Irresistible Love: Secret of the Valet (2016)

Plot
After 6 years spent in England, Xie Yan (XY) returns back home. He immediately comes to find Shu Nian (SN), who resumes his role of a servant. In a sense, the two revive their childhood days after a long separation. However, SN does not seem happy about XY’s return.
What turn will their relationship take next?

Overall, the story was not exaggerated, but somehow emotions are conveyed very well – sense of injustice, annoyance, care, worry… One can feel them all very strongly during the movie.


Characters
- Xiao Nian - unlucky orphan with a great heart. Very good at hiding his feelings, after years of service he became very proficient at obeying orders, quietly accepting his fate.
- Xie Yan – selfish, dominant, possessive, but deep down also caring.
- Jiang Yao – not shown in great detail in the movie, but seems to fail to understand love.

Great actors, very natural acting.


Music – fitting, but not very noticeable or particularly good.


Other comments
- XY was too dominant, which makes the relationship become abusive, especially at the beginning. However, one might argue that by showing this characteristic so clearly, the movie emphasises that this is a problem.
- The development of their relationship could be shown in more detail and in greater depth.
- Also, the movie contains a really interesting theme of an orphan, who basically becomes a servant to the heir of his adoptive family. The aspect of SN’s loyalty and servitude is clearly shown, but maybe this could be expanded upon further.
- Some moments were a little difficult to understand, but that might be due to the quality of subtitles.

Generally, a really interesting and good movie.
Would especially recommend it to those who:
- like BL movies
- are not typical BL audience, but are looking for a romance movie with an interesting plot
- are interested in stories of orphans

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This is less of a review and more of a warning: if you are here to watch a nice fluffy/angsty BL, this is not one of them !!!!

I could give tonnes of warnings for this which may contain spoilers, but tldr; if you're looking for a healthy portrayal of a relationship, this is not one of them.

The movie features: violence, attempted rape (though not on the male leads' parts), non-consent to some extent, just general disrespect of someone as a human being. If you're bothered by these, I highly suggest you do not watch it. There WERE some moments which were okay, but not enough to warrant any a higher rating.

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Story: The story was very interesting. Sometimes with movies you would need to read the plot on a review site xD *cough* MyDramaList *cough cough* but with this series of movies you don't need to! Although you may be confused with the beginning the rest of the movie makes sense if you pay attention. The story shows love between two men (obviously mate) that meets some obstacles. Obviously no spoilers I AIN'T THAT CHILD! But good overall.

Acting: ACTING OH MA GAWD it was AMAZING  but obviously not perfect. They showed SO MUCHO EMOTIONO like damn son.

Music: FREAKING BEAUTIFUL YASSSSS

Rewatch: Definitely definitely definitly

FREE ENG SUB:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VzDwLnwWG6k

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Toxic relationship

I’d seen so many fan-made videos of this movie on YouTube that I told myself I had to watch it.

The two leads were really good, especially Meng Rui. He played a thoroughly conflicted person who was struggling with what’s considered as unnatural feelings by their society. As Xie Yan, his emotions were swinging back and forth with the object of his desire, his so-called life servant, Nian, who was brought into the family when the latter was young. You could see Xie Yan’s inner struggles as he channeled them, unfortunately, towards Nian in a very bad way.

Wang Bo Wen who played Nian’s role was gentle, kind and submissive, yet I saw him fighting back against certain people. As first, I thought he was a submissive person overall however I noticed he was only so with Yan and the Xie family.

The leads definitely carried this movie. The music was good especially for the song sung by Wang Bo Wen.

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A powerful and wealthy family bought a slave from an orphanage as a play thing for their kid. This is the story of them grown up.

STORY: For most of the movie I only cared about one person: Xie Yan. He is literally at the mercy of the evil people around him, including the one who owns him, Shu Nian. He faces quite a lot of hardships and injustice. The ending wasn't sad as much as a cliffhanger because it sets up the sequel.

ACTING/CAST: Very sharp cast, good acting. This is a quality production. There was some great chemistry here and the evil people I mentioned before did a good job at being evil.

MUSIC: Typical music for a drama. Nothing special. I don't understand Chinese vocals and the version I watched the lyrics were not translated.

REWATCH VALUE: Sure, I will watch it once more with a friend.

OVERALL: A quality program with high production value.

TL;DR: If you're OK with a story about a master/slave BL relationship, then watch this.

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If you like to see a very complicate, emotional and strong developement between two contrasting men...then this is definitely the right drama!!

I just love the story. It´s completely different from all lovey-dovey dramas. All scenes have this special feeling which goes through the whole drama. Also the second drama is just genius!!
The acting is amazing. I love Meng Rui and Wang Bowen acting together...they are so lovely.
The music.......yeah, well....everytime I hear "Dream" or especially "Uncon.Love" I cry sooo bad. So the atmosphere fits in every scene...IT`S JUST PERFECT; OK?! xD Best drama ever seen...
Recommendable? YEAH!!!

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An interesting prelude to a complelling second part

"Irresistible Love" is a story that is divided in to two movie and the first part "Secret of the Valet" is just an introduction all the important characters in this storyline and getting the basic plot in order. There is drama and emotion, all meant as a prelude to the main content that is part of the second installment.

To summarize, the story is about Shu Nian, an orphan who enters the Xie family as a child and is tasked to take care of Xie Yan who regards him more as property than a person. Xie Yan returns after studying abroad and immediately tasks himself to be around Nian, oblivious to the fact that Nian harbous feelings for him. Things take a turn for the worst when Xie Yan being an open homophobe discovers Nian's feelings and immediately pushes him out of his life. This separation from Nian, makes his recognize his own feelings towards Nian

The plotline is rather simple and is mostly driven by the characters. Shu Nian, is our poor damsel in distress and is saved by a knight in shining armour who takes him away from the orphanage. Nian is forever obliged by this act and becomes a play thing for his saviour. Xie Yan from the beginning acts like a bratty child and uses Shu Nian with complete disregard for his feelings. This attitude of his continues even as an adult. Nian, however looks beyond these faults and is in love with Xie Yan who inturn rebukes him at first and on realising his true feelings acts obsessive. We as viewers are left pitying Nian and hoping Xie Yan finds a way to redeem himself.


The actors Wang Bo Wen and Meng Rui were exceptional in their portrayal of the characters. Bo Wen with his whispering dialogues demonstrated the vulnerability of Shu Nian as a character whereas Meng Rui played the angry, obsessive Xie Yan to the T.

In conclusion, "Irresistible Love: Secret of the Valet" serves as a promising prologue, providing a glimpse into the characters and their intricate dynamics. The exceptional performances and character introductions set the stage for an anticipated continuation in the subsequent part, making it a worthwhile watch for those invested in character-driven romantic dramas

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