To be or come out of the closet, that is the dilemma!
Set in the present day in a Chinese university, the romantic and youth film 'To You, for Me' is an example of the best of Chinese queer science fiction, in the manner of the series 'I'll Turn Back This Time' (2025), and the films 'Shao Ling Bi' ('Mermaid's Jade', 2019), by Zhang Kai Qiang, and 'Star Appeal', by Cui Zi En, among many others.With a plot that invites both enjoyment and reflection, 'To You, for Me' divides its 26 minutes into four acts, to tell us about a relationship between Ian (Ian Lao) and Paul (Paul Wong), two university students.
Written and directed by Symenie Kam and Kitty Wu, the first act explores the jealousy and shame that homosexuals often suffer from publicly recognizing themselves as such, themes that are the reality of many.
The plot immediately introduces us to the story from the moment the two boys meet, while playing the popular game of hide-and-seek in the student residence.
Independently, both decide to hide in a closet that, due to its small size, does not have space to house both of them, so Ian will demand that Paul find another place to hide and thus prevent both from being caught by the pursuers.
The friendship between both protagonists is quickly built from the unexpected meeting. And what begins as a simple game quickly turns into a secret and unconfessed love for each other, triggering unexpected conflicts and testing the strength of the relationship. While Ian is more open to acknowledging that he is in love with his friend, Paul is unable to acknowledge his feelings, so he agrees to have a heterosexual relationship with Sofia (Sabrina Tam) to avoid being singled out by his classmates.
The relationship between the two protagonists is abruptly interrupted by a tragedy that forces Ian to go back in time to precisely the moment when the two boys met in the closet during the game of hide-and-seek.
The second act addresses the theme of the established gay couple, but in which one of the two boys is not ready to come out of the closet and asks his beloved for time.
After traveling in time, Ian agrees to share the closet with Paul while the pursuers try to discover where the other players are hiding.
As happened in the first act, the friendship between the two young people blossoms and the plot quickly leads us to Paul admitting that he is also in love with Ian and they both begin to live a secret relationship.
In this act the idea of "being in the closet" is played with, because while Ian is not afraid to acknowledge his sexuality and considers, a year after starting the courtship, that the time has come to publicly acknowledge the relationship, Paul still feels confused and maladjusted in society, so he insists on still keeping the romance a secret. Despite being happy, Paul is embarrassed to hold Ian's hand and introduce him to his friends as his boyfriend, especially when everyone considers that Paul is a boy who attracts all women.
Since the reasons why Ian traveled in time have not been resolved, tragedy occurs that will force him once again to return to the moment when they both met.
Knowing the tragic outcome, in the third act, Ian will reject all of Paul's attempts to connect with his friend and lover. And tragedy ensues, but now, in the fourth act, it is Paul who travels back in time to give us a happy ending.
Despite its low budget, a script that seems to fulfill a university academic exercise, a non-professional cast that took its first steps in the world of acting with this film, and a shallow romantic content, I liked the plot for addressing topics such as second chances, choosing relationships, jumping in time and coming out or being out of the closet.
In summary: the plot line of 'To You, for Me' connects with the BL-loving public, because it is very close to their reality. Friendship, jealousy, gay shame, staying or coming out of the closet, self-discovery, acceptance, fidelity, love and the search for happiness, are essential values and themes that resonate in our daily lives, seen from all perspectives. science fiction.
Furthermore, the story addresses strong themes that may be controversial, but through reflection they seek to transmit positive messages, always starting from truth and love. On the other hand, there are situations that will invite the viewer to reflect deeply on various aspects of life.
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This review may contain spoilers
I forgot how I stumbled on this one. But I want to watch a movie, so just randomly selected from my PTW.Story about a woman [Tian Xiao Le (XL)], who fell in love with her classmate [Cheng Da Ye (DY)], but being a teenager, she tried to hide her feelings.
XL & DY have been friends since DY decided to help XL with her studies. XL & DY get attracted to each other without them realizing it. DY feels attracted by free spirited XL; while XL feels grateful & attracted by DY who helps her sincerely.
In this movie the writer took us through the journey of their love story. Even though XL & DY know they love each other, but being the teenager themselves, they don’t want to admit their love to the others. And later we witness they try to hide their feelings by having another relationship, while still putting the jealousy in their attitude. And later life also forced them to be separated & finally how life / universe in the end forces them to admit their feelings for each other.
I prefer the other title of this drama, 18 Things First Love Taught Me. Cause in this movie XL & DY each tell us what they learn about their feelings for each other, what lesson they get from this first love. XL & DY each share with us 9 lessons. So hence the 18 in the title comes from.
Let me elaborate what the lesson they learn from their love without giving any spoiler / more context. Really just what they told us throughout the movie.
𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭: 𝐓𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐗𝐢𝐚𝐨 𝐋𝐞
1st lesson:
When a woman feels vulnerable she’ll surely be moved by the care of a man no matter how little it is.
2nd lesson:
A woman can get crazy for someone she loves
3rd lesson:
Even though a woman knows that love is only an illusion, she’ll make the best of the mistake
4th lesson:
It’s better to walk into a man’s eye in a second then to walk into his heart for a lifetime
5th lesson:
The great cruelty is to sacrifice yourself to serve others.
6th lesson:
To love someone never means cheap or not, it just means willing or not
7th lesson:
Control urself in love, and you'll almost be out.
8th lesson:
The way to make love disappear quickly is to make it a burden
9th lesson:
A person is most important to you when you feel that you are about to lose him.
***************************************************************************************************************************
𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭: 𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐧𝐠 𝐃𝐚 𝐘𝐞
1st lesson:
A man's love starts from compassion.
2nd lesson:
Women are unreasonable but charming creatures
3rd lesson:
It's a mistake to point out woman's mistake
4th lesson:
They get angry easily even with the little things
5th lesson:
The woman in love is a, leading politician
6th lesson:
Women often have 2 faces, but they are more clear about what is right and wrong than men
7th lesson:
A woman's heart is like a needle at the bottom of the ocean, but it's men's duty to look for the needle in the ocean.
8th lesson:
When you begin to learn about love, you can only see the shadow of it.
9th lesson:
Parting is to cut the Gordian knot, but the hurt will last for a lifetime.
Overall this is quite a unique movie about first love. But nothing too special too… Do I agree with all they're thought? No, not really...
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I don't get it……
OK I’m thick as a plank but what the heck was that all about? Utterly dysfunctional and destroyed woman meets precious and adorable man and finally lets him change her life which includes totally impossible events and then she dumps him like she’s letting a moth out of the bathroom window. What happened to the “baby”? Where’d they get the money? I thought our welfare was excessive but what’s next for these two? A flight to Mars with Elon? A little too artsy for me. But I love both leads. Love her in Love Scout and love him in everything. At least it was only two hours and not 16 episodes.Was this review helpful to you?
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Expect and You Shall Receive
"Bluebeard" is a folktale about a rich noble who tests the obedience of his wife. When he sees her do something unfit of his commands, he kills her. The folklore follows his current wife, trying to avoid the faith of those that came before her. This movie is about a doctor, who mainly does colonoscopy. It is said early in the film that patients under anesthesia say the most random things due to being sedated, in one such case, an elderly patient went and said some gruesome things, leaving the doctor baffled and scared.I had huge expectations and man did it deliver.
Jinwoong was able to deliver such a feeling of uneasiness and mania, making us believe all of the lies he made up in his head but also a sense of realness where not everything is made up. NoIl did kill and Seunghoon helped him, Miyeon did steal drugs, there was some truths but the lies and evidences were to strong for it to ride in his favour.
Kim DaeMyeung's character, Jung Seunghoon was a great counterpart/mirror to Seunggeun. The way Daemyeung was able to portray a sense of dread into Seunggeun and the audience with his calm ass voice and made you think that he was behind the killings when in fact, he never wanted to. He was only making sure that his father was not behind bars by continuously getting rid of the evidence his father left behind. The way that he wasn't fully innocent but only part guilty was shown once the audience was out of Seunggeun's perspective, but when we look through the eyes of Seunggeun, he seemed to be the person 100% at fault.
The music really made it for me. The way that they portrayed Seunggeun's uneasiness and made the audience jump was thanks to the incredible score. Although a bit slow at times, the pacing was definitely fit for the movie as a thriller. The way they wrote the story blended with the cinematography to deliver such jam-packed scenes was astonishing. But there were some shots that I felt to be pointless (those shots that make the camera swoosh from one end to the other behind a person's back when they're talking to someone).
And that plot twist.. MAN THAT PLOT TWIST. I really did not expect that, I also felt like I was his with two (or three technically) right after the other. Who knew that a mentally unstable person could still tell the truth despite their actions? Not when there's evidence that says otherwise.
Finally, *ahem* *ahem* UY *clap* *clap* PELEPENS *clap* PHILIPPINES... UYYYYYYY!
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Interesting Korean folk horror, uneven pacing and tone
A film that's hard for me to gauge, there's some very good things and a lot of middling stuff. To begin with, the camerawork is pretty good, the countryside and village lovely, even if you can feel a slight lack of budget in the scarcity of different settings that take advantage of the natural surroundings.The little girl's performance is impressive and far superior to the rest of the actors, with the possible exception of the old Japanese man. The rest of the cast are far too over-the-top at times, especially during the "action" scenes, which are a tad amateurish and hardly believable (some of the supporting characters roll around on the floor for no reason at all).
There's a palpable desire to inject tension through excessive shouting and melodrama.
However, this doesn't go down well with the film's rather unpolished pace, which is crammed with one crime scene after another in the first hour, then much slower in the second, with no real justification for it. There's not much ( as far as I'm concerned ) atmosphere here, and I felt very little tension or anxiety. What does not quite work is that the detective aspect ultimately has very little importance for the characters themselves, even if as far as the audience is concerned, we are left in doubt right up to the last minute, but more by the limp mechanical storytelling than by any real thirst to discover the mystery.
The long, ecstatic shamanic exorcism scene is worth mentioning, though, as it's a real blast. The contrast between the shaman's showmanship and the Japanese old man's more primordial rite (beautiful white chickens and a team of musicians for the former, rather rustic black chickens and somewhat primitive drum beats for the latter) encourages us to see a duality at work, despite the fact that the ending leads us to understand that the two were in cahoots.
Unfortunately, there's far too much inconceivable idiocy (in their choices and reactions) on the part of the characters, and many of the events that unfold only happen because people don't talk to each other, and the role of the angel-ghost girl is literally a bad deus ex machina who only exists because she chooses not to interact with the scenario until she's called upon (and so she lets a lot of people die without any real justification).
That said, it's a twist I really like, but the execution is really messy.
There are several potential films in this feature, as evidenced by the total absence of the slightly black humorous tone of the beginning, which evaporates completely without having any weapons powerful enough to compensate for this absence, the action being limp and ham-fisted and the horrific side quite non-existent, as the misfortunes fall mainly on tertiary characters, apart from the protagonist's daughter. Despite all this, I don't consider it too long (even if the final scenes are far too artificial in their build-up to suspense), and I was gripped right up to the conclusion.
It just didn't stay in the oven long enough, and the main ingredients should have been rebalanced.
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Love can really change people
The Japanese director Daisuke Yamanouchi, one of the fundamental presences of audiovisual creation on his continent for three decades for his work in mainstream film, pink film, straight-to-video V-cinema and adult videos (AV), was deserving of the Jury Prize in the Off Theater Competition, at the Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival, in 1994 with her debut feature, the short film 'Blood Red Girls'.He would then continue his artistic career as assistant director with Keita Amemiya on the 1995 fantasy film 'Moon Over Tao: Makaraga', the direct-to-video V-cinema productions, which usually involve extreme gore and horror, such as 'Red Room, Girl Hell', 1999 and 'Dead a Go! Go!'.
In 2002, Yamanouchi made his directorial debut in a pink film, with Maria Yumeno: 'Chō-inran onna no shiseikatsu', starring AV Idol Maria Yumeno.
At the 2006 Pink Grand Prix ceremony, she won the Best Picture Award, by virtue of her pink film 'Beautiful Lesbian Sisters: On the Day of Mourning'.
At this same Festival, five years later, he won a second award with his film 'Irokoi sata Sadako no bôken: Watashi no ai Shita shôgu-tachi yo'.
Yamanouchi also ventured a bit into the Japanese adult video (AV) field with studio Global Media Entertainment in 2005, directing four videos in their 'Boshisōkan yūgi' series, featuring older women and incest themes.
In addition to his work in pink cinema, Yamanouchi continued to write and direct dozens of V-cinema films, many of them in the horror and science fiction genres. In 2014, he was the editor of Yutaka Ikejima's film about a minor actor in the Japanese adult video (AV) industry, 'Oyaji Actor Z' (おやじ男優Z, Oyaji danyū Z).
Many still remember his 2019 film 'The Shortest Distance is Roundabout', which has two versions; "blanc", aimed at a youth audience, and "noir", for those over 18 years of age.
The release in July 2024 of his latest film, 'Heavens x Candy', is a good reason to suggest that MDL readers also get closer to the filmography of the Japanese author.
Family, human relationships, sex, affections, absences and otakus and their (mainly) online obsessions with love, games, anime and/or pornography, are the six pillars on which this film is based, supervised by Kasai Ami.
'Heavens x Candy' tells a story of pure love between two men who have never known love: a shy boy and an audiovisual actor who get to know each other through "oshikatsu" (fan activities).
On his way back from an event for fans of the popular anime series "Heavens x Candy", Hibiki Takato (played by newcomer Taisei), a 2D otaku with a reserved personality at twenty, visits a cafe that is a sacred place for fans but he forgets his wallet and leaves there without paying.
Amemiya Towa (Mukai Riku), who shares similar otaku tendencies and a love for "Heaven's x Candy", and who is at the cafeteria for the same purpose, accompanied by her stylist Satochi (Matsumoto Takuya, 'Fujoshi, Ukkari Gei ni Kokuru ', 2019), pays the bill for him.
The next day, they both meet at the cafeteria when Takato returns with the money and Towa to drink the banana smoothie that the establishment sells and which is also praised in the audiovisual preferred by the two young people. Once agreed, they go to the lighthouse that appears in the anime to continue the pilgrimage.
Towa, known for playing Haruto in 'The Shortest Distance Is Round', strongly suggests that the two go to another sacred place, a love hotel. There, as they express their love for each other, Towa reveals that he is a popular straight porn actor. Meanwhile, Takato recognizes the reason why he locked himself up like a hermit in his house.
I also liked the side story of Yusuke (Takemoto Taishi), Takato's father, and his partner Shinya (Yuki Shun).
Takato represents a widespread phenomenon in Japan, particularly among young men who cannot access university studies, and are seen by their embarrassed parents as disabled people or useless failures who should be "hidden in the back room".
I am struck by how in the film we see the opposite, with a tolerant father who encourages his own hermit son, who has not left the house for four years after his mother's death, and how he is happy when he leaves out of the shell after falling in love with another boy.
I liked the 'otaku' character concept of the character played by Taisei, a shy and lonely twenty-something, uncommunicative and unemployed ('Otaku can mean 'home', as in 'homebound', an insult).
Although the film could use a little more depth in the story, I liked how the two main characters manage to change thanks to love, serving as a motivation for personal growth, as a source of inspiration to improve behaviors and attitudes. Takato, for example, was able to develop self-esteem, which led to greater happiness and satisfaction in life. He was able to leave his hermit life and look for a job to become independent from his father.
Towa, for his part, quit a job that did not satisfy him, because despite having a lot of sex thanks to his work as a porn actor, he had never experienced love.
Likewise, the love that arises between Towa and Takato allowed them a change in perspective, allowing both to see the world in a different way, adopting a more positive and empathetic perspective, just as they were able to overcome fears and insecurities and bring them to a better place. greater self-confidence.
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Underwhelming
They tried a different angle of the story and it fell flat..all the cast were bad la..East the invincible is ok, probably best acting performance. The acting of the rest was so bad.. storyline was bad.. pacing was bad. Wasted 2 hrs of my lifeThe ending didn't quite ended the story, so I hope they are not thinking of making a sequel... it's so bad that I would be surprised if there was any sequel
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Brokeback Samurai
A Brokeback Samurai murder mystery, Taboo is a bold and visually stunning exploration of the strict social codes of nineteenth-century Japan, a mesmerising and atmospheric tale infused with a subversive undercurrent of homoerotic frisson. Nagisa Ōshima's final film, one he directed from a wheelchair due to his 1996 stroke, is one to behold; there's plenty of beauty to admire throughout the film's runtime, even if the narrative doesn't quite come together by the end, ending on a bloodless whimper, it's far from a pure drama thanks to Ōshima peppering the story with a little action here and there to keep the audience engaged through the long stretches of slow-burning heavy-handed dialogue. However, the way the production elements are assembled is what makes this film work, Ōshima's visual scheme creates a film full of the bare, dark wood interiors of the militia base and the mud brown of uniforms, where just a few significant colours stand out; very traditional of its genre but its elevated by the slow deliberate camerawork. The cast is easily one of the film's biggest perks. You get Takeshi Kitano leading the cast and story just as brilliantly as he always does, but it's the combo of Tadanobu Asano and Ryuhei Matsuda that truly sparkles. The score by Ryuichi Sakamoto is certainly one of the film's strengths, it pulls away from more traditional sounds of the genre, instead replacing it with Sakamoto's signature sound, it's not one of his most memorable works but it fits the film beautifully. Even though Taboo is relatively open and straightforward about its themes, the actual imagery remains pretty demure and suggestive, even with all its faults, Ōshima's swan song is a film worth watching.Was this review helpful to you?
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Not for me
There are many reasons why I dislike the movie.First and foremost, the songs. Since my mother tongue is Hindi, I couldn't connect with the songs, and that was one of the reasons for not liking them. Another reason is that the songs were from a very old era, and I had never heard such music before, making it difficult for me to enjoy them.
Secondly, I couldn’t connect with the tragic ending or the emotional love story between the male lead and the second female lead. The main reason is that the second female lead’s actions felt unjustifiable. She was well aware that he was her friend’s boyfriend, yet she crossed boundaries, which made it impossible for me to sympathize with her character. Moreover, the male lead also acted selfishly, which added to my disappointment.
Thirdly, what the female lead does in return to teach them a lesson crosses all limits. While it’s a movie, in reality, if a girl experiences such an emotional shock—where her best friend and her lover cheat on her—there are typically two outcomes: she either completely breaks down and never recovers, or she leaves them, moves on, and becomes emotionally distant. Additionally, she would probably learn never to trust anyone blindly again.
The story confused me about which character deserved my sympathy because all of them were at fault.
The only part that slightly touched me was the last scene when the male lead writes a letter asking for forgiveness. However, his words, "I don't love you," ruined all the emotions for me. Those words felt extremely harsh for the female character reading them, and it must have been devastating for her.
Overall, watching the movie felt like a waste of time for me.
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Money has Toll
The synopsis reveals quite a lot about the plot, perhaps even too much. We have two detectives who, in addition to their police work, earn extra money through a deal with local criminals. However, I watched the film without knowing anything about the plot, and I believe that's the best way to approach it because every detail gradually increases the intrigue and tension. This is an action film, but it contains plenty of drama and thriller elements, and at times even a touch of horror. I can't say the plot is entirely original, as there are many films with similar stories, but this one stands out by successfully bringing the main characters closer to the audience, making us empathize with them. The producers clearly put in a lot of effort to make the film visually impressive, with some shots resembling artistic scenes.There's a saying that money is a necessary evil. We all need it, but dishonest and dirty money never brings blessings. I think a biblical quote fits this film well: "For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs." (1 Timothy 6:10).
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You gotta be here for the cast.
I mean, what can I say? You think I'm gonna say no to a cast like this, even with poor production quality?I needed something fun and low brow to watch while I was home sick and The Heroic Trio ticked the boxes. It just so happened that I was watching this on a summer's night with the din of Têt firecrackers going off in my neighbourhood, which added an extra something to the chaotic atmosphere of the movie.
The Heroic Trio is as camp as it is crass. The three women are allowed full flamboyancy but, as exei aptly points out, with little attention paid to either plot or effects. And yes, at times it's so bad that it's good. I'm not sure if you can even give this anything other than a 7/10.
Take yourself on this quick and whacky ride if you're looking for a flick with some wild energy.
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Would love to see the mains together again in a better production...
Sadly the the story is choppy and not told well. So many holes as everyone says. The production team and backend folks should have done better. Only the casting director seemed to have had any skillful foresight and deeper insight for this project.The cast, especially the main actors are great. Lusi is young and just starting to build on her career so not as skilled as she is now but still very good. This is the same for Xu Kai. Hopefully they get cast again in another drama together. I would love to see them in something better. Love them both. I'd be happy if they even tried to do this story again with a new screenwriter, director and editor. (Random info I found interesting: the screenwriter and director was the same guy. He was roughly 30 yrs old at the making of this film. Little to no experience otherwise. I guess he had a lot of confidence in himself.)
Objectively, I don't recommend this movie. This being said because I like these types of characters, the general concept of the story, the actors and I have a poor memory; I will be rewatching this. I've watched this three times already and will likely watch this again if I get bored in a year or so.
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A bottomless depth of intentional emptiness
Punk nihilism offset by pure, unfiltered anger, The Youth Killer becomes all the more bleak once you learn the events surrounding it were true, a volatile outburst of teenage desire and frustration, unwilling to be tamed by the people supporting them. The only other film directed by Kazuhiko Hasegawa, The Youth Killer offers a vastly different experience to that of The Man Who Stole the Sun, chronicling the complete collapse of a young man's life in two highly traumatic, chaotic days of murder and madness. The direction and photography capture the suffocating, hellish setting its protagonists inhabit, most fittingly in a film that on occasion, and considering the large parts taking place in single locations with only two actors, points intently towards a stage play. The editing does induce the whole thing with a sense of speed, but the truth is, that the film lags significantly, with certain scenes, especially the exploitation / erotic elements that are there mostly for titillation, overstaying their welcome. There's an unwavering faith in the central performances, a faith that borders on the indulgent though ultimately they do pay off, a lot of the acting is very laconic but it weirdly works with everyone in a heightened distressed state, it adds a great amount of grim reality to the film. Coupled with an upbeat, deranged and nightmarishly unfitting yet extremely catchy Godiego score, The Youth Killer is a difficult watch at times but one with such an integral and fascinating radicalism it's hard to look away from, beautifully shot but sinks into the bottomless depth of intentional emptiness all too easily.Was this review helpful to you?
Kiss for love
The story was simple and straightforward. The ending could have been better but I loved the cast. The acting was pretty good, I wouldn’t change the acting one bit. The actors are talented. The plot of the story could have been a little longer and better. I gave the music a low rating because I didn’t hear any music whenever I watched it or music would have gotten a better rating.Was this review helpful to you?
