Sure, watch if you feel like it, but this film made me cringe in a lot of places, it's stunted and definitely needs work. I do appreciate the fact that the Chinese did decide to make a BL movie focussing on what gay teenagers feel when struggling with their sexuality at home and in their families, but the stories really did have to be thought out more effectively.
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Who would later participate in the Thai series 'Full House' (2014) and 'Kiss Me' (2015), and in their Chinese counterparts 'Wu Xin: The Monster Killer' (2015), 'Delicious Destiny' (2015), 'My Little Princess' (2016) and 'Mr. Swimmer' (2018), among others, in this film he plays Xiao Le, a university student who has it all: he is young, attractive and has just joined the prestigious swimming team at his school. But he keeps a secret: he is in love with Jia Liang, his best friend and study and sports partner.
After confessing her love and hearing her lover's rejection, Xioa Le embarks on a one-night stand, her birthday, after Jia Liang, following her sister's bold suggestion of cross-dressing him to see if Jia Liang cares about her him or by his gender.
At just 21 minutes, 'Love in the Water' manages to achieve a level of intimacy, intensity and sensitivity that most of the longer films I've seen never achieved. The film points out all the turmoil, conflicts and sexual tension of a young man in love with his best friend with disconcerting acuity.
The dialogues between the two main actors are scarce and spontaneous, they seem more improvised than anything else. The camera captures most of the film during moments so natural and undramatic that their encounters, between deep glances and races around the university campus holding hands, have a magical and electrifying quality... in fact, it made me goosebumps In my opinion, this is the most effective way to portray a relationship that is both so fragile and passionate.
Starting from a dramatic situation as discouraging as not being accepted by the person you love because they see you as just a friend or because they are not interested in maintaining a romantic relationship with someone of the same sex, the director of 'Love in the Water' chooses dramatic material that already has its genre implicit and decides not to overload scenes that already have intensity.
To narrate it on screen, the director uses a linear chronological structure of cut sequences, with that sequence shot in which the camera follows Xiao Le during his birthday party, dressed as a girl, singing his love, approaching Jia Liang to dance with him, while he dances alone in the middle of the stage. All this, while listening to beautiful musical themes, such as the song "Fool", by Yoga Lin, and others performed by the same actor Mike Angelo.
He then breaks down Jia Liang's hurried departure into medium shots and details after confirming that the person he has been dancing with is none other than Xiao Le.
The short film continues with alternating sequences in which close-up shots and more open shots convey the evolving point of view of the two protagonists. A general overall shot that swings from comedy to drama with a simplicity and effectiveness that demonstrates the cinematographic mastery of its director.
In other moments of the film, the director gives importance to the characters of Xiao Le's sister who, aware of his feelings for his best friend, advises him on how he should act to win him over, or to the friends and fellow students of the two protagonists, who are also somehow aware of the feelings that one awakens in the other.
'Love in the Water' has its greatest weakness in a title that is poorly worked on in its evidence, although it may be effective as a commercial claim. It is a very worthy product that joins a wide list of Chinese films with LGBT+ themes.
In particular, it reminds me of 'The Raccoon', a film directed by Tang Shi in 2016, with Weng Hai Bin and Wu Di as the leading actors, as it also reflects a friendship relationship in which a boy is in love with his best friend and it is not reciprocated, also taking place in a university in Beijing, the Chinese capital.
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