Reviews

MUSICAL (!) BL Story (they sing)

They tried...
This is about a boy who falls in love with someone who is in the same club. They connect through the music, yet there is a little conflict to when it comes to one of the MLs songwriting.

This is a fully felged musical BL. They start singing every few minutes and it's really hard to take this seriously. The acting is a bit awkward, but I like to believe they did their best with what they had.
Their singing wasn't bad, simply a bit random, but considering this is a musical I guess you have to expect that there are a lot of musical numbers.

The problem is that the movie is already so short, there isn't a lot of time to tell a story and the songs didn't really help with building the plot.
And while I'm talking about the plot, it was a slightly confusing. Some things didn't really make sense (for example: why couldn't You Jia sing the song himself?). Suddenly singing to "explain" emotions felt forced and made watching a bit cringe at times.

I didn't really enjoy this, but I'm trying to not be too harsh (yes I could've been harsher).
I hope you see that it's a musical beforehand so maybe you can go into watching this with different "approach"/expectation.
I do have to say the singing was so unexpected that I found it quite hilarious and had a good time laughing. Maybe that's a reason to watch it.

Last but not least: the camera and lighting was really nice. So that's a plus, it's a pretty viewing experience, the content was just lacking a little.

Hopefully the actors have a chance to do something else to showcase their acting a bit more rather than their singing... 💕

Read More

watching this i think if the timeline was different, then it would hit harder. i get that we supposed to see this from the POV of men that can't openly love, cause society isn't open to it. & yet given that the 1st Thai BL came out in 2014 (let alone the fact that the mains r playing actors that r in a gay romance) even if the majority of Thailand wasn't OK with anything LGBT, there was enough acceptance, in certain parts. so if someone really wanted too they would fight for the right to love!

from where i sit, it seemed like more of a choice, Tul didn't want to rock the boat - he had a vision of his future & even though he loved Kan & is attracted to men, he wanted the facade of normalcy - whether for his family or just in general idk (as we didn't any back ground). but the out come was him hurting 3 people, cause of his selfishness - u could justify it & yet it is what it is. cause if u r gay, u will always be tempted - so even though Kan isn't around. Tul will stray & then what off his daughter & wife?!?
cause we have seen that when push comes to shove - Tul has no problem hurting the one he loves - cause his wishes & feelings come 1st.

& anyone mentioning the child - 1 there surrogates - sadly in a country like Thailand there enough poor people that it wouldn't be hard to find a woman (married or widowed) that would take on the job. 2. instead of marrying a normie that was duped into thinking she was being married for love, he could've seeked out a woman that was A-sexual that wanted children & more of companionship then a true partnership - guess i am over thinking this - but heck cause of this Tul's tears did mean a thing to me. i felt sorry for Kan, the unsuspecting wife & even the sweet child...

this was fine for a 1 off.

Read More

It moved me to tears

Judge by actions, not intentions - for no one is perfect in thought. This heartwarming slice-of-life film tells a story about family bonds and filial duty. While its slow pacing may feel challenging at first, viewers gradually become immersed until they're moved to tears. Quite different from typical Thai idol dramas, its gentle approach nonetheless tackles social issues like parental neglect and son preference through realistic details. Being set in a Chinese family, it maintains cultural proximity for mainland audiences. One can't help but notice how deeply animist and Buddhist beliefs permeate every aspect of Thai cultural life.

Read More

"Why did you have to come to this place?"

The silent film Daybreak aka Tianming was a political melodrama from 1933. Li Lili, one of the brightest stars at the time led the cast as the wholesome heroine done wrong by the big city and warlords. Ling Ling would seek her revenge through the coming revolution.

Ling Ling and her beau Zhang leave the countryside for Shanghai hoping to make a better life for themselves. They move into the same building as her cousin and her husband, “Fatty.” At first everything is going their way as they happily work at the factory. When the factory bosses notice Ling Ling’s beauty she is assigned to night duty. Zhang takes exception to their actions and is fired. He ends up working on a ship and later joins the revolution. Ling Ling’s cousin sets her up unknowingly on a “date” with the boss. From there Ling Ling’s fortunes take a downward turn. After a tragedy she learns to use her body and her wits to help the workers and revolution.

The countryside was shown as idyllic and alternately as devastated by taxation and war. The big city and its modern ways was an inherently evil place while the countryside was considered uncontaminated by modern ways. Not for the first time the squeaky-clean country girl was sullied for daring to leave home. Unashamedly a propaganda film, it leaned in hard and used a sledge hammer to drive its points home. Happiness, the individual, and life were meaningless, only the revolution mattered. Only the revolution would bring the solutions for their problems.

Li Lili’s life played out much like one of these films. Her childhood was traumatic. And while she became famous from starring in Sun Yu’s films she drew the ire of Mao’s jealous wife Jiang Qing. Li and her husband Luo Jing Yu were jailed and tortured during the Cultural Revolution. Her husband did not survive the experience.

I’ve watched several of these old silent films. The acting was more overwrought than usual in Daybreak. The makeup might be recognized today as heroin chic or maybe consumption chic. Through no fault of the film makers, the film was off center at times, the frames would freeze and there was significant pocking on various frames.

While I could appreciate the political fervor during a volatile time, the exaggerated acting and martyr complex of the heroine dimmed its impact for me. Despite being historically relevant, the well-worn trope even by this time of the country girl soiled by the big city was less than compelling for me.

2 June 2025

Read More

bland....at best.

I didn't watch the series meaning I didn't have any previous attachment towards this story. my opinion is solely based on this movie.

it s hard to rate this movie.
the plot could have had some potential but the fact that a literal kid is a bodyguard is too ridiculous.
I laughed my ass off when he started beating up the president 's personal guards.. c'mon guys.. that's a teen ager.

there is some chemistry between the actor and that s probably the only good part.

there aren't any significant secondary characters. the "girlfriend" pops out of nowhere and plays basically no role in this movie.

the fact that actors all looked over 28 didn't help that much.

the love story could have being intriguing but there isn't much of an explanation about their past together.

in the end the plot had potential but they didn't do much with it.
the love story isn't flashed out, we don't nothing on that side.
should you watch it?
I think no.
the cinematography is good but the film just isn't enough.

p.s. they take themselves so seriously in this movie I laughed many times

Read More

A decent, if disappointing, adaptation that takes its own direction

This adaptation definitely stayed more truthful to the Webtoon in certain aspects, but veered into new territory in others, with one notable twist, and several minors ones. Thus, the movie offers a new experience, even if you've watched the Kdrama or read the Webtoon.

Personally, I much prefer the characters in the Kdrama. While this problem may partially lie with lacking screentime, I think I take issue with the writing too.

Here I find Yu (Jongwoo) entirely unsympathetic, and lacking in depth. I felt little pity for him. While this may have been intended, the movie loses some necessary tension by not making us care more about our main character's safety. Additionally, unlike in the Kdrama, the gangster literally told Yu he didn't plan on leaving. I expected the writers to have added this interaction so Yu would suspect the Ark's residents earlier on, but this was not the case. Instead, you have more reason to shake the screen in frustration. One other thing I found a bit strange is that Jun was given the role of "suspense writer" (here, "showmaker"). Not sure why they did that.

The movie equally stripped Kirishima (Moonjo) of some dimension. He tells us he's an artist, but we're never really shown his artistry. In the Kdrama, he creates jewelry. He reads classics. Here... he wears a colorful shirt. Kirishima lacks the creative spirit of his Webtoon and Kdrama counterparts.

I found their dynamic unfortunately weaker, and less compelling in this movie. The at times questionable writing decisions are the reason I docked 3 points compared to my rating of the Kdrama.

On the positive side, like the Kdrama, the movie offered fun cinematography, with a particular focus on color and patterns. The acting was well done, particularly Kirishima's. I believe the new twist to be decently written and aptly foreshadowed.

Overall, while I prefer both the Kdrama and the Webtoon, I think this adaptation is worth a watch because even if I don't agree with all the writing decisions, it brings something new to the table. You experience the same awesome "what" moment you did in the Kdrama's finale. For first time viewers, though, I would suggest the Kdrama.

Read More

"When will there be no more need for girls like us?"

Once again Mizoguchi Kenji showed the plight of “geishas” in The Woman in the Rumor. It starred Tanaka Kinuyo as the owner of a relatively high-end, low-end brothel and the mother of a daughter who resented the family business.

Hatsuko has brought her daughter, Yukiko, home from Tokyo. After her boyfriend broke ties with her due to her mother’s business, Yukiko attempted suicide. At first Yukiko was hostile and cold toward her mother, the women, and the doctor who looked over the "geishas.” She came to fully realize how the money her mother spent on her education and living expenses was earned. The geishas weren’t morally bankrupt, rather girls from poverty-stricken farm families with few career opportunities. What Yukiko didn’t know was that the same doctor who had taken a romantic interest in her had also been romantically involved with her mother for some time.

Other than the problem with the doctor being an opportunistic jerk, a female character once again found herself in the unenviable position of being older than the man she was involved with. Tanaka was 11 years older than Nakamura Jakuemon IV (aka Otani Tomoemon) who was 11 years older than Kuga Yoshiko. Of course, the latter pairing was not the horrific societal hurdle that the former was. While Hatsuko had the audacity to fall in love with a younger man, her business was also not honorable enough for a penniless and ethically challenged doctor. Mizoguchi liked to show women suffering and poor Hatsuko’s ego took a merciless beating.

The geishas in the house were shown caring for each other even as they bemoaned their pitiful pay. Mizoguchi didn’t delve into the darker side of prostitution and the toll it took on a woman’s mind and body. He did, however, have a character lament the sad cycle of young girls entering the profession as others aged out, all for the pleasure of men. It also showed how few opportunities there were for a girl or woman to provide for herself and/or her family. This film primarily focused on Hatsuko and her relationship with her daughter. The rift between them could only be healed with Yukiko coming to understand her widowed mother’s position and feelings.

The Woman in the Rumor was the last film Tanaka would make with Mizoguchi, in part because he died a few later and in greater part because he tried to thwart her from becoming a director. This film ultimately worked for me as mother and daughter learned the valuable lesson, 'sisters before misters' or 'mothers and daughters before calculating doctors with wandering eyes and hands syndrome.'

"...most men hold questionable views."


1 June 2025

This film is also known as The Woman of Rumour

Read More