I dig it
In this captivating film, Win Metawin's performance is a revelation, showcasing a depth of emotion that I had not previously seen from him. His portrayal is both raw and nuanced, drawing the audience into the character's inner turmoil with remarkable skill.One of the most impressive aspects of the film is the seamless way in which both Janella and Win switch between languages. From English to Thai, Filipino, and even some Cantonese, their linguistic dexterity adds a layer of authenticity to their characters, making them feel all the more real and relatable.
Moreover, the film offers a fresh perspective on Hong Kong, showcasing lesser-known spots that highlight the city's unique charm and beauty. As someone who thought they knew Hong Kong well, I was pleasantly surprised by the new discoveries the film had to offer.
The dialogue in the film is another standout element, with well-crafted lines that are both metaphoric and deeply reflective. These moments of contemplation add a profound depth to the film, elevating it beyond a mere narrative and into the realm of existential exploration.
Overall, this film is a triumph on multiple levels. From Win Metawin's captivating performance to the film's rich tapestry of languages and its thoughtful dialogue, every aspect of the film comes together to create a truly unforgettable cinematic experience.
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Downright Depressing
"Kalel, 15" - A Thought-Provoking Journey into the Depths of Youth and Stigma
At just fifteen years old, Kalel finds himself grappling with a reality that most teenagers never have to face. As the son of a priest and HIV positive, he navigates life amidst a sea of tensions, secrets, and societal stigmas. "Kalel, 15" is a poignant exploration of the multifaceted issues surrounding HIV, Filipino youth, dysfunctional families, and the complexities of Christian morality.
From the outset, the film captivates with its brilliant storytelling, acting, and cinematography. Within the first five minutes, viewers are drawn into Kalel's world, which feels refreshingly unique and authentic. The decision to film in stark black and white adds a layer of grittiness and darkness that perfectly complements the film's themes.
Yet, amidst the film's visual and narrative prowess lies a stark truth: the lack of dialogue surrounding HIV in the Philippines. Kalel's journey serves as a sobering reminder of the consequences of societal silence and stigma. In a Catholic nation where discussions about sex are often taboo, HIV is treated as a dirty secret rather than the urgent epidemic it truly is. The film unapologetically exposes the hypocrisy and shortcomings of a society unwilling to confront uncomfortable truths.
The cinematography further underscores Kalel's isolation and despair. As the film progresses, the frame gradually shrinks, symbolizing the suffocating pressure and confinement of his circumstances. Despite his attempts to find hope in a world devoid of color, Kalel is continuously let down by those around him.
However, amidst the film's palpable anger lies a deeper sense of insight and urgency. "Kalel, 15" channels its rage into a powerful examination of societal neglect and the dire consequences it inflicts upon vulnerable individuals like Kalel. Through his experiences, the film forces viewers to confront uncomfortable truths about sex, stigma, and the failure of empathy.
In its entirety, "Kalel, 15" is a mind-blowing and thought-provoking cinematic experience. It serves as a stark reminder of the importance of open dialogue, empathy, and action in addressing issues like HIV and youth sexuality. This film is not just important; it is essential viewing for anyone seeking to understand the complexities of stigma and the resilience of the human spirit.
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Amazing Tibet biking documentary
I love to know how Zhang Zhehan is throughout the best Tibet biking documentary. The people he met, the stunning landscapes of Tibet captured by him, and the words showing his lovely and thoughtful mind, all let me know the importance of life keep going and no regret to the past. I wish I can see more about this kind of documentary by the director Zhang Zhehan.It's really the August I imagined, and it's not just that August. Listening to Zhang Zhehan talk about every August he encountered in his life, until that moment. He pushed August into the abyss with us, watching him climb up the iceberg step by step, with endless cliffs next to him, as if that August had been embodied in this way, and then restarted in August of 2022, and finally August of 2023. Arriving in his dream Tibet, I seemed to be inspired by his indomitable spirit and revived, just like I had experienced the past three years with him.
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If u don't watch it,u will miss a gem of a film
Such a beautiful movie.The little caring moments bw the lead couple is very heart warming.ahhh the male lead captured my heart ❤️ his acting ,cuteness,smile,sadness everything felt real.He is a very handsome and treat to the eye.female lead is Soo cute and innocent to match the female character.must watch.dont miss itWas this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
A Cathartic Journey
Zhang Zhehan tells his story through snapshots of the people he meets and of the natural wonders he sees on the journey to Lhasa.The result is a documentary full of warmth and happy discoveries, with an undertone of the director's struggle to embody that joy himself as he used to. And what perhaps matters the most when discussing topics such as mental health and healing, Zhang doesn't portray the story as a cookie-cutter, happy ending fairytale.
Throughout, the documentary is visually gorgeous. The power of nature is shown in full, and so are the hopes, dreams and daily life of the people encountered on the way. There is no artificial dramatization of the events or emotions, and no attempt to turn human experience into a consumable.
Zhang Zhehan lets the genuine happiness, confusion and love of the journey speak for themselves, all the while carefully listening to them himself.
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A high school-to-adulthood unrequited love story
The script is tight, coherent. Beautifully sad and hopeful at the same time. The characters well rounded with very real problems based on actual contemporary issues, such as social classes and expectations based on gender, which makes it even more heartbreaking. You understand the decisions they are making are the best option for each other, even if it means being apart. Still, their love always makes them cheer for the other to become the best version of themselves.Sun Qian and Zhang Xin Cheng’s chemistry in INSANE. Like, DAMN! Not once I didn’t believe in their performances or the story they were telling me. They carried the entire film flawlessly. Bravo.
I enjoyed every single minute of this film right up to the end, which left me with a chuckle and the biggest smile.
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What a surprise. It is a good movie
I watched it out of boredom at night at Youku.I was surprised that this movie is quite a good movie. Although, I knew none of the actors.
I have to praise the story line & directing. Very well-done.
Storyline is nicely paced. Straight forward, not boring & easy to follow.
The CGI is extremely good. Beat my expectation.
The casts are also good. Especially the actress who played Meng-Po.
Worth my 1.5hours to watch this movie. Recommended.
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Wow, seriously, I've watched it a coupla weeks ago and I'm still getting goosebumps just by thinking about it, so good it was!
The script is absolutely P-E-R-F-E-C-T, it works like the finest of Swiss clockworks and *every single scene* is a total delight to watch. Even the most minor of side characters feels tridimensional, and the scenes involving them are fabulously deep and brilliant (take for instance the beautiful subplot involving the "haafu" and his mother! Or the fantastically bittersweet one with the old couple!).
The acting is top-notch, as one would expect from such a *stellar* cast!!!
The production value / "packaging" literally reaches Himalayan heights too.
This goes directly in my personal top10 of all times!!!
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Nostalgic beauty
This movie definitely gave me a comforting feeling of nostalgia which is the main reason why it felt so good to watch. The concept is pretty interesting and I also liked the acting, the settings and the cinematography (for sure the colour grading). Although the movie felt a bit boring to me, it was still worth it for the nostalgic vibe. Not amazing but definitely not bad or horrible.Love love loved the song at the end as well as the credit scene for sure <3
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1This review may contain spoilers
The fear and insecurity that homosexuals suffer in an intolerant and homophobic country
The third short film by Kim-Jho Gwang-Soo (김조광수) takes up Min Soo, the character created by him and first introduced in 'Boy Meets Boy', in 2008, and later in 'Just Friend?', the following year, for tell us about the most recurrent film themes and objectives of this renowned South Korean film director and screenwriter: sexual awakening, coming of age, sexuality, gender identity, being queer in a heteronormative and homophobic society.But in this film, the filmmaker introduces other topics, such as sexual desire, bullying, the problems of homosexuals facing a homophobic society, the fear of homophobia. The final scene is quite devastating with the Irish song Danny Boy.
Peter Kim, nickname by which this filmmaker is also known, seeks to illustrate in 'Love 100° C' (사랑은 100℃ / Sarangeun 100℃), the desires and dangers that homosexuals face in South Korean society through a hearing-impaired gay teenager named Min Soo. From the first scene we are introduced to the teenager, while he masturbates with photographs of his classmate Ji Seok, a supposedly heterosexual, homophobic person, of course, whom he secretly loves.
Despite his deafness, Min Soo is a self-aware young man. He suffers from bullying from his classmates not because he is gay but because of his hearing problem, since the other high school students confuse the condition with an impairment in his brain. For the same reason, his brother, a year younger, also bothers him. Min Soo needs a hearing aid, but he can read people's lips if they talk to him correctly.
It is probably not difficult to imagine that he would also suffer homophobic attacks if his sexual orientation were discovered.
Min Soo's life changes when one day a young and attractive masseuse from a bathhouse he frequently visits begins to flirt with our protagonist. For the first time in his short existence, Min Soo receives kind and respectful treatment from a person who is not his mother, the only one who thinks he does not have a mental deficiency.
The handsome bathhouse worker treats him as an equal and offers him a free massage. Next comes a beautiful scene between the two boys communicating through whistles and applause to the beat of the background music of the short film itself.
The shot of Min Soo swinging his legs between the masseuse's crotch, one sitting on the bed where he will receive the massage and the other standing before him, is moving.
Kim Jho films the next sequence, that of the massage or rubbing, slowly moving the camera and stopping it on her soft skin, like that of any child. There is nothing obscene or disturbing in the scene and there is a lot of poetry and art. Finally, in the sauna, the masseuse performs oral sex on Min Soo, who writhes in a state of sweaty enjoyment and ecstasy.
Afterwards he is jubilant at home. His mother notices that something has changed in her son's life, as he is now happy and communicative. The experience with the man has given him a new confidence, a unique power. The steam room becomes his refuge, a place where he can experience sexual pleasure with someone who respects him despite his youth and disability. He is a free young man.
Feeling confident and valued, he is able not only to confront his annoying brother, but also to tear up the photo of Ji Seok, the boy he was in love with, thus, in the past, the boy he was in love with, when he bullies him again.
But his life is turned upside down again when one day he enters the bathhouse looking not so much for the warm waters and steam at 100 degrees Celsius, but for love at that same temperature, just when the masseuse suffers a homophobic beating. No one present dares to intervene while the young man is attacked by another while receiving kicks, expletives and homophobic phrases. Min Soo can only react by running away and hiding in a nearby alley, where he cries inconsolably.
Back in the bathhouse, but this time alone, Min Soo comes to understand, as well as transmit, the message that the film carries: the fear and insecurity that homosexuals suffer in an intolerant and homophobic country like Korea South.
Although Kim Jho's work has mainly bordered on the territory of Boy's Love, which is why he is able to attract a female audience, with this film, released in September 2011, the film producer and LGBT+ rights activist also pursues conquer gay men with a story perfect for these people, especially when contextualized.
This endeavor will not be difficult for him to achieve, thanks to the adorable Do Jin Kim, the first hearing-impaired film actor in South Korea. This young man, 20 years old at the time of filming, conquers us from the beginning with his silly, sweet and effeminate smile. Although the director manages to establish the conflicts in each scene with the good script and excellent work behind the cameras, the actor carries the film on his thin shoulders, showing us what drives Min Soo's decision-making process.
We will find the character created by Kim-Jho Gwang-Soo in his next film. In 'Two Weddings and a Funeral' Min Soo also does not react to a homophobic attack against one of his friends. The difference is that Min Soo from 'Love, 100°C' is not an adult over 20 years old, but a teenager already separated from the world due to his hearing disability, but both, each in their respective films, fear facing a intolerant and violent society.
In his two previous short films, the filmmaker explores the terrain from fairy tales and fantastical dreams, but 'Love, 100°C' demonstrates that it is honest realism that best adapts to the world vision of its director and screenwriter.
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I love me some old low budget gay movie
It's exactly how I imagined it (expect I didn't expect THAT dramatic plot-twist), it just feels like a low budget early 2000s LBGT movie and I love it. It's not a BL or even a GL, so don't expect that. It's more of a "slice of life of gay people" (although a dramatic one).Even though I enjoyed it, there were some plot holes and things that are never really explained (everything happened so quickly) and the ending was a little weird but wholesome at the same time. Still, It was hilarious, but it showed the sad reality of being gay in Korea too. Yes, most of the gay men were stereotypical, but I didn't mind as much, because there weren't shown in a bad light and we didn't laugh at them but at their jokes. Or at the hilarious situations. Anyways, I was hoping that that we would see more of the lesbian couple.
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It's so freaking sad
The plot is really good. It's so freaking good and sad. At first it was full of happiness and was really cute but the end was very heartbreaking. I recommend it very much and would definitely watch this like a thousand more times.Was this review helpful to you?
April 2024 Recommendation Challenge
Watch this for my April Recommendation Challenge by Natalie Rodriguez. Quite interesting story, talk about the hanging what if...Nora or Na Young & Jung Hae Sung (HS) were childhood friends that have puppy love with each other. They separated cause Nora's family emigrates from South Korea. HS try to reconnect with Nora through Nora's dad FB & successful, their reconnect 12 years after Nora's family emigrates. But life happen, and they separated again & continue with their own life. Nora met her husband, Arthur, & got married, while HS also got girlfriend.
Life go by, 12 years later, HS decided to reconnect again with Nora. HS visit Nora in America, he bring all the nostalgic feeling for Nora & leave her with all the what if questions. What if Nora not go to Canada, will they start their relationship, will their relationship continue with more serious one or will it fail...? And so on... So how will they continue the relationship? Will Nora finally choose HS over her husband?
One thing that really good about this movie is... How mature everyone is, especially Arthur. Arthur see how vulnerable Nora when she met HS, but still can put smile & calm in his face when he met HS. And the fact that Arthur still told Nora the truth about how he actually don't like that Nora met HS, but still appreciate & trust her in the end.
Overall this one good movie to reflect our own life & relationship with anyone around us.
Below is SPOILER ALERT!!! Read it with ur own risk.
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SPOILER ALERT!!!
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This end with sad ending for HS & Nora. They separated for good, no one sacrifice their own life for each other.
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Mixed feelings
This is one of my rare time I've decided to try writing my impressions on a movie in which I feel like I understand it but at the same time, I don't.I wanted to watch it a while ago and I've taken some time because of diverse reasons and finally, I've watched it by curiosity. I didn't know if it was too vulgar or too violent but I finally gave it a try.
This movie is like an independant, underground (I don't know how to describe it) movie which is not for everyone's cup of tea. Despite a beautiful cinematography, the relationships were natural, acting is nice and some interesting and serious matters to discuss with... The pacing felt a bit too slow for me so it didn't really hooked me or made me want to be invested in the story.
However, it sure left me with some mixed feelings. It's not that I don't like it but I feel bit left out?? Did I regret watching this? Not really.
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