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The redeeming plot point? Shin sung rok as Jayden Lee
This drama was okay. Again, suffers a bit from way too long and this must be stuffed with random unnecessary plot points, and has a touch of over dramatics once we entered the second half, but decent, solid.The female lead in my opinion didn’t suit the role well. Though she showed a great emotion in her role, I do feel like she always looked rather blank, but she was enjoyable.
So ji Sub’s character Han Yihan was predictable, Jack of all trades. We never really got to see inside him (here I am comparing him to the other characters) and he totally loses to…. Jayden Lee, played by Shjn Sung Rok.
I can’t stress how I enjoy every single one of Shin Sung Rok’s acting roles. He is simply phenomenal, a larger than life personality if it is demanded by the plot. His acting is seriously something I love. I rely want to see him in more. He brings a much needed touch of lightness to this drama, and a little bit of crazy. I love it. I also thoroughly enjoyed most of Kim Tae Gyum’s character, Michael and hope to see him in other productions. However, I do feel like the way they handled Jayden as a character was… iffy towards the end.
Yuna was a pleasant surprise. She was more enjoyable to watch than I originally thought.
Overall. Decent drama held together by Shin Sung Rok.
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This review may contain spoilers
"Bad things happen, but you can still live" - Joe Lamb, a schoolkid telling an alien how to move on in life; in the hollywood movie 'Super 8'.Well, 'Re-encounter' takes a step further and asks our lead actress to choose between moving on ahead in life to a better future or to mere exist in the world giving up on dreams and hopes. For her, its easier to just exist and you will understand her choice once you see her story in the early parts of the film. Or you can just read the plot on MDL. It's on you ! But I'll try to convince you to watch this beautiful film without giving any major spoilers.
The film doesn't open with her back story, the viewer gradually finds out soon after first few scenes. The back story is that she was totally abandoned when she was pregnant at 18 and also lost her child on birth. It was like the world closed down on her and there is no one accepting her. So how does one reply back? You would try to live on but it would be damn difficult. This film doesn't show you how our lead went through that phase. It shows you how she deals with the situation she confronts when her past comes back (re-encounter).
Any dog lovers around here? You all will love her. She currently works as a vet's assistant and in her free time goes around and rescues abandoned dogs. Her present life aptly describes how the society is divided. An abandoned woman rescuing abandoned dogs !
The story starts when she is 23 years old and has quietly settled down and her ex-boyfriend comes to visit her with a heart dropping fact. Yeah, FACT.
It's upon her to choose now whether to move on from her own comfort(negative) zone or to just destroy her ex's chance of redemption. Life has given her a chance to abandon him ! How does one respond? If you were in her shoes will you do a tit for tat? The film goes on till the very last scene where her choice is finally revealed. And that is one very good aspect where the writer-director has won my praise. Her action is aptly justified not only in the beginning but in the end as well. The viewer can never really understand what is going on in her mind. The director gives tiny little clues to us so that we could get into her mind and exactly know her state of play.
The plot is an intelligent, well written and displayed with realism. You won't feel as if anyone is acting. You will be in their world. There are fairly countable dialogues. The film is slow paced but it requires to be slow. It is the one of the best indie-films yet so far in my view.
As you watch, you will notice a that the performance given by the two leads only excavates the realism of the narrative. You will be able to understand the loss and pain suffered by each of them which ironically, both of them initially aren't aware of the depths of scars faced by themselves.
The film is a combination of human drama and 'tense' suspense which will make you follow the story until the climax reveals the meaning of how to live even when bad things keep on happening. The film shows metaphorically as to how to treat other's mistake.
If you like this movie, please message me. I guess that then you too will have liked the very last scene.
P.S - This is definitely not a 6-7 rating film. More people need to vote !
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ONE OF THE BEST ROM-COM BL!
I really love this series, it's one of the best! I like how light-hearted, innocent and funny this show like every episode I laughed so hard and feel the romantic excitement with the two. For me, it's the perfect stress reliever when you're burned out and love to watch bl. We need this in this trying times. The actors were so great and their visual are so freaking out of this world. The scene of every episode has a lot of originality, and especially the OST! So magical, Mix and Louis who act as Muang Nan and Meen are really a good singer. The editing and directing is on point. No heavy plot, just a typical drama, but they carried it in a wonderful way! The plot is so good and relateable. The kiss was so natural and also there were so many lessons to learn which is appliable in this modern world like having a confidence with yourself and respecting others privacy. Also, I love how they portrayed the magic of love that no matter how you feel bad about yourself, there is always someone who will gonna love you and accept for who you are and there's someone who will look at you like Fish Upon The Sky. It's cheesy and chaotic, but not gonna lie, this series gives me a 90s Rom-Com vibe. It's refreshing and gives the feeling of being young and in love like I want to fall in love again. If you haven't watch it yet, well I recommend this to you. IT'S WORTH IT! I don't care what people say, but this series was so great and I can't get over from it. Not gonna spoil anymore! Love youu!~ THESE ARE SOME GREAT LINES THAT I LOVE FROM FISH UPON THE SKY ~
"Don't afraid I'd feel bad if they criticize me. Be selfish all you want because I'm so damn happy when I'm with you. Those people don't make me happy like the one I love does." - Mork
"When you love someone, you like who they truly are. When you love someone, you love what lies inside." - Pi
"If you really like me, your heart should beat faster. I believe you used to like me, but I think you're scared. You're scared of falling for someone else." - Muang Nan
"Apart from risk of having hypertension, you have one more risk, a heart disease. Not a common, it only happen when you're close to someone you love" - Mork
"If you are not ready to open your heart, we can start by being friends." - Mork
"You see that flowers? If you want to own them, that means you're obsessed with them. But if you want to take care and let them grow, that means you love them." - Mork
"You want to be yourself, I want to be myself too." - Meen
"I can be you vaccine, Pi" - Mork (thiss mann!😭 can you also be my vaccine mork? HUHU)
"I'm okay whether you want to tell people or not. But I just want to love you. I want to love you without caring what people think. The kind of love that I can hug you when I miss you. Kiss you when I'm tired. Hold your hand without caring about the world." - Mork
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This review may contain spoilers
Awkward piece of work
This one is clearly supposed to have been a BL series. This is not to say that it isn't BL. I won't even group it together with censored BL series from China in which the romance is turned into bromance or in which there are clever suggestions of romance between the main leads. This series can't be labelled easily and not in a good way.As I said, it is quite clearly meant to be BL with some vague enemies to lovers trope. Apart from how it recycles songs from other Thai BL series, there are the tropes of Thai BL that by 2022 have mostly either gone out of fashion or become controversial, such as an effeminate side character and a conniving ex-girlfriend. Yes, what is the ex-girlfriend doing if not to break up the lead and his newfound love? I mean, she already seems quite unhinged if we assume that the deliberately causes her her ex's new love interest to be locked up in a sports facility--how much more unhinged would she be if we assume that she merely sees her ex playing basketball with his roommate and gets to jealous that she causes him to be locked up somewhere?
Unfortunately, even though the BL elements are not simply turned into bromance despite the mention of friendship on more than one occasion (at least in the Chinese dubbing and I don't think there is an uncut Thai version something), there aren't enough attempts to cleverly suggest romance. Instead, the emotional intensity of the scenes are lost. For instance, instead of fully exploiting Qin Jun Hao's jealousy when he sees his "roommate" with his arch-rival (or rather old friend-cum-rival) to suggest romantic interest, the portrayal of the jealousy is rather muted. When Yuan Zhi Ming disappears because he is locked up in the sports facility, Qin's panic is obviously not merely that of a friend, but again, there is no attempt to exploit it.
To make matters worse, the scene that best suggests romance is not between Qin and Yuan but between Qin and his friend-cum-arch-rival, Yi Tang. In a haphazardly inserted scene, Qin tries to trick Yuan into going into a room only to end up being locked up together with him there. Filled with a top/bottom joke, the scene ends with tenderness as Qin carries an injured Yi away. No one watching the scene can be blamed for thinking that Qin and Yi are the main ship. The series would have been better if there had been such a scene between Qin and Yuan.
I cannot help but feel that the series could have been so much better even with censorship. Qin, Yuan and Yi all have back stories, but these are not really fleshed out well. The change Qin undergoes after meeting Yuan is not clearly portrayed. Yuan has a guitar he treasures because it's a present from his father--something happened after he gets the present, but we don't know what. Yi has a brother who drowned (a storyline that is reminiscent of Between Us)--Yuan is the spitting image of his brother, but there is no attempt to show whether Yi manages to overcome his trauma and guilt because the subplot lacks development.
It is not clear why what is essentially a Thai BL (the studio, director and many actors are all from the Thai industry) is dubbed in Mandarin. It seems intentional given that even the songs have Chinese versions. I can only speculate that there are Chinese investors involved who wanted to promote the Chinese actors, though this may not explain why what is clearly supposed to be BL is turned into this awkward thing that can't even be qualified as a censored BL. (Perhaps it is meant to be streamed on Chinese platforms?)
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The beginning of this drama was so strange for me, with super powers and weapons, demons and superheroes. I never thought I'll like it as I liked.
For my surprise I feel in love for Wang Cha Li and Xiao Feng, they were so cute together I can't help it. And. I loved the story behind why the K.O bad girl started, each girl has her sad story and in the last episodes the drama we can see them handle with all their difficulties together, this was so cool.
Of course this drama has a lot of nonsense things, but it still catchy and funny.
I loved all members of the group SpeXial in this drama, we have a lot of them! Wang Cha Li, Da Wei, Xiao Ming, Xiao xiong and Gou zhui, they are so handsome and all good acting. The girls are really cool too, but for Ding Dang and Xiao Feng were the best of them.
This drama is a good drama for you smile, this is a really easy to see drama.
I just love it, cause it is really different of the others.
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First off, this is a very quality drama. I tend to give a drama a higher rating if I enjoyed it, regardless of how well it was made, but this drama was not only a joy to watch, it was clearly very well made! All of the acting was excellent, the music fit the mood and was well-timed and the filming scenery was beautiful.
The storyline is well thought out and planned. Except for one or two (mostly subjective) points, there were no plot hiccups or illogical characterizations I could pick on. Despite being so long, the story did not drag. Things moved at a very consistent pace and there was no unnecessary dramatics. Watching Asa grow and change in a time when Japan was also growing and changing added to the depth of the story. It was so fun to watch the technologies, clothing, mannerisms and environment changed as the episodes passed by.
All of the characters were well-developed with their own quirks. I just loved watching new side characters slowly being introduced and how they slowly blended into and influenced the overall story. With such a huge cast, there were basically no "useless" characters. Asa in particular was very well-written and well-acted. She grew and changed as she grew older but her sense of self stayed the same. The same could be said of Hatsu too and I loved the strong bond the sisters carried over their lives.
Another thing that made this dorama very refreshing was that Asa was not a "special snowflake" type of lead. Oftentimes, dramas have this tendency to make sure everyone likes (or follows/agrees with) the main lead and if they don't, they are somehow portrayed as one the bad guys or inherently wrong and never part of the "main circle." There were at least a few very prominent characters that gave me the feeling that although they interacted well with her, they never really warmed up to her. Similarly, the fact the drama acknowledges the people that open the way for Asa to become successful. This is actually a minor point of contention. I am very glad the drama recognizes the strong support system it gave Asa because it's important to give credit where it is due BUT I don't believe the real-life Asako had that kind of support, so it sort of discredits her a little?
Finally, I loved how Asa ga Kita shows what it means to be feminist in the most truest way: it's about being able to choose your own path. It's not what you do, but what you are allowed to do. There were a few times I was irritated as certain character actions/thoughts, but then I realized it was for promoting that central theme-that one path is not better than another, it's the fact that you have the option to go on the path you want. Also, being a "strong female character" is not a one-fits-all description. There are a lot of ways to be a strong female and doing things that are inherently masculine (i.e. being able to handle guns, being physically stronger or outspoken) does not make female character "stronger" or "better" than other females and we should not be too quick to throw words like "doormat" or "pathetic" around.
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ML can't act but I adore him anyway!
Actually I adore both the ML and FL! As individual characters, they were likable but as a couple, they were endearing and inspired relationship goals. Also they were simply gorgeous to look at.Why Women Love is a May-December love story done right! It is not often that we get a romance between an older super capable manager and her young assistant (who was actually her boss' son), let alone a good one. If you are looking for something light, lovely, fun and fluffy, this show might just do the trick.
Honestly, there was no real plot, but there was character development. The FL learned to open up her heart, and become brave in facing the unknown of love, and the ML grew into a man who wanted to protect and give his love a blissful and happy home. I love that even though the ML became more matured, he did not lose sight of his dream of being a motorcycle racer. The best part is that he still reacted like someone in his twenties but carried himself well to be worthy of the FL.
Gina Jin is beautiful and she did well as Zhao Jiang Yue, a reserved, over-achieving manager. Absorbed with her work, always focused on doing her best, she was labeled as being incompetent in love. As she gradually fell in love with the ML, one can see her loosening up, and becoming more carefree.
Wang Zi Yi as Gu Jia Xin was a total idol in this show, with his avant-garde outfits, and being a newbie, could use more acting lessons. However, he was still able to pull off charismatic and lovable Jia Xin, and I truly enjoyed watching him charm his way into Jiang Yue's heart. Plus he can kiss!
There were 3 other side couples and I enjoyed watching 2 of those relationships progressed. As for the 3rd couple, I did not think that Xu Ning Yuan and Li Yan Ran were a good fit and there was no chemistry between them . Xu Ning Yuan was supposed to be the second male lead and was also Jiang Yue's first love.but he did not really put up much of a fight, other than being "compatible" with her.
Overall, the cast was great, and there was a fun rapport among them. I did find Li Yan Ran annoying and clingy but at least she could still separate her obsession with Jia Xin from doing the right thing.
The OST was awesome. I never skipped the intro because of the song, 'Love It' sung by Wang Zi Yi and Gina Jin. The closing song, True Love by Zhu Xingjie was catchy too. My favorite was Upside Down by Chen Xueran, the romantic song that heightened the emotional scenes for me. For posterity, I listed the song list at the end of this review.
Overall, do give this show a try - all you have to do is sit back and be prepared to smile and laugh as you gush over the cheesy, delightful and satisfying romantic journey of the main couple.
Track list: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDkvOpX-XEAS7ux-N5WjgI5m6cKx3ngIt
Love it - 金晨 Gina Jin & 王子异 Wang Ziyi
True Love - 朱星杰 Zhu Xingjie
Upside Down - 陈雪燃 Chen Xueran
错了 Wronged - 曹杨 Cao Yang
中意他 Like Him - 彭雅琦 Peng Yaqi
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I have to be honest the acting was probably some of the worst I've ever seen in a kdrama.
You can tell the majority of them are complete rookies and crying scenes especially were hard to watch.
But the the plot is fairly lighthearted so the poor cast doesn't take too much away from it, just the occasional cringe scenes or awkward dialogues. The actresses playing Nari and Yuna show potential so I hope they're able to grow in future works, Mi Rae was passable, Sun Ji was very grating and hard to watch at times, Woo Kyung fell flat and forced at times, Jinhyuk was the only person I'd consider a good actor. and lastly Soobin was surprisingly well developed for a side character.
If you can overlook the inexperienced cast then I would recommend this drama. It's refreshing to see a story about female friendship in a high-school setting. The drama is fun and very binge-able. 12 short episodes left a lot of characters underdeveloped so I'd be interested in watching a season 2.
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Generally speaking, the backgrounds, clothings and everything meant to immerse us into the late Heian era are awesome, and they even shot some parts of the show in places/temples where no one had ever had the right to record something. The OST is great, though I found there weren't as many tracks as there should be for a 50 episodes long show.
Now if I speak objectively, I'd say it might seem a bit boring and difficult to the people who aren't interested in Japanese history. Mostly because there are MANY characters, and because the story's a bit complex. Personally, Heian is my favourite Japanese era and the Genpei war passionates me so I already knew all the details before even watching the drama. Which also leads me to say that historically, it's pretty accurate. Yoshitsune's story has been modified through the ages so you'll never find anything that is 100% sure to be true anyway, but this drama is definitely based on the Heike Monogatari and the Gikei-ki which are the two main works that tell his story. Some things I find important have been omitted (what happened to Yoritomo's as well as Yoshitsune's daughters...) but the main story's there.
As for the acting, I must say I had no clue about who Takki was before starting the drama so I just thought "let's hope he's good" and honestly, he blew me away. Like I can't even think of anyone who'd play Yoshitsune better than him, he was BORN for this role. And I don't think I'd have been so moved and cried so many times while watching the show if it weren't for him. The rest of the cast I didn't know either, but they did hella good in my opinion.
To conclude, this isn't a drama I'd recommend to everyone but to me, it's a 10/10.
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This review may contain spoilers
Watch and judge for yourself!!
I actually thought about not watching this series due to the bad reviews but I got curious as there are so many JoongDunk contents passing my social media, so I did! And honestly? The bad reviews are just too harsh, and here is why.1. People should stop expecting BLs to have super mega complicated plots, some of them are just classic fluff, and that is okay too.
I think Star in My Mind is that easy to eat cookie BL that you can snack lightly. It didn't have a plot that is too intense, a bit patchy but still enjoyable. Totally recommended if you're searching for BLs with simple stories. Also, for a cutesy feel-good classic fluff BL, this is good. Better than few that I know (Fish in the Sky, for example, cough). The characters are pretty basic, but Kluen is just a dumbass, not an asshole (except for that one time when he kiss Nuea in his sleep), and Nuea is not as self-centered as people mentioned. They are freshmen, for god's sake, their love story started when they are just high schoolers. It was a puppy love, it IS still on its puppy love stage tbh. Hence why they need to work on their communications. Freshmen men that they're only 18-19 y.o, and what do you even know about love at that age? Not to mention that Kluen is so bad at expressing his feelings to the point that his mom knows, which means that it's not something you can just work on overnight. And (SPOILERS) they've been in love for years, secretly, never had the chance to sit and talk it out, now that they meet each other again it's understandable that misunderstandings happen. Nuea did been trying to forget about Kluen for a year, so it is highly understandable that the unnecessary push and pull puts him to stress. Not to mention that all he did all this time was just admire Kluen from afar without making any move so imagine the hope and regret and longing that he went through. Just imagine your long-time crush is finally within your reach, one day it seems like you had a chance but the other day he wants you to move on? Ugh, imagine the stress. I think that is why his reaction towards Gia's sudden call is really bad it makes him look like an asshole. But hey, Nuea didn't know the real situation of Gia and Kluen's relationship, and here he is vulnerable. His over-reaction is just him breaking down, desperate, we are talking about years of longing here, so yeah, he had the right to be heartbroken. Though I think it could be better if the story could highlight more about Nuea's character's good qualities. Like why did so many people like him? Because he's smart and kind and hot right? Only mentioning the fact that he studied in German didn't do him justice tbh, there should be scenes that emphasize that for him. If he had three people seriously chasing after him, the story should've elaborated more on the reason why he is so likable.
2. Contrary to other negative reviews, the side characters actually have some presence.
I have watched BLs that have side characters that didn't have any presence as if they're made to just fill in the dialogues so it's not just between the MCs. But Star in My Mind actually put some screen time to the side characters. I especially like the female characters! Often times the 'girl friend' characters in BL are often portrayed as the ones who ruined the MCs relationship and just overall a pick me girl. But here Paphang and Gia are actually decent. Gia, especially, is way more chill than I thought she would be. I also love how there is a scene where Gia and Nuea had a proper talk. Same with Phoon! Although it annoys me that this boy is pushing too hard to make Nuea notice him, I still salute him for being mature and accepting his defeat. Sean is like Fong from 2gether the series, he is that one sane friend that slaps some sense to his friends. There are BLs who had 'close friends' group as the support role for the MC but never did anything to actually 'support' the MC, here Sean steps in when needed, intervenes when needed, and I think it's great! Everyone need a friend like Sean. While at first I sees Fah as that cheesy very kind brother, he is actually a good brother figure for Nuea and he did give Nuea solid advice. They have great chemistry too! And I like how they meet and talk often, it really puts how close and dependent Nuea to Fah is into perspective.
3. The chemistry between the MCs?
I actually expect Joong's acting to be plainer than Dunk, because most BLs usually made the 'seme' didn't do much action, just staring with that lovestruck expression and sitting calm being all handsome. Here Joong actually served more than Dunk, his skinship is natural and his kisses! Didn't seems awkward at all. He is also better at expressing tiny details in his expression. Kluen suits him so much, so big kudos to Joong Archen for delivering Kluen so well. While for Dunk, although he did okay in most of his scenes, there are times when his expression is awkward. The only thing I'm agreeing with the negative reviews is that, yes, Dunk's crying scene is pretty awkward to watch. But hey! This is only his first series! Now that Joong and Dunk had built their chemistry off-camera, I think GMM should totally give them another series in the future that could showcase their talents and chemistry, and of course, with a better-written story too!
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I know that the story would not be happy end It was a very excellent story and I don't even have words to describe the last episode It was interesting and Sad and perfect .He lived without memories Kim Soo-hyun was killing his targets and disappearing He want to have a passion from people
This drama has been good so far, I really hope for a good ending that will satisfy all of us who watches this. The plot is actually nice and I very much like the story. I'll definitely watch this again after the drama is completed. I was actually so confused at and I did not expect his father to be killed by his son
first, then I started to understand the whole situation of the story. I really like their acting, especially Chang Ki-Young. I wish him to have more offers like this, being an elite assassin suits him well. It's just so sad
Thanks for an interesting, sweet and sad story.
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Mature Fiction
If you don't know anything about the movie, you might be entertained. The first half of the movie, despite some nice music and eroticism, for me was quite boring, but in the second half, this mature drama movie turned into a suspenseful triller out of nowhere. I thought I will have to force myself to watch the entire movie but surprisingly it turned out to be a worthwhile watch. The main actors were a little static but solid. The main quality of the movie is the story with mature themes of complicated relationship and some unusual elements.Without revealing the story, I can mention a theme of reality. This movie is obviously a work of fiction, and it is difficult to accept it as realistic. Nevertheless, the movie makes us think what reality of our lives do we choose to live. There is a reality of our emotions and reality of our reason, the reality of our relationship and the work that we do to contribute to society, the reality of our beliefs, of our history, but there is also a hidden reality of our passions and imagination. Which reality do you choose to live?
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This one got to me!
This is a slow (in a good way), simple and beautiful story. I'll start with the bottom line - it's been quite a while since I've cried watching something, and I cried a couple of times during this movie. I was swept into the story and could feel the nervousness of the female lead, but she wasn't portrayed as a loser at all. The meeting of the leads was shown in a good way, and I was rooting for them from the start. Wu Nien Hsuan as Yi Bin and Zhou Yi Ram as Tong Zhi Liao were perfectly cast. I could feel sparks between the two from the beginning. I was torn, I wanted to find out what happened, but I also wanted it to go on and on. It was a lovely journey of discovery and spoke to lost chances and regrets. The story line of the old lady and her regrets mirrored the lead couple perfectly.Normally, I struggle with Chinese dramas, the episodic ones are normally too drawn out for me, and the movies often don't give me enough time to invest in the characters. add to that my problems with dubbing and overacting, you'll see my dilemma. This movie was, quite simply, a hidden gem. I happened upon it quite by accident. The script is good, and the acting is understated. There are no over-the-top characters, and they are all likeable in their own way. No love triangles, and there wasn't much time spent on any of the secondary characters, other than the old lady, so we really got to know the main couple.
I might watch it again, if only to get lost in the story once again. The ending is ambiguous, and I think that's for the viewer to decide what they want to happen. I choose to go the happily-ever-after route.
I can happily and unapologetically recommend this movie!
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Messy but worth the watch
Pluto was a fun series to follow week by week, not just for the plot twists, but for the excitement of watching a creative team walk a dizzying tightrope. I haven’t read the novel by Chao Planoy, but her work tends to be controversial to say the least, and Pluto seems like an especially tricky work to adapt. It’s a more complex story than your average GL, too, mixing romance, mystery, and social commentary. And with two popular actors in the lead roles, Pluto promised to be one of the most ambitious Thai GL productions yet. Every week I found myself asking: Can they pull it off? Can Snap25 make this adaptation work?And hey, in the end, they almost did it! I don’t want to be too hard on them—by all accounts, they managed to improve on the novel quite a bit, and many of the flaws in the series are only glaring in hindsight. This is also probably the best-looking Thai GL; the cinematography and set design have an artsy flair that is often striking. The performances are excellent, not just from Namtan and Film but from the whole ensemble. Pluto can be a bumpy ride, but it’s always an entertaining and sometimes a beautiful one.
About those bumps, though. It’s tempting to blame any issues on the source material, but considering the liberties that were taken in adapting the book, I don’t think all of Pluto’s faults can be laid at the feet of Ms. Planoy. What I think Pluto might be lacking, more than anything, is a director. Technically the “Snap25 Team” is credited as director of the series, and they seem to have a very collaborative style, working closely with the actors to develop the story. That’s super cool, on one hand, and I like the egalitarian approach of crediting the whole crew. On the other hand, Pluto is a series that could really have benefited from a stronger unifying vision. Because baby the tone of this series is all OVER the place. Sometimes the drama is naturalistic and down-to-earth, and sometimes the soap opera dial is cranked up to 11. (Like in Episode 11, during the miscalculated sobfest, when May should react to being abandoned with cold fury, but instead acts like her only child was just brutally murdered in front of her eyes.) Sometimes the writing is subtle, and sometimes a character will turn to the camera and say, “That’s emotional abuse!” in a scene about emotional abuse. Sometimes there will be a musical number/dream sequence with like seven costume changes in the middle of an otherwise realistic episode. The whiplash is intense.
That lack of focus extends to the story, too. Pluto tries to be about a lot of things—disability, childhood trauma, forgiveness, atonement, justice, why you should never date a cop no matter how good she looks in that uniform—but can never really decide what matters most. As a result the themes and subplots all feel underdeveloped. Why is the Pang/Jan/Phim love triangle part of the story? Don’t get me wrong, I adore Kapook, Ciize, and Earn (especially Earn!), and honestly “lesbian polycule revolving around potted plants” sounds right up my alley, but the whole thing feels weightless. May’s lectures on disability rights and universal design are well-intentioned, but sound like the screenwriter is quoting from something they read on wikipedia, rather than like the genuine sentiments of a blind person. The script insists that blindness is not a limitation, but then awkwardly wants viewers to rejoice at the restoration of May’s sight, and even implies that her blindness was a punishment she had to endure. So many interesting contrasts and parallels between how May and Ai-oon were raised are ignored by the story, and of course the class difference between them is completely glossed over. And the Pluto metaphor!! Whatever Pluto was meant to represent in this series is beyond me.
I’m really just scratching the surface in terms of weird narrative choices: There’s the hilarious “May helps edit Ai-oon’s bad erotica” subplot which sadly gets dropped right away. There’s the dreaded redemption for May’s evil dad which comes out of nowhere. There are some confusing lines toward the end that suggest Phim may have originally had a larger role that got whittled down. And, off topic, but while I’m listing random complaints, why are all the visual effects so godawful? The opening credits are an actual travesty—whoever is responsible should never be allowed near Adobe Protools again—and the car crash scene looks like it was done by an unpaid intern.
Um, so Pluto is kind of a mess, in other words, but at least it’s a glorious one! Mostly. Everyone involved (except for the aforementioned vfx department) is amazingly talented and frankly deserves a better story, although they do their best with it. I would love to see what this cast and crew could do with a good director to guide them. And maybe with some source material untainted by the pen of Chao Planoy.
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