“Why did you bring me here to watch the sunrise? Because beautiful things are worth sharing.” – Quote from Secrets Happen On The Litchi Island
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All posts by PPBongi
“Fight for Love” Series Review (Ep.1 to 7)
This is yet again another winning BL from Vietnam. It is so definitive in its outcome and perhaps you can see it ending in the same way I did. Satisfying. The whole story unfolds right before you in a magnificent panoramic sweep. Funny. Sad. Poignant. Ordinary. But always entertaining. Always. And so relatable. Almost everything in this story, one can relate to or perhaps have even experienced in some form or another. They can take the ordinariness of living and make it seem extraordinary. Making the issues we face on a daily basis and seeing the traumas we have experienced come to life helps us get the picture of how that impacted our own persona. Perhaps we may not seem important, but our issues certainly are, and we get to see that through them. They visualize our experiences to make them real, impactful, and powerful. At the very least truncate the sum total to see how it does affect us. That has always been the beauty of Vietname BLs. It makes the ordinary seem prominent. And they validate our feelings, failings, and foibles along the way. In a sense, we find we are pretty much the same as everyone else.
“Taps” Movie Review
While you watch this breathtakingly evocative short film, it will be easy to see yourself in it. Those of us who struggle with the everyday maintenance of a relationship, perhaps more so with an individual of the same gender, understand that facing a slice-of-life right-of-passage we know is coming, but we do not want to face it, this elegy is even more prodigious. Particularly difficult for us, as we have no anchor, no cornerstone, to keep the relationship together except the allegiance to one another. That is especially true for the two protagonists in this story. Rohan (Ullas Samrat) is leaving for a yearlong sabbatical, which means leaving his beloved Akshay (Rohit Mehra) alone in India.
“I Found Love at 7-11” Series Review
This series actually has a number of different headings, but I liked this one the most. You have to search to find this gem as it is not ‘officially’ translated into English, so I am thankful for the individual who did so. Otherwise, I would never have been able to watch this. I became intrigued by the title, and it honestly did not disappoint me. It is a slice-of-life narrative with surprisingly good acting and fairly good story lines that are really cutting edge. This is an obviously low budget series, but these actors put their heart and soul into this creation. It took a rather mundane story and turned into a feel-good series. It was like wrapping yourself in a warm blanket on a cold night kind of feeling.
“Ossan’s Love Thailand” Series Review (Ep.1 to 12)
The saying that ‘imitation is the sincerest form of flattery’ is not always true. This series proved that. I shall come right out and say it. This is one of the worst BLs I have ever seen and one of the worst supposed remakes I have ever seen as well. To put it bluntly, this version was fatuous. Everything about it is. The production. The acting. The story. The plot. Hardly any of it even resembles the originality of the Japanese version. That had humanity. It had heart. Most importantly, it had authenticity sprinkled with humor, grace, and tons of human emotions. I can categorically tell you that the original Japanese version of Ossan’s Love was a masterpiece. This is simply a farce. Before you start clutching your pearls and calling me names, let me explain my reasons.
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“Teenager Judge” Series Review (Ep. 1 to 20)
Unfortunately, this series, for me, missed the mark. Perhaps it makes sense only to the population for which it was intended to serve directly, namely the Vietnamese population.
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“Best Friend” Series Review (Ep.1 to 4)
This is a stunning and beautiful short BL that while soft in its approach speaks volumes in the message. Paing Kha (Khay Han) has lived with his best friend Tun Ko (Shin Ye Htut) for many years. To say they are close would be an understatement. There is a fervid attachment between them that goes deeper than friendship but is not quite sensual. Much like a hand to a glove. They seem on the surface to be connected to the same tree of life.
“A Perfect Match” Series Review (Ep. 1 to 10)
Occasionally, when you are watching something, you just get a sense that you are going to be affected by it. And in this rather short series (just about 2 hours long total), you get a feeling you are going to smile and be delighted when it concludes. And that is exactly what this beautiful mini-BL series does to you. It is so entertaining and so well crafted, you might feel that if you had not watched this, you would have sensed something was missing from your life. It is that good. The whole story unfolds so beautifully with the perfect cast that you begin to feel immersed in the presentation itself.
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“The Heart Killers” Series Review (Ep.1 to 12)
It is exceptionally rare for me to begin a review with who I think literally steals this series from everyone. There is only one reason to watch this series. And that is because this story has Style. Style gave this series distinction. He IS the series and the only reason I finished this rather mundane and pedestrian story. Dunk Natachai as the character of Style brought such uniqueness to his persona from the beginning. Layered with arrogance, shallowness, pomposity and yet underlying it all was still a sense of sincerity. I could observe that he began his pursuit of Fadel (Joong Archen) simply as a challenge in the beginning. But once he undertook to know who Fadel was, he fell for him, hard and began to peel away at his exterior gruff layers, much like you peel an onion. As he did so with Fadel, he also peeled away at his own layers of shallowness surrounding himself. As he got Fadel to open his soul to him, he too did the same. With Dunk’s characterization however, I could sense and feel it deeply. His facial features and the way he looked at Fadel were not just about acting. It felt real. And oh, his love scenes with Fadel were not just fervently romantic; they were simply hot, erotic, and alluring. It has been ages, especially for a Thail BL, for me to actually feel a sensuousness emanating from an individual. He exuded it. Not only in words but in his expressions and his actions. It has also been a long time since I have been able to use the outdated term ‘it factor’ but he has it. He is the whole package. I never once felt as if he was faking it or ‘acting’ it out. He was genuine, sincere, even when he was being perhaps impish and immature in his approach to winning Fadel over. Deep-down, he projected such passion and intensity that he is the only Thai BL actor in an inordinate length of time that felt authentic. When he kissed, it looked sensual, seductive, and steamy. Excuse my vernacular, but his actions were hedonic, and his scenes made him tantalizingly erotic. Not afraid or ashamed to show it or be it. Something that has been missing in Thai BLs. He is an exceptional actor as he made it look so nature and unguarded. What a performance and kudos for making it feel so damn genuine.
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“I’ll Turn Back This Time” Series Review (Ep.1 to 6)
Admittedly, this is one of the most disconcerting BLs I have ever watched. While apocalyptic in nature, it does not quite end that way, although, given that it is from China, can be a matter of interpretation. I honestly do not know what to make of its ending. If you are an optimist, then the cracking of the ensorcelled pendent means the curse has been broken. If you are a pessimist, then you view the cracking of the charmed pendant as a fait accompli. You must decide which on your own.
Continue reading “I’ll Turn Back This Time” Series Review (Ep.1 to 6)
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