Crystal Boys (2003)

One of a kind masterpiece!!!

I never thought I would write a review but this drama left me no other choice.

Everything, from cinematography to the haunting soundtrack is pure heart wrenching perfection.

However, I do have to give you a fair warning before you start this journey: This is NOT a BL drama. So if you are looking for a gay romance this might not be the one for you. Crystal Boys is a look at the gay community in the 70s Taiwan. It's dark, gritty, passionate, sad, poetic... it shows you all the different shades of life that luckily most of us don't have to bear anymore.

Watching this feels like reading a deeply sad poem at night while a faint light of the moon is shining in through the window and the world quiets down, letting you completely lose yourself in the endless emotions of your heart...

Now let's dive in a bit deeper - MILD SPOILDERS AHEAD -

The story? 10/10

As I said, this is not just a love story. You will see what it was like to live at that time in Taiwan from perspective of the poor, the rich, the middle class. The plot follows several characters and tells many different stories of the 'crystal boys' trying to find their way despite their varied circumstances. Sometimes it feels almost episodic in nature. It's rich, it will make you feel all the emotions imaginable and most of all, it will stay in your memory long after you finish the last episode.

The cinematography? 10/10

Unlike modern dramas, you can see a lot unique thought that went into each shot. Most of the story takes place at night and the way the drama uses light and shadow is remarkable. Of course, it's an older drama so the quality is very different from what is common today, however in my opinion it only enhances the gritty story it tries to convey.

The acting? 10/10

Perfect cast. Again, this is not a BL. So don't expect every single character to be straight out of Vogue and GQ. The casting is very true to life - you actually get actors who are older than 20 (pure myth in today's day and age). And it all just adds to the realistic feeling of the drama.

Music? 10/10

If I could I would give this category 100/10. This might be one of the best soundtracks I have ever heard. Period. Not just dramas. In general. I was amazed to find a gem like this and had it on repeat for weeks. Each tone will tear your heart to pieces...

Rewatch value? 10/10

This is a subjective rating and also comes from the fact that I wasn't able to find many other Chinese/Taiwanese dramas that would be this serious. These days almost everything is happy and bubbly - which is not a bad thing. However sometimes I crave something serious, dark, poetic... and this ticks all the marks.

Final thoughts:

Do yourself a favor - just watch it. There is nothing even remotely similar among other dramas - so at least for the unique experience of seeing something completely different, give it a shot. You might just find your new heartbreaking obsession.

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You might just cry.

The story was beautiful, really gave me an insight into different parts of the world. Taiwan and Japan were real close back then which was surprising. It took me about 9 to 10 months before I stopped crying every time I heard a violin. The BGMs are amazing, especially the opening. There are stories within the story too. Its hard being gay anywhere, but I've never seen such detail for so many decades ago. I mean I do have a few Cold Case stories under my belt, but the people who deserved all the love died in the end and the episodes were only an hour long. Its hard to get me to cry because I suffer from dry eyes so when I stop crying every time I hear the word crystal I will come back to watch again. :D

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The TV series from 2003 and describing the situation in Taiwan in the 1970s (the story in the book version begins in the 1960s) really interested me, even though the quality of the copies is bad and the translation is not finished - it doesn't matter. It's definitely not a BL, but a proper drama where the main character Li Qing, nicknamed A Qing (phonetically A-cin,A-sin) goes through life's hell of disintegration and death in the family, so that he is expelled from school, and finally his father leaves for his homosexuality from home. Real gay life at the time, slow pace, pain, heartbreak, loneliness, several main characters.
Don't expect much intimacy, even though it's a 100% gay series, the treatment is due to the era and TV broadcast.
STORY - stunning above all in how it captures the state of society at the time and the position of homosexuals.
ACTING - very solid, young actors and older ones, I felt a complete connection with the characters and the story in most of them. I recommend studying the story and especially the characters in advance, it will be easier to navigate the series.
SOUND - although the reviews on the world servers praise the music, it didn't affect me that much, and rather the constant parts of mainly cello, sometimes violin and piano were annoying because they were so often (everything is too bad), just every now and then, but I don't blame it, it's just my impression and I respect the intent of the creators.
PROCESSING - at a very decent level for the time and I won't lower the rating for the poor quality of the copies.


Televizní seriál z roku 2003 a popisující situaci na Taiwanu v 70. letech (příběh v knižní předloze začíná už v 60. letech) mě velmi zaujal, ač kvalita kopií je špatná a není dokončen překlad - nevadí. Určitě to není BL, ale pořádné drama, kde si hlavní hrdina Li Qing, přezdívaný A Qing (foneticky A-cin,A-sin) prožije životní peklo rozpadu a úmrtí v rodině, aby jej vyloučili ze školy a nakonec i otec vyrazil pro jeho homosexualitu z domu. Reálný život gayů v té době, pomalé tempo, bolest, zármutek, osamělost, několik hlavních postav.
Nečekejte velkou intimitu, i když je to seriál 100% gay, zpracování je poplatné tehdejší době a TV vysílání.
PŘÍBĚH - ohromující především v tom, jak zachycuje tehdejší stav společnosti a postavení homosexuálů.
HERECTVÍ - velmi solidní, mladí herci i starší, vnímal jsem u většiny naprosté spojení s postavami a příběhem. Doporučuji příběh a hlavně postavy dopředu nastudovat, orientace v seriálu bude potom snadnější.
ZVUK - ač recenze na světových serverech opěvují hudbu, mě až tak moc nezasáhla a spíše ty neustálé party především violoncella, někdy houslí a klavíru byly až otravné v tom, jak byly často (všeho moc škodí), prostě každou chvíli, ale nevyčítám to, je to jen můj dojem a ctím záměr tvůrců.
ZPRACOVÁNÍ - na velmi slušné úrovni tehdejší doby a nebudu přeci snižovat hodnocení za špatnou kvalitu kopíí.

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