feels much longer.

Everything, from the dialogue (small talk to sex talk to only few words), to the use of space (the short film is only set in the apartment and the short hallway outside, and in the end it focuses more and more on tighter and tighter spaces), the use of light and shadow (brightly lit to shadowy), and to the excellent acting by both the actors -- all of it forces the viewer deeper into the darkness, and in the end it's clear that there will be no escape.

I'd recommend watching this at least once, but only if you're prepared to know that this is not a fluffy piece but a graphic depiction of the lengths an obsessed person will go to get what they want.

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[The given categories for the star ratings do not fit at all for a documentary, so feel free to ignore them. I wish it were possible to post a review without them, but here we are.]

In "Sumodo - The Successors of Samurai" the director is allowed to enter two prestigious sumo "stables" (that's the word given by the subtitles in JFF Theater) to film the daily lives of sumo wrestlers. He films them during training and during downtime -- I was amazed at how close the director got to the wrestlers, and how open they were with him about their hopes and struggles.
Given that Sumo wrestlers do see themselves as the successors of Samurai (which is historically not quite unreasonable, as the documentary explains), and that Japanese society is not known for people openly speaking about their inner world, this is quite the feat!
(The film team is even invited to a wedding.)

Because of the closeness, the documentary is able to show us both the exterior of Sumo (the history, the stables' PR and, of course, the competitions) and the workings "behind the scenes". This documentary could have been a film focused on the fights, on the powerful bodies and the excitement of the tournaments -- it is that, but it is tempered by what we learn about the people -- real people with profound thoughts, with feelings, with bodies that sometimes fail; people who continuously push their boundaries and strive for perfection, even if it means to endure pain and suffering.

I started without any real knowledge about the sport -- the documentary was still easy to follow and I learned a lot. Since it's made for a Japanese audience, there are some things left unexplained, but it's still an educating watch.
If you have the chance to watch it, then I recommend to do so!

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How to survive in a heteronormative world

A poignant short film about two queer people trying to survive in this heteronormative world.

A young woman who loses her fanancial support and tries to find a way out of the situation.
A young man deep in the closet and hopelessly in love with a married man.
A married hetero man, who rather believes unsubstantiated rumours than listen to the subtle hints of his friend.

Two-and-a-half locations, minimal music, details are told with the camera, not with words.
I wonder if people who are not LGBTQ+ can easily understand this short film, but I hope they'd choose to look closely and will listen better than the straight friend here.

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When you find your calling in life

I always admire people who have found their calling in life, and dedicate large parts of it to their passion. This film is about this kind of people -- who work steadily towards one goal, with a lot of hard work, attention for detail and perseverence.

It's very Japanese in it's slow story telling, the lights and colours and the detailed sets. It's, again, a story about a small group of outsiders doing a work which is underappreciated by others, who find solace and satisfaction in what they do, not necessarily in what others think of it.

I'm not a het romance fan, but I liked the love story between the main protagonist and the landlady's granddaughter. They are full of respect for each other and the other's passion and interests, even though they don't quite understand them.

And one aspect I also liked: It's a story about words, but in moments of great emotion, the characters fail to find the right words to express them; and in the story telling, silence and the gentle background music is at least as important as the dialogue.
Well worth it.

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I watched almost all of "Arm Share" (where Arm Weerayut invites one to six (mainly) GMMTV artists to play games with him or take part in an activity) from the beginning to the current episode over the course of the last weeks or months.

Arm WC, the sole host of this show, is a charming man, who can even make the most nervous newbies relax. A lot of the guests seem to enjoy taking part and keep coming back, and I think this is the reason why the show has been as long running as it has. (Arm Share has been running for five-and-a-half years now (Oct 2024), from before the Covid pandemic, through it, and beyond.)

Except for the episodes before the pandemic, the main goal of most episodes seems to be to promote the guests and the sponsors' products. And the latter is unfortunately so prominent in more than a few episodes that I felt as if I watched a long commercial, not a show. I do understand the need for finances, so I can take a bit of advertisement, but sometimes it felt as if every third sentence was about the promoted product. Recent episodes (I'd say from the beginning of 2024) have been much better in that regard, so maybe they've decided to dial it down a bit.
Edit April 2025: They seem to have settled on a concept for now, which is that either Arm takes his guests out to explore a street with its shops and cafés or an attraction, playing "tourists" or they play Werewolf. Both means that the obnoxious product placements are gone for the most part. I really don't mind that local shop owners get an opportunity to show their businesses.

For those who are undecided if they want to watch older episodes -- you absolutely can! I'd recommend the first 46 episodes, which had a different concept. They showed Arm as he tested food together with GMMTV staff, as he explained how to do subtle make-up for men, as he showed us parts of his life, as he worked as a stylist for concerts and MVs, as he travelled to SKorea and Japan. (A YouTube comment on the second Hiroshima episode reads "I miss Arm Share when it was about Arm" and they are right.)
Actually, I think it's a crying shame that the concept changed, because this way, the show underutilizes Arm's talents in the areas of styling, fashion, arts, and his general hard-working character who seems to be interested in a lot of topics. I wonder how this show would have developed if the pandemic and it's consequences hadn't forced restrictions on producing?

After those first episodes, it's probably better to choose only those when there's a guest you want to see, because, as I said, it's become about the guests and the product placements. It's still funny, but not as charming and authentic.

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This film reminded me of the action comedies that were shown on TV during my childhood -- so, about thirty years ago. The "humour", the story, the sexism -- all of it is about the same level.

I don't mind the rather predictable story about the men going on a drunken trip, and the ensuing entanglement with the local drug dealing ring -- but did they have to make it sexist? Especially the scene at the beach on the first day was terrible to watch. Also, the other female characters were at turns harassing the men and being the weak victim.

The stars are for the acting, the drug dealing plot, and the overall cinematography.

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I don't want to say much about the plot, or the film's main theme -- because, in the end, this is one of those films where every viewer can and must(!) find their own meaning behind what they've seen. This film expects you to find your own take -- especially the "last scene" is packed with layers upon layers of -- sometimes contradictory -- meaning.

If you saw a light teenage summer film, fine! If you saw an allegory about modern tiktok-shorts, easily consumed and easily forgotten, versus feature-length old-style slow-paced films, good! Or if you saw an essay about how similar rival relationships in classic samurai films (and also wild west movies and thriller dramas, btw) are to love relationships, also nice!
And if you saw a completely different meaning in the film, especially in the last scene -- impressive! The author is dead. It's your film as soon as you watch it.

Maybe one word about the cast -- they were all great! I love the subtle pining of Bito-Ban's, I love the banter between the technical crew of the samurai movie. And Ito Marika, who played Hadashi was overwhelmingly good -- I loved how she managed to change her body language depending on the mood and setting her character is in: Awkward and angular at school, relaxed and engaged when with her friends and when directing, focussed and precise when imitating Samurai fighting. Her facial expressions range from subtle to exaggerated. I cannot imagine another actress taking this role.

Thank you, Elisheva, for giving me the push to finally watch this film. I'm glad I did.

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What a ride!

You think, yes, now I know what will happen next, now I know how it will end -- and no, you probably don't. While it was always clear that Trillion Game would win in the end, the "how" was very much not clear. I thought I'd know how Haru would do it, but, as it turned out, I didn't. Even at the last scene, there was a bit of a twist.

That said, the obstacles were overcome a bit too easily; and even now, I'm not clear about Princess Kiriri's motivations at times. I'd have liked to see maybe one or two fewer obstacles but better ones, or at least I'd have liked to see Haru having a bit more trouble in succeeding. As it was, his plans were a bit *too* perfect. More attention to details would have been a benefit to the story.

Speaking of details, one aspect that continuously irked me: The way that the actual *doing* was just disregarded.
For example, the opening of an e-commerce flower delivery: Where do you get the flowers from? Who will do the actual arrangements, even if they are planned by an "AI"?
Oh, and "AI", as Haru said himself: "It's a buzzword." Even if you can program an AI to do the things it does in this series, the costs for building and maintaining servers with enough processing power are enormous! Not only the material cost, but also the energy cost needed.It's why any company investing in AI has not seen a penny of return investment and it's expected to remain that way in the forseeable future.
It's a shame that the series doesn't pay attention to this sort of details.

Another aspect I found disappointing was the writing of the female characters. Yes, it's the story of the journey of Haru and Gaku -- but as the third partner Rinrin deserved better than to be used as scapegoat (even if she got her own happy ending), and that Princess Kiriri had to submit was also disappointing (even if it was for character-appropriate reasons). I would have liked to see them both put on a more equal footing with the men.

What I really loved though, and what made everything I just said insignificant overall, was the excellent acting -- by all of the cast. Meguro, of course, as the inscrutable Haru -- and until the last show-down I wasn't quite sure what exactly went in in his head -- but also Imada with her cool and calculating presence as well as Sano's depiction of an awkward nerd. I could list all of the actors, but then this will get too long.

Another plus in my book, there's only a hint of romance towards the very end, and even the sizzling chemistry between Haru and Kiri is always turned into rivalry, never romance.

The actors, together with the outstanding music choices and the fast-paced editing made the drama a wild ride, and I was hooked from the first to the last minute.

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This is a very slow love story of two young men, one with a secret, the other hurting, as they gradually open up to each other again.
And when I say, slow, I mean slow. We get to see too many flashbacks, and too often the same scenes, from the same perspective. The story has been edited into a 2:30h film, which I expect is not that bad in this regard.

What I liked:
* The acting performances of both main leads, they portrayed the emotions of their characters, their fears, their anguish, their hopes really well.
* The soft, washed-out colour palette. It supports the slow pacing of the story well.
* The setting is in a rural area, with normal people in normal surroundings.
* There are none of the usual BL tropes here, wich is always nice to see. This is what you can call a universal love story.
* Overall an unusual story for a BL series, although not for a "traditional" (romantic) show; expect a story that deals with a heavy experience and how both main leads deal with it. Extra points for that.

What I did not like:
* I don't know why the brother and his friend could not have just stayed supporting background characters. Their relationship distracted from the main leads.
* As I said above, there are too many flashbacks. The pacing could have been more concise and still alllow for enough space to show the motives and emotions of all characters and have a slow pacing.
* Why do the doctors tell Nut about his friend's (their patient's) medical situation? This is not ethical behaviour and it irks me.

Was it good?
The premise had much potential, and I liked that it stayed soft throughout but it was underwhelming because of the lengthy and repeating flashbacks.

Did I like it?
I did, and I loved the characters and their story, but I wouldn't watch it again, not even the movie version.

Would I recommend it?
Not the drama. Maybe the movie. If you watch it, be mindful that it is not light-hearted, so if you are prone to crying in emotional scenes, keep your hankies ready!

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I appreciate what they wanted to do...

... but this was not it.

The premise of the mini-drama, that a normal guy finds it completely normal to help others in need -- and to make a comedy out of it, I love it.
I loved the message that a "Super-Maen" can exist in each of us , and that society might be better if we would be more like Maen.
I liked the criticism of modern "journalists" who in its pursuit of stories not only disrupts ordinary people's lives but sometimes go so far as to fabricate stories out of thin air.
I liked how it shows how fickle society can be, when people flip from adoring to condemning in an instant.
I liked the problems that were touched upon, like domestic violence and poverty.

I loved Maen's family -- the parents with their hobbies were comedic gold!
Unfortunately, the other actors tried too hard -- quite a lot of their scenes could have been funny, but something was lacking. Sometimes it was the acting (which was either too much or not enough, especially Mew Suppasit's scenes with the young boy it seemed as if he forgot how to act), sometimes the script dragged (some comedic bits were just too drawn out -- comedy is all about timing, and it's missing here).
Honestly, I found it hard to get through both episodes.

Overall, I could have lived happily without watching it, but it's only two hours, so I'm not too bothered.

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This is how you do a teenage rom-com

I love this.

The comedy is spot-on, both all of the characters (the students of class 8/1 are a hoot!) and the comedic timing. It's very silly, and still the film has some depth.

The eternal desire of highschool students -- I want to fit in -- is tackled for several characters' perspective. Whether it is that your secret crush is exposed in the most demeaning way, whether you have a condition that sets you apart form the others, or whether your nipples are inverted -- all of us want recognition, and even love. But how to achieve that?

This rom-com is not only funny as heck until the last minute, it also surprised me not only with a positive message, but also with excellent acting, a good pacing, great animation(!), and very, very likable characters.

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Solid Thai BL with blue-collar characters

If I had to recommend some Thai BL dramas, then this one would be among the recs for someone who has seen a few already and wants to explore the genre some more.

What I liked:
* Highest point: Blue-collar workers in a lot of roles and as love interest, which is a refreshing deviation from all the super-rich college boys, who I am sick of. We need more normal people in Thai BLs. In connection to that, a gentle critique of classism.
* Very gentle and smooth evolution of the main couple. I love how they care for and respect each other. The dynamics between them feel very equal from the first time they meet (which is reflected by the use of names instead of titles and the pronouns เรา /rao/ and นาย /naai/).
* Workplace setting; hospital with a good balance of medical jargon and not too much nonsense.
* middle-aged long-term same-sex partners as advisors and role models, who get a decent amount of screentime.
* a trans gender person in a non-comedic role.
* the three riders, who provided not only comedic relief but also gave Mork the occasional insight.
* The acting is decent, if a bit uneven on Fluke's part (Mork). Pat (Por) was excellent as the slimy boyfriend.

What I did not like:
* the doctor-only couple. I'm allergic to bullying (and what Toy does, can only be called bullying). Yes, he does apologize in a way, but even after, he "teases" Boss, and runs rough-shod over his mental needs, we almost never see Toy respect them. Boss is shown as an introvert, with a sensitivity to explosion noises and a need for his order and rules. In their progression, it's Boss, who has to change much more than Toy and "overcome" his needs. Also, there's no real connection to the main couple , other than that they both work under Tawan. I would have liked to see more of the love story between Fueng and Kru Ai than them.
* The critique of classism ends when the relationships get serious -- only after Nadia learns that the barista owns his café and is a famous YouTuber, she accepts his advances. Mork starts his college education to be able to "care for Tawan" (which shouldn't be needed, Tawan should earn enough as a doctor.) and even ends up with the same hairstyle (helmet-like and styled upwards) as all of the higher-class characters.
* A bit of inconsistency in how and when Mork realises his feelings -- he does so twice in ep. 4 and in ep. 7.
* The sub-plot with the kid could have been improved with a bit more room -- as it is, it doesn't feel like an organic part of the whole story. The kid appears, is there, and disappears again. At least, maybe show him in the epilogue scene?
* Por and his boyfriend have more heat between them than the main couple -- either tone one down or give the other a bit more intimacy.


Was it good? -- There are certainly better BLs out there, but it was solid all around.
Did I like it? -- I loved the gentle progression and the respect in the main couple and the blue-collar characters.
Would I recommend it? -- I would, it's smooth, and easy to watch.

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