BY WAY OF INTRODUCTION

In 2023, a story about a young man who spies on his company president's favorite reclusive artist to get his job back, captured the hearts of Korean series enthusiasts in general and lovers of boy love stories in particular.
TVING's original drama 'Unintentional Love Story', based on the manhwa and webtoon of the same name, written by Phoebe, starring Cha Seo Won as Yoon Tae Joon, and Gong Chan as Ji Won Young, showed us a second couple, played by actors Woo Tae Min ('You Make Me Dance', 2021), and Han Do Woo ('Love Playlist: Season 5' (2021), the former playing Go Ho Tae, and the latter playing Kim Dong Hee.
Loved by fans and the cause of the so-called "sub-disease" or love for the protagonists of the stories attached to the main one, at the end of the series complaints rained down requesting that the story of Ho Tae and Dong Hee be resumed to tell the exciting previous relationship between these two young people that was not included in the series, especially one that reflected their exciting school days.
Ultimately, the request was to represent in another work the vague narrative and interesting relationship of the couple made up of Go Ho Tae and Kim Dong Hee; but equally, that the future main couple was assumed by the same actors, with the same character names.
Thus came the idea of ​​filming a spin-off to tell a sad, but at the same time beautiful and tender story of two children who grew up together and discovered mutual love.
Directed by Yang Kyung Hee, a renowned director who has filmed several BL stories, such as 'A Tractor Loaded with Love' and 'The Director Who Buys Me Dinner', both from 2023, or 'I Wanna Bite It' ('Kissable Lips' ), from 2022, and 'Florida Banjeom', from 2021, and with the script masterfully crafted by Shin Yoo ('Where Your Eyes Linger', 2020), the film 'The Time of Fever' ('When your temperature touches my fingers' '), introduces the viewer to an immersive narrative journey.
At the forefront, Won Tae Min shines as a straight swimmer who one day discovers he's in love with his best friend, along with Han Do Woo's nuanced portrayal of the character he plays, and the support of a talented cast who bring depth to their respective roles.

ABOUT THE DIRECTOR AND HIS WORK

In the film, its director approaches the issue of homosexuality with an intimate and personal approach, a topic that, as has already been said, he has addressed on previous occasions.
Yang Kyung Hee's work is marked by a display of sexual and emotional discovery, a theme that is addressed in a very suggestive way in 'The Time of Fever'. Far from reaching that need to search for personal identity from the beginning, with this film, the South Korean director takes up a love story not told in depth in an original story already brought to the small screen.
Therefore, from the perspective of the journey to the roots, a reunion between two old friends ends up becoming a labyrinth of passions. What stands out about the script is that it gets rid of superficial flourishes or moral dilemmas about the conception of masculinity. Although at certain moments he highlights the clichés surrounding homosexuality, he then puts them aside to reveal an internal story. Thanks to this, it gives the public a love story without consuming, where the fact that they are men becomes something circumstantial, but necessary.
In this way, the film talks about feelings and the attractiveness of emotion, where the physical becomes the result of an intimacy that occurs prior to sexual relations. It cannot be denied that that depth about what it means to love, desire or suffer is what makes the difference. Although the story follows a structure that has already been seen previously in other films, also with LGBT+ themes, perhaps, that naturalness of the unexpected love between two people with a common past makes it become a different film.

THE HISTORY

Produced by Number Three Pictures Co., Ltd., the film tells us that Ho Tae and Dong Hee have grown up as brothers since childhood. Ho Tae, who was born in Gangneung and moved to Seoul the year he graduated from primary school due to problems with his father's business, was never particularly interested in studying. For this reason, he started swimming at the school he transferred to in the South Korean capital.
Owner of enough talent to occupy a high position on the swimming team, he is forced to return to his hometown after his father's funeral, because his mother decided that they would return to start a business.
Upon returning home, Ho Tae, now 17 years old, discovered that Dong Hee, who is two years older than him, had filled the space that had been empty for a long time. Dong Hee, who had been expelled from his father's house after admitting to his family that he is homosexual, found a roof over his head in Ho Tae's uninhabited house.
Born as sons of friendly mothers, both, without any full siblings, grew up together as older and younger neighborhood brothers.
In the summer of Dong Hee's third year at High School, Ho Tae returned. The two meet again and end up living together under the same roof.
Despite their close brotherly bond, Dong Hee, who has hidden his homosexuality after being beaten by his father, who also called him "mentally ill" for this reason, cannot help but feel emotional when he sees Ho Tae, who is like a real brother to him, but he is also his first love, and he tries to repress his feelings. But it's not easy to bury these feelings.
Similarly, Ho Tae, who sees his friend as a kind young man who likes to smile, confronted with Dong Hee's presence, also develops feelings for the boy whom he has not seen in a long time, but is confused by those feelings sensations stirring inside him that he had never experienced before.
In an effort to escape his confusing emotions, Ho Tae begins dating girls in superficial relationships, which inadvertently causes pain to the previously independent Student Council president and valedictorian of his school.
As their dynamic changes after an unforeseen event, the delicate balance of their relationship hangs in the balance.

OF ACTORS AND CHARACTERS

Having a cast with few performers allows the acting direction to be focused and give greater impact to those who participate. In this way, in 'The Time of Fever' the protagonist duo is exploited above all. On the one hand, Woo Tae Min offers a metamorphosis in his character that gives him the ability to shine at an acting level. Along with this, you can see that he has a connection with the camera, giving realism and naturalness to his character at all times. Furthermore, the mischief with which he balances the most subjective effect contrasts with the sensitivity that he lets emerge at every step. It should also be noted that he is generous with his co-star, given that they form a team with great chemistry, where the tension necessary for this type of narrative is perceived.
On the other hand, Han Do Woo uses that connection with his co-star to his advantage, given that what begins as a performance in the background ends up exploiting his quality as an actor. On the one hand, it has that exquisite familiarity, which combines perfectly with the tone of the film and, then, it knows how to perfectly convey that whirlwind of sensations that lives inside. Likewise, it would be important to highlight the difficulty of being on a more restrained level, in the face of a reaction that follows that slower line, but letting out all the emotional tear that it suffers, with gestures and physical expression, something that it achieves perfectly.
With solid performances from both actors, I would highlight actor Do Woo's deeply repressed emotional performance. Won Tae Min's acting, which was childish but serious, is also very good.
They both express their feelings and emotions well. Both powerfully show the vision of two people leaning on each other's shoulders and seeming lost in deep thought.
Personally, I can perfectly empathize with the feelings and circumstances of the two characters.

SOME THOUGHTS

Korean LGBT+ films and series have gained significant popularity in recent years, captivating audiences with their heartfelt narratives and compelling characters. This lineup is joined by the spin-off of 'Unintentional Love Story'.
From the trailer, I anticipated that the reunion between the two old friends would provoke a complex mix of emotions, particularly for Dong Hee, whose affection for Ho Tae runs deeper than brotherly love. Upon learning that 'The Time of Fever' was in the process of filming, I was deeply curious to witness the synergy between these two young actors, and I must admit that they did not disappoint me.
This is one of the Korean LGBT+ film productions that delve into themes of love, friendship and self-discovery within the context of same-sex relationships. Through its delicate depiction of emotions and nuanced storytelling, this film offers viewers a unique combination of romance and drama, providing insight into the complexities of love and identity in contemporary Korean society.
The temporal background of the work is from the fall of 2013 to the spring of 2014, and from there it jumps, in its final scenes, to the present, to make it coincide with the story told in 'Unintentional Love Story', in which It tells the reunion of Dong Hee with Ho Tae, when the former returns to his hometown after studying in Seoul, while the latter runs a business with his mother.
As was the case with the OST sung by actress Cha Seo Won in 'Unintentional Love Story', the OST sung by Won Tae Min in 'The Time of Fever' is one of the many notable aspects of the film.
In addition to "You Call My Name", by B1A4, used as the final song, we will hear in the soft and emotional voice of the actor who plays Ho Tae the song "What If (원태민), composed by Kwak Jeong Im, which captures the deep emotions of the film, and "Someday Again" (언젠가 또 다시), by Masa (도우).
The viewer will feel as if the lyrics of the songs and the content of the film are intertwined, further increasing the emotions.
And the kiss scenes, especially the first one... still shake me because of their tension and the tremor of that moment.
The cameo of Gong Chan, who played Ji Won Young in 'Unintentional Love Story', is a special and long-awaited appearance.
The cinematography is exquisite. The day and night views of Donghae-si, Samcheok-si and Gangwon-do, Samcheok Meister High School and Mangsang Beach, where the film was shot, are beautiful.
Even knowing that the ending would not be happy, in order to connect the story with that told in 'Unintentional Love Story', the exploration that 'The Time of Fever' makes about sexuality is one of the most attractive that South Korean cinema has given. in a long time, with maturity, without resentments and with much more reality than fantasy. A story that will break our own internal and external limits, as it will make us cry, it will tear our hearts, but we will always keep in mind that the story of Ho Tae and Dong Hee does not end here.
Despite the lack of sincerity of the two in not expressly acknowledging their feelings, the rapprochement between both characters, very well carried out by Woo Tae Min and Han Do Woo, is honest and credible, a teenage friendship that is slowly growing. They are the story and it is the chemistry between them that allows the film to be beautiful, at the same time sad and heartbreaking.

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Of loves between men and forbidden romances in the Forbidden City

'A Frozen Flower' (Ssang-hwa-jeom) is a historical drama set in the 14th century, in a time of war for power and palace intrigues in which the need to produce an heir forces Gong Min, the king of Goryeo , to make a decision that will have dramatic and unexpected consequences on himself and everyone around him.
Faced with the discovery of a plot to assassinate him and seize the throne, the king must secure an heir, but here the conflict arises: the monarch has no pleasure in women and loves Hong Lim, his faithful general, the only person he accepts in his litter.
Given the circumstances, she decides that her lover takes his place in the queen's bed and fertilizes her, all under the greatest secrecy and discretion. And there the next problem arises: Hong Lim falls in love with No Guk, the queen, a role played by Song Ji Hyo ('The Witch's Diner'), despite being reluctant at first because he has never slept with a woman, but no. can disobey the king.
The grand historical setting and political plots are clearly overshadowed by the central story.
We are faced with a story of a king in love with his chief of the imperial guard, who has been instilled since childhood that one must please the king in every way. For that reason, he is shocked when he receives the king's order.
Neither the queen nor Hong Lim have a choice. They are puppets of royal power, so they obey without any other alternative. As in a kind of sacrifice, the queen has to have sex with a stranger. But here is precisely the key to the story: if she has never had sex, he doesn't know what it's like to have sex with someone of the opposite gender to his.
After the initial impact, both discover an unknown, unexplored sensual side. What at first is a repugnant obligation soon becomes a discovery of the senses that leaves the three completely perplexed.
A passionate and irresistible desire will push the queen and Hong Lim to face great risks, endangering both their loyalty to the king and their own lives in a story that grows in tension with each scene. And the king will not sit idly by and will explode in anger and seek revenge, because there is nothing that hurts a lover more than having what he considers his own taken from him, and even more so if you are the one in power.
Hong Lim is caught between his desire for the queen and his loyalty to the king. A simple misstep could be considered treason. And they both run this danger.
In my opinion, the female character is the one who bears the brunt, since in the end she loses the two men in her life who, although they never loved her, only used her. His only consolation, besides having loved, is the son he fathered.
Ranked 44th among the best South Korean films of all time, according to the FA rankings, the viewer will be struck by the explicit and realistic sexual scenes, whether between Jo In Sung in his role as Hong Lim, whom we remember for his tender and sweet image in the series 'Shoot for the Stars', with Joo Jin Mo ('Empress Ki'), an actor who plays the king, or between his lover and the queen. And in 2008, at the time of filming, all the romantic scenes in South Korean series and films had the characteristics of being very modest and subtle, more of suggesting than showing. Even today they are not free from this peculiarity, much less if it involves sex between men.
The topic of homosexuality and the love relationship between a king and a member of his imperial guard is not something new or unreal. Historical documents prove it. What is interesting about the film is the decisions that the lovers make and how these lead them to a tragic destiny. This is how the film explores other themes, such as the importance of decisions, the weight of carrying their consequences and regret (or not).
With three nominations for the Blue Dragon Film Awards (South Korea) in 2009, the director does an excellent job of obtaining facial and body expressions from the actors between the feminine and the masculine with total naturalness. The face of Jo In Sung will remain in cinema history as the king scorned and wounded in his self-love for the person he loves madly.
Based on a film text by the director himself, the South Korean filmmaker Yoo Ha, known for his work in films such as 'Gangnam 1970', 'Once Upon a Time in High School' and 'A Dirty Carnival', among others, the feature film recreates a love triangle between the king, his subject and lover, and the queen, or more precisely, a forbidden romance in the Forbidden City.
The film will soon make the viewer understand the complex situation that involves the three protagonists, and how it escapes the hands of the young couple involved, since, when she also falls in love with the head of the imperial guard, they will begin to have dates clandestinely behind the king's back, who, upon learning of the events, must intervene drastically, venting his fury like any jilted lover.
The king, in the end, lets himself be carried away by his obsessive love. Frustrated, more than by his inability to procreate a child, by having to share the body and heart of his lover, making him the villain, since Hong Lim will blame him for everything that happened.
In addition to the solid performances, the impeccable script and the magnificent direction, we must highlight the love story, the plot tension, the dazzling display of costumes, makeup, hair, very consistent with the time, and a full-blown art direction, in addition to a photograph, in the hands of Choi Hyun-gi, clear, luminous, even in closed and dark spaces, such as the lovers' darkened bedrooms, and perfect camera framing, all in order to embellish this historical fiction.
Kim Jun-seok's exquisite music, including diegetic music, that is, that performed by the protagonists themselves or the rest of the cast in public and private royal festivities and celebrations, introduces the viewer to that oriental world in which there is no shortage of combat with swords and other bladed weapons and martial arts fights.
'A Frozen Flower' is, in short, a film whose main theme is simply love.

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Tawan (Key Patiphan Namsamut) and Tunn are a young couple who, from the moment they met, had a great connection, but over time their relationship changes and experiences stages that bring out the true being of each one.
Tunn is the "perfect" man for Tawan with whom he shared beautiful moments of his life. However, as time goes by, he begins to discover a new side of Tunn, who enters a circle of abusive and violent attitudes to the point of chaining him to the bed, making communication with others impossible and preventing him from going outside, even to go to work or university.
With this plot pretext, the director of the Thai medium-length film 'Limerence' manages to crudely teach us that we should not ignore the red flags in a relationship, and that at the first blow or violent attitude, we have to report it and get out of there; Although saying it seems easy and not many can make the decision, it is important to see and analyze the message it offers us in its little less than 60 minutes.
Love, "true" love, is not exempt from bringing tears and jealousy, but the truth is that it should give us peace and not suffering.
The film teaches us to understand that when it comes to interpersonal relationships, we cannot force the other to love us the same because at the end of the day, love is organic and born alone, so no matter how much we love someone, that person does not is obliged to respond to us in the same way (even if we have given our best).
Getting out of a toxic attitude is understanding the previous point, having the empathy to accept that the other loves us with what they have, and if we do not receive what we expect and according to what we give, the best thing is to leave their life without burdening them blame the other.
The importance of the film, far from showing a toxic relationship, is to tell the viewer what we should not fall for the person with whom we share a life.
Tawan held on for a long time until he decides to escape the relationship, however, will this way be the right way?
Also, wouldn't the story be different if behind the cameras, the harassed person is the harasser? What if after the lights are turned off and the filming equipment is removed, the perpetrator is the victim and the tortured person is actually the executioner?

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What news will the creators provide to keep the public's interest alive?

Since its announcement, the public was divided between those who wanted or expected an additional chapter that would delve into the story of all the couples in the series, especially that of Khemthis (Shogun Paramee Thesdaroon) and Wela (First Piyangkul Saohin), and between those who look for unpublished behind-the-scenes images and other elements that serve to enhance the drama.
That is, the fans of 'Deep Night' showed their interests and doubts in: whether the content of the special episode would simply collect unpublished conversations from the actors and the filming and post-production team or would also reveal details that were not revealed in the series.
However, 'Deep Night Special Episode' does not satisfy either of them.
"Special" only has the name and a few minutes in which we can see, quickly, and without much depth, the evolution of the main couple a year after the events narrated in the series.
Then, the audience will once again witness more or less memorable scenes from the 8 official episodes of the series, recreated in the voice of Wela, and the incorporation of some new scene that does not contribute to complementing the story, infusing it with expressionism and affecting the viewer.
Due to some of Khemthis's actions in the first minutes, such as preparing breakfast and going to wake up Wela so that they can both enjoy that moment of everyday life at home, the audience might think that the story would be told from the vision of the character played by Shogun (which would be very significant), but we will quickly understand that it is not going that way.
The public will not find on this occasion an episode that reveals interesting behind-the-scenes images that have never been revealed, in which we could see the main couple and the rest of the cast having fun and being close on the set, or playing scenes that make them laugh, cry or express your love, friendship or work relationship at the club.
Nor will we be able to appreciate the long-awaited recordings of the cast's memories before and behind the camera, the answers to fans' questions or the expressions of gratitude from the actors and actresses to the technical and post-production team, which help the audience to have a clearer view of the making of 'Deep Night' and the efforts of the filmmaking team.
The special episode previously sparked interest in the public, eager to appreciate a series of passionate kissing scenes between Shogun and First that have never been broadcast, as well as many other romantic moments that did not officially appear in the series when it aired, but we will have We have to be content with the imagination.
Nor does the special episode please those viewers who think that adding too many kissing scenes is unnecessary, as they consider that this can "overwhelm" the audience, and expect, instead, more of the actors' honest exchange.
Likewise, fans interested in witnessing the cast and producers thank the audience for their love and attention to 'Deep Nigh' and promises to deliver better quality hybrid products in the future will also be left wanting.
Will this special episode mark the definitive and official end of the series?
On May 9, 2024, the day before the premiere of 'Deep Night Special Episode', another LGBTIQ+ themed series premiered a product with the same objective. In 'You Are Mine Special', its creators present an incredible closing to the Taiwanese drama 'You are Mine', from 2023, which pleases its viewers, as it delves into the progress of the relationship between Yao Shun Yu (Hsiao Hung) and Xia Shang Zhou (Parker Mao).
The public's reaction was immediate, and, despite recognizing that it is the perfect ending to the love story between the company's manager Xia and the company's new employee, viewers ask for more.
This explains, without a doubt, that while 'You Are Mine Special' reaches a rating of 8.1 points on MDL and other platforms, 'Deep Night Special Episode' only reaches 6.9 points.
When the magic of discovering new faces in the world of entertainment in general and Thai BL in particular, such as Shogun Paramee Thesdaroon, or being able to examine the latest work performed by already known actors, such as Seagames Teerapat Angkanit or Tanya Tanyares Engtrakul, they are no longer sufficient; chen the expectations of explaining to the audience about the work of the hosts when they are auctioned to entertain the clients who demand escort services with sexual content at the Deep Night Club have not been met, what is left to say to this series? What news will the creators provide to keep the public's interest in Thai drama alive?

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Created to be featured on the variety show "Gozen 0ji no Mori"

'Nekutai magatteru yo', which in English would be translated as "Your necktie is crooked", by Japanese director Ikeda Ayano, is a Thai-Japanese BL short film starring Perth Nakhun Screaigh as Rokko, and Lay Talay Sanguandikul as Ratanapol.
The film marks the return after four years of two of the actors who first participated as a couple in the 2020 Thai BL drama 'My Engineer', playing Ram and King, respectively.
The short film, just 7 minutes long, was created with the purpose of being presented in the variety program "Gozen 0ji no Mori" (Midnight Forest). It is a one-hour Japanese television interview program in which participants talk about a wide variety of topics that have recently happened in Japan during the Reiwa era, the current era of Japan that began in May 2019.
As assistant director of the program "Gozen 0ji no Mori", Ayano Ikeda conceived the idea of ​​interviewing the two actors visiting Japan under the legend "Reunited in Tokyo", while a short dramatized film aired, without great claims, in which both participated, and which also served as a letter of introduction to the public.
Due to the popularity of BL in Japan, the television space has invited Perth on several occasions to talk about Thai dramas of this genre. Taking advantage of the coincidence of Talay being in that nation, he was also invited to present himself.
The short film also pays a kind of tribute to the culture of the two countries, since the story revolves around two young Thais, one of them an actor (Talay) and the other a translator of the Thai-Japanese languages ​​(Perth). , who separated after having had a romance, because each one took a different path to build a future, and now, six years later, for work reasons, they meet again in Japanese lands and, as they are still in love, they have the opportunity to continue their love relationship.

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Saunas to hide gay sex from public view in Taiwan, despite having gay marriage recognized?

If you type "gay massage" in one of the internet search engines, you may be surprised by the numerous private spas in Taiwan that offer gay-friendly professional masseuse services in the field of physical and tantric massage.
There are not a few customers, of all races, ages and body types, as the managers of these establishments assure in online promotional advertisements and on printed posters placed in public places, who go daily to these centers where they can Select to your liking, among the handsome male masseuses, from which of them you want to receive first-class sensual massages. They even "marry" this sex worker, and every time they visit the sauna they will request the services of their favorite masseuse.
Cinema has told stories about the world of massages in the gay environment. The 2005 Filipino film 'Masahista' ('The Masseur'), ​​by Brillante Mendoza and with a script co-written with Boots Agbayani Pastor, paves the way to present stories about boys who work as masseuses in a sauna with homosexual clientele.
This film was followed by others such as "Spa Night", a 2016 American independent drama film, written and directed by Andrew Ahn, and set in Los Angeles, California, which follows the story of a closeted Korean-American gay teenager who accepts a He works at a Korean spa to help his struggling family and discovers an underground world of gay spa sex that both scares and excites him.
'The Younger', the 2014 Taiwanese medium-length film, presents the story of Chen Hao (Chen Hao-Chin), about twenty years old, poor and without financial resources, who is forced by circumstances to work as a masseuse in a local restaurant. sauna type in the Sanchong district, where homosexual people go.
Unintentionally, the young man enters a prostitution ring that uses a massage parlor as a cover. In it he discovers that the 'extra services' offer large sums of money. He makes the decision to work after not receiving a response to his request to the Taiwanese government for assistance for low-income people. In addition to not finding a suitable job, his grandmother, Chen Hao Zhi, suffers from Alzheimer's, and the young man cannot pay the high medical bills, food for her, or his own support.
Initially, the attractive young man accepts a job at the spa, but discovers that his colleagues, instigated by the owner of the establishment, offer special services that are not included in the massage program.
At this point it would be good to ask ourselves: Why do these saunas continue to exist today in which Taiwanese homosexuals seek sex hidden from public view, when, since 2019, the legislation of that island recognizes marriage for same-sex couples?
The objective of today's gay spas on Taiwanese soil are the same as in 2014, when 'The Younger' was filmed: in addition to offering a means of subsistence to their sex workers while they "entertain" the clientele, these centers serve as a more liberal and tolerant universe to hide the transgression of traditional Taiwanese values ​​by its homosexual clients in a society that, even today, after homosexuality and gay marriage have been legalized, coming out is still not well received in most conservative Taiwanese families, who reject the homosexuality of their children.
Even though equal marriage and same-sex sexual relations are legal; LGBT+ people and households headed by LGBT+ couples are not yet eligible for the legal protections available to opposite-sex couples. That is to say, despite the evident achievements in the matter, discrimination against gays, lesbians, bisexuals, transsexuals and other members of the community continues in Taiwan.
Chen Hao will face a moral dilemma for doing what he does. In that fight, who will be the winner? Ethics, his status as a kind and hard-working young man, or the need to get ahead? How many examples like this are there in real life both in Taiwan and the rest of the world? Isn't it the function of cinema, and art in general, to entertain, but also to show our realities, no matter how hard they are?
Initially, the boy refuses to offer these services requested by the regulars, but if he seeks to receive more generous tips to be able to get ahead with his life and that of his grandmother, he understands that he cannot limit himself to normal massages, but has to contribute the "extra" that his clients and, especially, his boss demand from him. This is how he gives in and earns illegal money, "on the outside", through unspecified erotic services.
However, his work makes him discover that he has an instinctive desire for the male body, so he begins to enter into relationships, bringing chaos and complications to his life.
Or would it be correct to say two lives? Yes, the young man lives two parallel lives: an exemplary grandson with economic problems who seeks to empower himself with a decent job, and a gay prostitute immersed in a world of saunas that offer homosexual services.
However, the creators of the medium-length film will not leave the boy to his fate and will not allow him to go down the drain into a much colder and darker hell, and throughout the dramatic changes he will experience, they will ensure that Let us be aware, as viewers, of Chen Hao's difficult situation by maintaining unconditional empathy with the character, whom they will seek to save despite his mistakes and bad decisions.
The boy falls in love with one of the clients, who also seems to have feelings for him, with whom he experiences, in one of the massage sessions, a brief, but first, warm and tender sexual experience. When the owner of the establishment discovers what happened, pressure increases for the young man, already open to having sex with men, to provide the same sexual service to other clients.
With images of explicit sex, the colors in dark tones, sepia and yellow, serve to define the narrative, identify the mood of the characters, and even manipulate the viewer's attention, to expose the grandmother's illness and the insecurities and the naivety of the young man, while he has sexual encounters with several men who come to the sauna looking specifically for him, keeping his life and his work in an erotic limbo from which he wants to get out, but which sucks him back to the bottom.
In this microcosm, the film wants to show us the drive of a young man who would do anything to keep his grandmother healthy, and how in the process he discovers his sexual orientation.
The obsession with the beloved client, the idea of ​​the need to escape due to his rejection of the work he does, the desert sensation, of aridity, that surrounds the life of the protagonist, and the representation of otherness, are represented in a strong symbolic load. behind the yellowish walls used in the film.
In this journey about life, the discovery and acceptance of sexual identity, the film intersperses two parts: one in which the protagonist boy takes care of his beloved grandmother, the only relative with whom he lives, and another that is his I work as a masseuse.
In this kind of tribute to saunas, those places so frequently associated with the homosexual world and where very diverse things happen, Chen Hao embarks on a journey of discovery, facing the pain of being powerless to guarantee the health and life of his loved one, but above all to questions about love, life and survival.

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Nam Yi and Jae Min's love and happiness can only be defeated by a single monster

Memorable performances, a perfect script and direction, a beautiful soundtrack, to which are added addictive kisses and a palpable chemistry that transcends the screen, are the main characteristics of the South Korean miniseries 'Blue Boys' (블루보이즈/Beulru Boijeu), also known as 'The Guy Inside Me', a demonstration that you don't need a big budget or long and numerous episodes to tell a moving story.
In just four chapters each lasting about 10 minutes on average, the miniseries, starring Lee Hoo Rim in the role of Kim Nam Yi, and Choi Seung in the role of Choi Jae Min, addresses topics such as the process of finding the true love, communication, understanding through experiences, homophobia, social class differences, friendship, job search, meeting friends, among others.
Lovers of LGBTIQ+ themed stories will feel at ease with the interactions of the two actors, who very well enhance the value of the entire story with their tender and captivating chemistry.
After a one-night stand, the outgoing and self-confident Nam Yi and the shy and insecure Jae Min, two former high school classmates who meet again three years after graduation, have developed feelings for each other and dream with a life together.
More open to demonstrations of affection and love in public, Nam Yi is not afraid to take Jae Min's hand and kiss him in the streets, but the latter boy will resist, as he fears the rejection of a conservative society, like that of Korea from the South, with strong patriarchal and heteronormative traditions, where homosexuals have difficulties fitting in.
After overcoming conflicts and misunderstandings, the love and happiness of Nam Yi and Jae Min can only be defeated by a single monster: the fear that South Koreans experience of being exposed as homosexuals, the fear of being excluded and discriminated against.
So Ri (Lee Soo Ha), a girl jealous of Jae Min for not having been able to conquer Nam Yi, will be in charge of inoculating Jae Min with the poison: "If a man dates another man and there are rumors about it, can you continue working in the company as if nothing had happened?" Nam Yi wouldn't have these problems because he comes from a wealthy family, but..."what would happen to you?", Ri will remind him.
In this way, the happy ending everyone expected does not come. Reality prevails.
And so the viewers will understand the true objective of 'Blue Boys', which is none other than to make a criticism, very intelligent, very subtle, of the discrimination that exists in South Korea against LGBTIQ+ people, since the members of said community face legal challenges and discrimination not experienced by the rest of South Koreans.
Gay sexual activity is legal as long as it takes place indoors, but Gay Marriage or Equal Marriage or other forms of legal partnership are not available to same-sex couples.
I allow myself spoilers to explain my point of view.

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More than friends in a homophobic country whose army punishes homosexuals with triple humiliation

'Just Friends?' (친구사이? / Chingu sai?), a South Korean short film that follows two young people who are not just friends, but something more.
Starring Lee Je-Hoon and Yeon Woo-jin (sometimes credited by his former stage name, Seo Ji-hoo), the short film follows the secret romance between Seok Yi, a college student who works part-time at a restaurant and faces the dilemma of whether to leave school to focus on his culinary aspirations or fulfill his mandatory military service, and Min Soo, a young soldier who is serving in the armed forces.
For some time they have planned to enjoy a romantic weekend, and Seok Yi travels to the city near the South Korean capital where the military base is located to meet Min Soo again and be able to carry out his plans, but they will not go as planned. While they are enjoying their meeting, Min Soo's mother appears, who has also gone to visit her son and is unaware of the bond between the young people.
When the mother (Lee Seon-joo) asks him about their relationship, so as not to reveal the truth, Min Soo replies, "...we are just friends."
With his mother, Min Soo has a close relationship. We'll see how she playfully makes fun of him, asking him if he's not going to sleep on her chest, and reminds him that he used to call her "boob mom," and he responds that's how he acted when he was little, and then confesses to Seok Yi , who sleeps next to him after missing the last train, who as a child used to sleep on his mother's chest to cheer himself up.
In this way, Kim Jho Gwang-soo, as writer and director, is weaving a story in this short film of the youth romantic comedy-drama genre with an LGBT+ theme that, released in 2009, aims, in addition to telling us about another cycle of release coming out of the closet, showing, with naturalness and simplicity, the relationship between gay men and their families in a conservative society where parents consider any homosexual act a crime.
It is also proposed to denounce homophobia within the Army and South Korean society in general, as well as to make visible the risks, including criminal ones, to which homosexuals are exposed in the military forces of said country.
The denunciation of institutionalized homophobia in the army is shown in a very subtle way. After arriving at the military base in Cheorwon to meet her boyfriend, after traveling from Seoul, Seok Yi has to fill out a contact form in which she must state, among other details, what relationship she has with the person she is contacting what a visit
Elated to be able to see Min Soo after a while, when answering this question in the official document he writes the word "lover". Realizing the risks that his mistake entails for both him and the soldier, he tries to obtain a new form to write "friend" and thus circumvent any suspicion about the type of relationship that both maintain, but when he fails to obtain it, he is forced to carefully cross out what is written and in its place draw the other word.
Homophobia will haunt them throughout the short film, which lasts about 30 minutes. The fear of suffering from it if they are exposed as homosexuals is shown in various ways, and the two lovers will have the urgent need to hide their homosexuality to comply with what a conservative country with strong patriarchal and heteronormative traditions demands of them.
For example, Seok Yi strikes up a conversation with Chae Eun (Lee Chae Eun), a girl on the bus in which he makes the trip and with whom he will be very careful to avoid pronouns when referring to her boyfriend. He will show her a homemade cherry candy he made himself to share with her boyfriend. However, at the moment he delivers the gift to Min Soo, he notices the presence of the girl, who is watching the lovers from a nearby table. Seok Yi's hasty reaction is to snatch the dessert from Min Soo's hands and put it back in a bag, as he had assured the young woman moments before on the road that it was a gift for her partner.
Internalized homophobia as an accompaniment to homophobia is also reflected. Seok Yi will reject Min Soo when he approaches him to kiss him in public and will not shake his hand in the street so as not to be a victim of hatred and intolerance, and will tell the girl who returns with him to Seoul: " Today I also hate being a man!" This is how he expresses feeling harassed and excluded by his loved ones and society.
In its second part, 'Just Friends?' It is filled with joy, enthusiasm and hope. While Min Soo sings a sad but hopeful song to her mother that reflects the feeling that despite liking men she will become happy with the person she loves, we will see the two lovers reunited again, after Min Soo obtains a period of leave from military service.
He will go to look for Seok Yi at work and both will walk the streets of Seoul showing their love in public.
Min Soo has found the exact words to describe the person he will introduce to his mother: "I want you to meet my boyfriend."
The lovers are ready to combat the discrimination that awaits them, after acquiring a mutual, shared feeling that allows them to overcome the feeling of shame and self-exclusion.
'Just Friends?' It has a happy ending that proudly celebrates the love, identity and struggle of homosexuals for their freedom and happiness, and it is something to celebrate doubly, since the short film is a pioneer in South Korea by reflecting a homosexual relationship in a country where Today, in the 21st century, there is resistance to recognizing equal marriage, and even more so against the backdrop of that country's army.
South Korea is a conservative society and the only developed economy in the world in which consensual sexual relations between two men are a crime under military law, and if discovered and charged, every officer or soldier potentially faces a triple humiliation: a sentence penal, an exclusion from the army for unworthiness and a forced coming out of the closet in the face of society and his parents, who describe themselves as "conservative and devout Christians", as the short film clearly reflects on Min Soo's mother.
Intentionally and intelligently, Kim Jho Gwang-soo places one of his protagonists involved in the army of a nation in which, according to article 92.6 of its Military Penal Code, soldiers who have homosexual relations face two years in prison and forced labor if convicted by a court-martial.
Based on his own personal experiences as a gay man, the director and screenwriter expressed, "I wanted to create a real gay film with 99.9% purity, after observing that many Korean films in the past contained misleading depictions of homosexuals." Kim also stated that after completing her 2009 short, 'Boy Meets Boy', which focuses on a first romantic encounter of two teenagers, she wanted to create a successor that involved more mature themes.
Produced by the company Generation Blue Films, in collaboration with Korean Gay Men's Human Rights Group Chingusai, which shares the same name as the film's Korean title, 'Just Friends'? It had its world premiere at the 14th Pusan ​​International Film Festival on October 10, 2009. Before its theatrical release on December 17 of the same year, it was screened at the 35th Seoul Independent Film Festival. The following year, the work was screened at film festivals in Italy, the United States, Japan and Hong Kong.
With music by Kim Dong-wook, photography by Kim Myeong-Joon and editing by Nam Na-yeong, the film, due to its subject matter, has been involved in a rating and censorship controversy.
Before its release, the Korean Media Rating Board (KMRB) called the film's trailer "harmful to youth." In November 2009, KMRB gave the film a "restricted to teens" (19+) rating, citing "sexual situations" and "risk of imitation."
This decision generated criticism from artists, intellectuals, and politicians, who argued that the KMRB was reviewing homosexual-themed films with different criteria than heterosexual-themed films.
In September 2010, the film's producers, Generation Blue Films and Chingusai, filed an administrative contentious lawsuit against the KMRB, asking the Seoul Administrative Court to cancel the film's classification. The court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs on September 9, stating that the film "provides understanding and education about minorities." Despite this, 'Just Friends?', 15 years after its release, continues to be condemned by the most conservative members of a society who still claim that the film contains scenes that "would provoke sexual curiosity in young people."
'Just Friends?' has other values, being Kim Jho Kwang-soo's second film work as director and screenwriter, the second collaboration between this filmmaker and screenwriter Min Yong Keun, and presenting for the second time Min Soo and Seok Yi, two characters that the The previous year he introduced them to form the protagonist couple of the short film 'Boy Meets Boy', also following up Min Soo in 'Love 100°', another short film he authored, from 2010.

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Denounce the situation of harassment and discrimination suffered by South Korean LGBT+ students

'Taming The Bad Boy' (일진조련기) does not seek to portray a homosexual romance, nor does it seek to portray the friendship between five South Korean gay teenagers, students at a high school.
Lim Hyungkyu, its director, aims much higher. Scripted by Yoo Guijong, the short series produced in 2024 by Flying Penguin, denounces the situation of harassment and discrimination suffered by South Korean LGBT+ students in the classrooms, by other students, but which in reality can also be by managers, school officials and teachers, including their parents and other family members.
In a highly conservative, patriarchal and heteronormative society, through the relationship between Park Jin U, a role played by newcomer Lee Ui Seop, a student transferring to a new school, and Ko Tae Seop (Holland - 'Ocean Like Me'), who approaches the newcomer out of curiosity, only to soon discover that she has developed feelings for him, 'Taming The Bad Boy' reflects the situation of isolation and mistreatment that members of the South Korean LGBT+ community suffer from their peers. classroom.
The series is not suitable for all audiences, not even for many BL lovers who expect tender and warm romantic scenes between two boys, since the plot crudely exposes the intimidation, harassment and discrimination due to gender identity experienced by children. students of said South Korean human group, as well as the lack of safe and inclusive environments in schools.
Through the relationship of the protagonists and that of the two of them with Jungbeom (Joo Jongbeom), Seongyu (Ki Myeongje) and Changmin (Son Changseong), three classmates who are also homosexual, and among them five and several homophobes and harassers, among them These Mynhyuk (Byeon Jeong Hyeon), known for playing Park Jae Han in the BL film 'Hold', from 2022, the dramatized denounces the lack of protections against discrimination by the government due to the lack of a comprehensive law that protects LGBT+ people in educational and other environments, including work, as well as the lack of interest of the government and educational authorities in ensuring that LGBT+ youth have support resources to safeguard their education and their physical and mental health.
Through the figure of the teacher, a role played by the popular actor Hong Seok Cheon, known for starring in the film 'Perfect Love' (2003), the series makes visible how the South Korean sexual education curriculum does not include any content about LGBT+ issues. In this case, the educator seems to be a member of this community, so when homophobic students make negative comments about gays, the teacher defends the members of said community, even at the risk of being fired and being exposed to harassment as well and discrimination.
Often a product, television or film, emerges that attempts to raise awareness about complex issues. This is the case of 'Taming The Bad Boy', a plot that may have been reviewed too many times before, but should not be detracted for this reason by being produced in a homophobic country, which persecutes and harasses gays, lesbians, transsexuals, bisexuals…
In just over an hour, the short series becomes a contemporary vision of gay men who struggle to define what is real: for themselves, their romantic relationships and their high school studies in a school whose students despise and humiliate them just for being different.
I won't say much because I don't want to spoil it, but the fact that there are scenes of harassment, loaded with violence, in my opinion, reflects the director's audacity in addressing the issue head-on.
Of course, there are the occasional furtive kiss, glances and knowing smiles between two secret lovers. There are also boys who express their identity through dance and equally confidential conversations in intimate spaces. Kisses between two boys and dialogues about dreams and desires in a series about gay teenagers in Seoul, what would be wrong with that?
The supporting cast is good in their realistic performances.
If you are interested in a drama with a very real approach to the complex topic proposed, you will enjoy 'Taming The Bad Boy'.

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When homophobia wins the game

'The Best Story' (Thai: ครั้งหนึ่งที่รัก) is a Thai BL and LGBT-themed television series broadcast between July 9 and 23, 2021. Played in its lead roles by Wanarat Ratsameerat (War) as Best, and Anan Wong (Yin) as Dew, the series depicts a romance between two young high school students.
Directed by Ratthapon Keawmeesri (Heavy), the central thread of the three-episode series is the way in which both boys begin to forge an emotional relationship and the obstacles they must face. Four other teenagers also appear: Brigght (Prat Itthichaicharoen) and Ray (Thanakom Minthananan (Win), Best's best friends; and Dave (Nadol Lamprasert - Bonz) and Tar (Patsapon Jansuppakitkun - Bever), Dew's inseparable comrades.
From the Line TV network, 'The Best Story' addresses topics such as romance, homosexuality, emotional diversity, secondary education, friendship, homophobia, youth and its way of relating, or personal evolution.
I don't intend to give much spoilers beyond what I have to say due to the focus of the review.
We are faced with a sweet, tender and brief love story, both for the length of time it lasts and for the brevity of the series, which follows the code of the best Thai BL: the main character, usually a high school or university student, He secretly falls in love with a fellow student, but does not dare to confess his feelings. Both boys will deepen their friendly relationship in the hope of declaring their love for each other. But this moment, expected by everyone, never comes.
While the shy Best does not confess because he believes that Dew loves a girl and, therefore, his feelings are not reciprocated, Dew does not confess his feelings for Best either, first also due to his shyness, and then to passivity, hopelessness and the fear of his mother's homophobia.
This light but realistic teenage romantic drama stands out for its evocative music and the good acting of the two protagonists, whose on-screen chemistry shows emotional physical interactions full of naturalness, warmth and positivity.
The romance is palpable in the small everyday moments that manage to convey the affectionate relationship of the characters played by War and Yin, whom we have previously seen starring in the 2020 Thai BL drama 'En of Love: Love Mechanics', where they also play a romantic couple. This same series also features the participation of the actors who play Ray, Bright and Tar in supporting roles.
An aside to talk about the magnificent cinematography. Despite having few settings, such as the classrooms, the school hallways and courtyards, Best's bedroom or the kitchen-dining room of Dew's house, the camera work is indisputable to make the viewer feel the emotions of his characters. characters with immense closeness and authenticity, with memorable intimate frontal and side shots with the characters looking into the lens or walking in front of it.
But Heavy's work is not only good in its colorimetry; It is also outstanding in terms of planning and use of the frame, bringing together the vast majority of the attention centers of the shots at the same point to ensure that the subsequent assembly of the series is legible at all times.
But, as I said from the title of the review, this focuses on homophobia and intolerance, and not only for being present in the series, but for coming out victorious over love.
Although everything seemed to indicate that the main couple would have a happy ending, related to the confession of love by one of the two boys, presumably Best because he was the one we knew from the beginning is in love with Dew, the truth is that later We know that this also corresponds to your feelings.
However, the romance is spoiled by the actions of the only two female characters in the series: Fern (Masa Marisa Kittelberger), the girl in love with Dew and not reciprocated by him, and Dew's mother.
Dew nobly rejects Fern, his friend and fellow student, who has been secretly in love with him for some time. Once again, Dew is honest with her, and confesses to being in love with a boy. Everything indicates, after the pleasant and confidential conversation held by the two, that Fern would respect Dew's sexuality and support him in his relationship with Best.
However, Fern betrays the friendship and trust placed in her by Dew by confessing her most intimate feelings, and full of hatred, homophobia, jealousy and meanness, she goes to Dew's homophobic and also intolerant mother to "save her son." of the influence of the homosexual Best". Is he doing it out of spite? So that Dew won't be happy with the person he loves? Why does she think that abruptly outing him will make the boy love her? Did he have the right to reveal Dew's sexuality?
If we do not know the answers to the first questions, it is true that, in relation to the last question, no one would ever act ethically; That is to say, it is not right or fair to violate someone's privacy, to remove them from the drawer, especially when it is motivated by petty and selfish interests.
Why does Dew's mother react so cruelly to the rumor that her son might be gay? Will you listen to your son? Will he also oppose any homosexual relationship of his son in the future, when Dew is of age? Will he continue to throw him out of the house with each new gay relationship? Will he ever accept his son? Will she be willing to prevent his happiness for life?
And Dew? Why don't you defend your love? Why accept your parent's decisions, which lead to the loss of your future and happiness?
If until that moment, the story was tender and cute, from this moment on, already in the final moments, homophobia prevents the two boys, who admit that they love each other, from being able to have their happy ending. The romance between Best and Dew can't even begin.
Dew, practically expelled from his home by his mother, will only be left to write partial sentences on social networks that say: "I like-", but without daring to complete the phrase with a "I like you", much less place the name of who they are addressed to.
What is the intention of the creators in giving this ending to the series? Will it be a denunciation of the reality suffered by the Thai LGBT+ community, and in which society and the family, especially parents, have a great responsibility? Or to promote the viewer's debate and reflection on such cruel and real topics as homophobia and intolerance, or jealousy and betrayal? Only if these were the reasons, the outcome of the series seems good to me.
While it is true that Thai BL series have contributed to the Southeast Asian nation being seen as a welcoming place for homosexuals, it does not mean that its laws are egalitarian or that it is truly respectful of the rights of members of the LGBT+ community. . As a general rule, Thai society in general and parents in particular do not accept the homosexuality of their children, and in some cases they even expel them from home.
The harsh reality is that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in Thailand may face legal situations not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Same-sex sexual activity is legal, but such couples and households headed by same-sex couples do not have the same legal protections as heterosexual couples. It is estimated that around eight percent of the Thai population, five million people, are part of the LGBT demographic.
In 2013, the Bangkok Post states that "while Thailand is seen as a tourist haven for same-sex couples, the reality for locals is that the law, and often public sentiment, is not so liberal."
For its part, a 2014 report from the United States Agency for International Development and the United Nations Development Program notes that LGBT people "still face discrimination that affects their social rights and employment opportunities," and "They face difficulties in gaining acceptance of non-traditional sexuality, although the tourism authority has been promoting Thailand as a gay country."
A decade later nothing has changed. There is still constant and systematic discrimination against Thai minorities, including the LGBTI community. Despite the country having a law against discrimination against sexual minorities, there are legal gaps that still allow the stigmatization of said human group.
As I point out in the title, homophobia may have won the game, depending on the series, but it will not win the fight for human rights. Hate may win some battles, but the final victory will be love's.

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The end of the trilogy: reasons for debate and controversy

The trilogy by Korean director Leesong Hee-il, known as 'One Night, Two Days', (백야), began with the short film 'One Night, later expanded to a 75-minute film entitled 'Baekya' ('지난여름, 갑자기 '/'White Night' and followed by the short 'Suddenly Last Summer' (지난 여름, 갑자기/'Jinanyeoreum, gapjagi'), concludes with the medium-length film 'Namjjokeuro Ganda' ('Going South' /남쪽으로 간다), all from 2012, and narrating three unconnected gay-themed stories together.
The strength of Leesong Hee-Il's cinematography, by itself, and continually, finds an audience for his works. Not only because of the naturalness and simplicity, at the same time as the complex way of exposing homosexuality and human relationships and conflicts, which allows us to reinterpret the essence of the South Korean LGBT+ collective (equally global), from the perspective of some of its representatives, but also in the elegance of the language, the cinematographic resources, the intelligence of the film narrative and the intellectual and human wisdom that flows with astonishing clarity and directness.
It is, furthermore, and above all, the director's ability to build powerful stories due to their humanism, which penetrate the personal imagination, especially of the members of said community, never to abandon it again.
Who who has seen the trilogy does not suffer as their own the desperation and anguish of a gay person who drags, like a heavy burden, the emotional and spiritual suffering, more than physical, caused by a homophobic attack and today, after years , returns to the scene of the events to continue judging the society that did nothing to condemn barbarism, only for the fact that the victim is a homosexual? Who has not wanted to be the companion of said person in the search not only for love, but also, and above all, for the necessary spiritual peace and answers that give meaning to their life, during a long, cold night in Seoul?
Who was not on the cruise ship that crosses the Han River while a boy, a minor, blackmails his teacher, 17 years older, whom he threatens to get out of the closet if he does not give in to his demands to spend a few hours on a hot day in his side? Who has not understood the dilemma in which the teacher struggles, caught between desire and responsibility, between desire and ethics, between good and evil? Who has not forgiven the student for blackmailing the teacher, after seeing him suffer and at the same time shout his love and happiness, while, excited, he talks to the fish or makes the teacher listen to his favorite music after placing the headphones over his ears? ears? Who has not made their own the suffering, pain and anguish, but also the joy and the touch of happiness, of each and every one of the characters that inhabit their stories?
'Going South' follows two men on a journey that, despite the short's title, has no defined direction or destination. Gi-Tae (Kim Jae-Heung) and Jun-Young (Chun Shin-Hwan) met during their mandatory two-year stint in the Korean army. From the first seconds, the existence of a secret to be revealed around these two people and their respective internal struggles becomes evident.
Its director once again exposes a constant dichotomy in the relationships of its protagonists, but now elevates it to a higher plane by placing its narrative heroes involved in the South Korean army. Shocking are the deeply subtle, uncomfortable, and highly problematic questions it raises about homosexual relationships, military service in particular, and that nation's society as a whole.
While Jun-Young, now demobilized, hides or completely denies his homosexuality, Gi-Tae, who still has some time left to graduate, is not afraid to acknowledge it and even enjoys celebrating it, despite completing his military service in a nation where, according to article 92 of its Military Penal Code, it considers sexual relations between members of the same sex as "sexual harassment", punishable by a maximum of one year in prison.
Jun-Young is taking Gi-Tae back to base after his last leave. The atmosphere around them is overloaded by the demands of one and the refusal of the other to give in. Jun-Young is quite harsh on his friend during the ride.
The characters in the medium-length film inhabit a space where they meet somewhere in the middle. It is at this moment that the director uses the camera lens to "steal" the characters' emotions and show human complexities.
One having realized that he does not want to continue the sexual relationship with his friend and asks him not to contact him again, the other is not willing to let him go, and clings to him. Inadvertently, the soldier takes the opportunity to put sleeping pills in Jun-Young's coffee. As soon as the drugs take effect, he takes the wheel and heads south, or nowhere in particular.
When Jun-Young finally wakes up, he is furious, but also furious is Gi-Tae, who confronts his former lover/friend about his broken promises.
The fight, both emotional and physical, reveals two aspects to consider: on the one hand, Jun-Young completely denies not only his former feelings for Gi-Tae, but also his homosexuality. Jun-Young dismisses his previous relationship, alleging that he had sexual encounters with his friend out of the need to fill the void of soldier's loneliness, something common for soldiers while doing military service.
And secondly, Gi-Tae is clearly losing control and has crossed the line. His erratic, illegal behavior is not justifiable, and yet we sympathize with him more than with Jun-Young, because his pain is so tangible.
Initially calm and serene, Gi-Tae's feelings are increasingly expressed through physical things, such as photographing Jun-Young in the middle of making love for the last time, not to blackmail him but to materially record the feelings that his lover does not want to admit with words. He subsequently gets into a wild mud fight with Jun-Young that nearly ends in blood and he drinks bottle of beer after bottle. His state of increasing intoxication leads him to dance alone like a lunatic in a dark highway tunnel, while music blares from the car speakers.
You can't blame Jun-Young for wanting to distance himself from Gi-Tae, who has major emotional issues that may run deeper than this particular rejection. And yet, one must ask: how desperate must one be to go AWOL from one's military base and nearly kidnap another person, acts that can only have serious repercussions?
Open-ended like all parts of Leesong Hee-ill's trilogy, 'Going South' feels more gloomy and suffocating than the two previous films, denying the viewer a journey towards the spiritual peace and happiness they dreamed of, at least from one of the characters.
As in the rest of the three pieces, the film tells a story of great visual and auditory beauty, but perhaps the most important thing is the emotional depth. The raw honesty of the film's narrative – centered on the often deeply problematic feelings of its characters, all asking difficult but very real questions – is commendable.
The finished compositional gear, the composition between musical form and film text brought to the screen, the treatment of time and changes in point of view, are formal innovations that demonstrate the filmmaker's vocation to always renew himself, supporting the three pieces that make up the trilogy, which reflect on the human condition, the complexities of the human being, the responsibilities and ethics of the gay man of our days, the homophobic ambushes that stalk him at every step, the feeling of emptiness caused by the so-called epidemic of loneliness gay, the emotional and mood disorders of homosexual men, the constant search for happiness, which implies, in turn, the fight for their human rights, and the encounters between the individual and the collective.

Note: The reviews of the remaining pieces of the trilogy, in MDL, can be found on the page dedicated by the virtual platform to each of them.

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Declaration of love and farewell with gay fairy tale ending

The holidays come to an end, summer says goodbye to return next year in a small fishing village in China. It is time to say goodbye to the beach, the heat, rest and, above all, to the person you love.
The camera follows the face of teenager Leaf (Xinyi He). You rush to brush your teeth and wash your face: you need to look and smell good. He has arranged to meet Qing Chen (Jianan Yang), his childhood friend, to spend the remaining days of the summer period in his company. His friend will soon leave for Shanghai to study. He also dreams of going to a university in that city or in Beijing or Guangzhou, but he must remain in the village by the sea to take care of his elderly grandmother (Xiaojing Liao). To get ahead, he has set up a small and thriving hair salon where locals flock.
The camera now "watches" Leaf and her friend from a distance. This is the way chosen by Meicen Meng, the director of the Chinese short film, 'Beyond the Green Mountain', to give visuality to the mood of the two protagonists.
That detachment that is farewell can be, perhaps, one of the most dramatic or significant moments in our history, because although sometimes goodbye can be accompanied by an optimistic undertone because it implies closing one story to open another, the emotionality is It appears through our tear ducts at the fact of seeing a person leave without being able to do anything other than observe how their silhouette fades with each step, before the uncertainty of not knowing if we will see them again in another chapter of our existence.
The faces of the two boys cannot be seen, since it is night and they are now positioned with their backs to the lens, while they talk about dreams, desires, the opportunities they could find to study or live in big cities, philosophical beliefs, gods. and goodbye.
The camera follows Qing Chen who can finally show his beautiful face. In order to reveal his repressed feelings and with unshed tears, he arrives at the doors of Leaf's humble house, but he does not dare to knock. It is evident that she needs to bring out all those hidden emotions that she keeps inside and tell them to the boy who is now back at her side, but her grandmother prevents this by inviting the visitor to dinner.
This film, made by queer people for queer people, breaks the patriarchal binary lens that has been dominating world cinema, to tell us how these two young people, who have known each other since they were children, merge in glances of fascination in each encounter, and they have been filling that void that haunts their lives, because it could not be without the presence of the other.
Although in more than one moment it seems that they are going to take the next step, it never happens, so the only thing they have left is to wait to say goodbye to the imminent departure of one of them.
Later, as they lie in bed, they look at each other's faces in the dark, but they don't dare to state their feelings explicitly, but Qing Chen expresses them subtly: "I will never be able to see so many stars in Shanghai." His words would rather say: "In another place, far from you, I will only find infinite darkness. You are the light of my life."
The film tells a story of pure first love through a pure narrative about these young characters who fall in love without realizing that loving each other romantically is even a possibility. However, feelings don't lie. To an untrained heart, these feelings are overwhelming. Confusion, doubts, insecurity and pain form a dark subtext. Love is pure, tender, sweet and beautiful, that is why the young Chinese director seeks to represent how love shines through the darkness that represents a goodbye or the two lovers being separated.
There are two days left until the farewell. Leaf, sitting on the beach, takes Qing Chen's diary, left by him in the sand. Unaware of his action, he is about to discover his most intimate secrets, but Qing Chen snatches it from his hands at the last moment, before hurting him to the depths of his being: "The damn villagers have no manners." He cannot express his regret for the hurtful words. Leaf doesn't give him time and runs away with tears of pain.
In this story about youth, friendship and love that blossoms in the summer breeze, the camera focuses again on Leaf's face as she brushes her teeth and washes her face the morning before saying goodbye. The ritual now will not be to reunite with Qing Chen. Perhaps the objective is to make visible the necessary act of releasing from within you the sadness that still persists and is reflected on your face. The bond between the two cannot end this way.
But he does not pay attention to the complaints of his friend, who persists in asking for forgiveness, when there are only a few hours left before leaving on his trip.
"I'm leaving tomorrow morning. How long will this childish tantrum of yours last?" Qing Chen confronts him. As they roll on the floor in a silly fight, a passionate kiss surprises them. They hug each other tightly. Their bodies orbit around each other. They would like time to stop. But Leaf reacts and abruptly separates. What will grandma think if she knows that I love another boy? How will she face the neighbors? Will she still be proud of me?
The next morning, Qing Chen, as if he were a sleepwalker who has not been able to sleep a wink all night, crawls towards the car in which his parents are waiting to take him to Shanghai. Almost about to get on it, a scream from Leaf stops him. In silence, the boy forcefully draws towards him the body of his former friend and now lover, and they passionately embrace.
With a beautiful Chinese landscape as a backdrop, the farewell between the character of Xinyi He and Jianan Yang is capable of causing a lump in our throat because of how significant it is that these lovers have had the opportunity to say goodbye and express their love, although it was the same way they communicated it throughout the film: through silence, gestures, emotions and looks.
Qing Chen's parents, a few meters away and who can't even see each other inside the car, will never know what the boys said to each other in that silent hug. Only they will know.
The piece, only 15 minutes long, reminds us that, regardless of aesthetic issues, filmmakers can resort to a powerful tool: our need to understand what we see, regardless of the language or the articulated word.
Throughout the film, which is nothing more than an immense and constant declaration of love, Meicen Meng weaves a visually evocative narrative that captures the internal struggle of the two characters in their struggle to discover and accept themselves, while exploiting our emotions by giving us perhaps one of the most iconic farewells of the seventh art.
With a powerful and healing representation of the community building inherent to the film's creation process, the filmmaker also explores emotions and universal intimate human connections, using characters traditionally little seen in world cinematography, such as two teenagers from a fishing village, who dream of loving and empowering themselves through studies and the realization of their professional and work dreams.
Perhaps much of the charm of this film lies in the fact that despite the palpable romance of the protagonists, at no point do they manage to consummate their love, not even at the moment of farewell, however, it underlies, latent, perceptible, in each scene. .
The internationally renowned Chinese queer cinema knows perfectly well how dramatic the farewell act can mean. That's why Meicen Meng, the award-winning non-binary filmmaker of that nationality, wrote, directed and produced her thesis film 'Beyond The Green Mountain', to address topics such as sexuality, love, self-acceptance and identity.
Due to its ethical and aesthetic values, it was chosen as one of the five finalists of the prestigious 2018 Coppola Short Film Competition by Gus Van Sant, a queer filmmaker of great international fame.
The film also screened at the Museum of the Moving Image as part of the First Look Film Festival and was the winner of the Best Indie Short award at the Indie Short Fest in July 2019, among many other awards.
In this captivating cinematographic journey that explores in such a beautiful way the emotional labyrinths of its protagonists, humanity and human connections, it concludes with a dreamy and hopeful Leaf who directs her sight towards the sea, beyond the mountain that gives it its title. to the movie, as if he were looking into the future, before turning his face when he hears approaching footsteps, and drawing a smile on his lips: everything seems to indicate that his beloved is returning and, finally, they will be able to open themselves fully to love .
We generally associate goodbyes with the outcome of a story, and in most cases this is the case. However, 'Beyond the Green Mountain' goes to the other extreme and in the final scene conveys hope, the idea of ​​a shared future between our heroes. The comforting and tender fact of seeing each other once again contains a message: they both know that they will have a fairy tale ending.
I hope my review serves to motivate the viewer to see a film so recommended for its exquisite narrative and visuality.

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THE FADING OF THE DAY INTO TWILIGHT IS NOT THE END, BUT THE BEGINNING OF LIFE AND LOVE

'Last Twilight' is a coming-of-age story of self-discovery that will surprise and excite you through the two young protagonists, played by Jitaraphol Potiwihok (Jimmy) as Mork, and Tawinan Anukoolprasert (Sea) as Day, whom we have already seen leading the cast artistic of “Viceversa” and “Our Skyy 2”. With this, their third leading role, the young actors seek to consolidate themselves as a ship within GMM25.
Written and directed by Noppharnach Chaiwimol (Aof), renowned director, screenwriter, producer and actor who has dramas such as 'My School Presidente' and 'Moonlight Chicken', both from 2023, among others, presents us with a story that not only seeks to make LGBTQ+ people visible, but also seeks to represent blind and visually impaired people, as well as the reintegration of the individual into society after spending time in prison.
Has Aof realized the dramatic potential of blindness and visual impairment to bring us a story on the subject? The social image of blind people has gone through different phases and, to a certain extent, has overcome the usual negative and stereotypical attitudes. Television is also responsible for the perceived public image of disability. Therefore, the representation of blind people in television programs contributes to the general perception that society has of this group.
Will it be Day's destiny to inspire pity, compassion and marginalization? Will the story focus on his struggle to overcome his limitations? Will the series revolve around the facet of his rehabilitation from a hopeful perspective? Is it intended to offer the image of a person who rehabilitates himself and lives a life that tries to get closer to the most normal that his circumstances allow? Will a story prevail in which the blind character seeks social integration? How to make a story with these characteristics, when in current filmography it is rare to see the person with a disability like any other person? Isn't it due to the fact that audiovisual productions show disability as a medical issue rather than from a social perspective? How to succeed in the process?
Aof has drawn on the changes produced in the way visual disability is represented in film and television. He also knows how society has evolved in its understanding of disability.
Taking all of the above into account, it would be appropriate to ask ourselves: to what extent does the series portray a blind character from a positive perspective? To what extent does it represent, and therefore promote, the progressive inclusion of visually impaired people in society? Is one of the purposes of 'Last Twilight' to contribute to enhancing the general perception that society has of disability? Does Day have a fully developed personality or is her character fundamentally defined by her disability? Does the series reflect Day's character as a unique and distinctive personality or is his disability the main focus of the plot? Is Day's personality unique because his character expresses the desire for independence and not wanting to be pitied?
What is Day's level of inclusion in the community? (considering that this includes areas such as inclusive education, employment, residential environment, community participation, recreation and social activities). What are Day's interpersonal relationships like with the people around him? Will your character move away from the stereotypes with which the visually impaired have been reflected in film and television?
TECHNICAL-ARTISTIC ASSESSMENT
Aof makes a triumphant return behind the cameras to create an entertaining product that had a sufficient dose of credibility in its cast for this plot to revolve between cold and warmth, between detachment and tenderness, suffering and illusion, discouragement. and optimism, darkness and light, although the viewer can, at times, decipher the story for themselves, including the final twist. I don't even doubt that this is one of the reasons why 'Last Twilight' is watchable and enjoyable. It is in its own way dreamy, in its own way hopeful, thanks to Jimmy and Sea's chemistry and the questions it seeks to answer.
With a pair of irresistible protagonists and a straightforward love-overcomes-adversity story, 'Last Twilight' hits the spot for the BL fan market. Others will also be able to enjoy it. Aof tries to fight for the desire that his work show a universal feeling, that knows no genres, and is close to anyone.
Although present, sex is not the mainstay of the relationship. Instead, Aof highlights looks, words, silences, gestures as a connection of feelings. In this sense, the series moves away from a common cliché in gay-themed cinema, which rarely seems concerned with delving into the emotions of its characters from a perspective that does not necessarily imply an immediate sexual attraction.
Without superficialities or exaggerated fuss, 'Last Twilight' tells a romance without causing discomfort and trying to find a universality that brings it closer to a majority audience. The series will touch the hearts of many people because it comes with a suggestive and different narrative when we talk about love stories and gender issues.
The mixture of captivating fiery and total trust between the two men is represented in the photograph, totally serene and at the same time always active, but very subjective.
There is no doubt: the public is faced with an irrefutable fairy tale that can win many followers due to the lyrical way of capturing the concerns of youth. Its episodic rhythm allows us to easily access this story about identity and sacrifices, about breakups and reunions, about pain and hopes.
The series cleverly emphasizes the sensual aspects of a coming-of-age story. Strokes of humor, tearfulness, self-improvement, sacrifice and fantasy give a welcome texture to the softness of the romantic novel. Audiovisual in general works despite its formulaic layout and loose ends.
This ambitious series, well shot, without shame, manages to maintain the charm of a plot made to please lovers of the genre. Premiered on November 10, 2023, the entertainment production company is committed to continuing to be a pioneer and leader in the creation of BL series, both originals and adaptations, with 'Last Twilight'.
Also in its good work with the cast, in addition to the aforementioned leading actors, Aof has other well-known faces in the company, such as Tipnaree Weerawatnodom (Namtan), as Phojai, Mohk's ex-girlfriend and friend; Pakin Kunaanuwit (Mark), as Nigh, Day's brother; Premsinee Ratanasopa (Cream), as Ramon, Day's mother; Thipakorn Thitathan (Ohm), as August, Day's sports partner and first love interest; Rachanun Mahawan (Film), as Gee, Day's friend and badminton partner, Kunchanuj Kengkarnka (Kun), as On, Day's friend and also a blind person, among others.
The series follows the love story of a young athlete who has lost his sight after suffering a traffic accident, and his caregiver. When Mhok, burdened by debt, agrees to be the caretaker of a blind boy named Day, they will both know true love. The two characters maintain a complex relationship, since each one is tied to a problematic reality.
The protagonists of this youth drama that promises and at times declines with a predictable course of events, brim with charisma. The story, which could have been told better, has plenty of heart. I would criticize him for saying that he is rich and he is poor, because to political correctness it would seem like just another melodrama.
Not exempt from melodramatic clichés, the program is original. Its director avoids the pitfalls of the typical audiovisual production of homosexual initiation, and presents us with a beautiful and tender story that will inevitably make you fall in love. Mohk and Day's relationship demonstrates that many people in the LGBT+ community are united by their sexuality, but they are also united by love, and it is a love that they have fought for and won.
Playing on the series' title and the name of one of its two protagonists, contrary to the fading of day into twilight, the effervescent nature of young love is deftly captured in 'Last Twilight'.

PLOT
Day, a player on the Thai national youth badminton team, has begun to lose his sight after suffering a traffic accident. Faced with the impossibility of having a normal life, he accepts Mohk as his caregiver because he senses that Mohk does not feel sorry for him. As the young people begin to get to know each other and get closer, Day will know that in approximately 180 days he will lose his vision completely.
Day considers that his disability represents a burden on his family and society, as he is unable to take care of himself. Hence the need to have care personnel and supervision by a psychic. He believes himself incapable of living a successful life. That is why he permanently abandons his studies and sports, and withdraws from his friends, from whom he hides his blindness.
Day has been rejecting all of his previous caregivers, because he does not want a person by his side who treats him like a sick person and feels sorry for him. After losing much of his vision and thus his autonomy, Day begins to treat everyone with disdain and turns his warm and kind personality into a colder and more distant one. He practically lives locked in his room and maintains contact only with his mother, on whom he is very dependent, his brother and his friend On. He blames Night for the tragedy he experiences. He will meet his father, as he divorced his mother when Day was still a child and was raised without his father's presence.
“I don't know what he looks like, all I know is that Mohk is the only one who doesn't feel sorry for me. “It doesn't make me feel like a disabled person,” says the character played by Sea to those close to him, while Mohk reads him the novel that gives the series its title and they strengthen ties.
That's why Day opts for the mechanic who was involved in a fight and just got out of jail after serving a one-year sentence for a misdemeanor. He will hide the fact that he has a criminal record and that is why he cannot find work in his profession.
Mohk will understand the challenges that a blind person faces.
This is how Mohk will initially become Day's mentor, guide and protector. He understands, like no other person around him, his need to relate to the physical and social world. It teaches you techniques to orient yourself and move in space, as well as to acquire habits of personal autonomy. His primary priority is for Day to know and accept his visual situation. For this, communication and complicity between the two is vital. He judges that Day needs empathy from his peers, above all.
His eyes are going to be Day's eyes. Your voice gives you confidence. Mohk will be in charge of creating soundscapes that will allow Day to imagine the world around him. Their hands, intertwined or attached to the rope as they run, create an imperceptible route that Day automatically makes his own.
Mohk is the first to discover that he is in love, but he keeps his love a secret. Some of the reasons why Day may feel insecure about himself will be the same reasons why Mohk begins to love him.
This relationship will be tested when August, Day's friend, reappears and enters his life once again. The dormant feelings are reborn and Day will confess to Mohk that he has had feelings for his sports partner for a long time. Initially, the caretaker will help Day chase August, but August will end up recognizing that he sees Day as just a friend.
That's when Mohk will confess his love, but Day is still heartbroken. It needs time to heal. The bonds between the two protagonists will continue to strengthen as one cares and the other grows as a person, until Day finally opens up to love. Physical attraction will soon turn into a deeper emotional bond.
From two different worlds, although, at first glance, they do not seem to be the most suitable person for each other, little by little they will get along until they forge a friendship as solid as it is unexpected. This will give way to an unusual love relationship that makes sparks fly and light up the night.
Mohk would become to Day the same as the rose to Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's little prince: although it resembles the other roses in every way, his rose is unique because he has chosen it. And like the fox in that novel, it will allow itself to be “tamed” by its caretaker. Mohk will take responsibility for what he has tamed, while Day will take responsibility for his rose. The strategy used will be the same one proposed by the fox. They will sit on the floor at first a little far from each other. They will look at each other out of the corner of their eyes and say nothing. But every day they will be able to sit a little closer...
By domesticating it, then, they need each other. Mohk will be unique to Day, while Day will be unique in the world to Mohk. This is how Day will come to understand that happiness must be understood as a reward and not as an end. As the main character in 'The Little Prince', Day will understand that no one is ever happy where they are.
Mohk will be someone capable of taking care of everyone, not just Day. She recovers her sister's car, her only legacy when she died, and defends Pohjai from her abusive boyfriend and gives her shelter in her house. He will take care of her unborn child. Meanwhile, he will find work as a chef to prove that he can protect Day. Pohjai will become an accomplice in the passion shared by these two boys.
For Mohk there will only be one situation in which he feels unable to help his lover: he cannot save Day from completely losing her vision. Day will compensate, if it can be said that way, for his dedication and love, choosing his face as the last thing he sees before being totally blind. Mohk will cry out of rage and helplessness at not being able to help him under these circumstances. However, their destinies will be inextricably linked forever.
The trite phrase “love at first sight” has no place in the relationship between the mechanic turned caregiver and the blind athlete. In matters of love, the first has more experiences, while the second is a self-conscious person because, on the one hand, he has never been able to see the face of the boy he loves, and on the other, this is his first love experience, which he would have to add that the same is with a man.
The two characters are totally different, but that won't stop them from loving each other. In addition to the differences in social classes, one of them is still suffering from disappointment in love, while the other, a heterosexual boy who is very popular with women, is not happy because he has not been able to find the right person. They both need to regain the strength of love.
As they find love in each other, Day also gains independence, gaining self-confidence. That pathetic and pitiful person who believed that because of his disability he would be incapable of living a successful life, ceases to exist. In other words, stop being your own worst enemy. Smile again. Little by little, his bitterness will give way to joy and the desire to see all the sunrises.
But Day will face a dilemma: would he allow a beloved, free-spirited person like Mohk to end up tied to a disabled person? Was I being selfish? Wouldn't the right thing be to let him go so he can live his life without a burden like he is? “You want to push me aside even knowing that I love you. Grab your dreams and live them with me. Don't let them survive us,” is the message from Mohk, who sadly sees how the boy he loves abandons him. Will they travel different paths? Will the same love separate them? Will Day understand the meaning of the phrase “What is essential is invisible to the eye,” said by the fox to the little prince?

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I turn on my computer thinking that Li Xi, the young film director and producer from mainland China, at 27 years old, seven of them dedicated to her profession after enrolling in a degree in Directing at the Beijing Film Academy in 2017, already has his name written within the Chinese and global film universe after creating works such as the short film with a theme of young love "When the fish meet the sea", nominated in 2022 for the Sixth Pingyao Film Festival "A corner of Pingyao".
While I explore the internet to locate the LGBT+ themed series directed by Li Xi that I want to see, I remember that it also won other awards, such as Best Actress and Best Film at the + MADRAS + International Film Festival, Best Film at the Festival Sunbender International Film Festival and Best Film at the Diamond Bell International Film Festival. And even more recent, the success of his original children's dramatic short "The First Grade Under the Lens", from 2023.
I start downloading the first episode of the web series, original, like the rest of his work. "Passing Through the Blue of My Youth", that's what it's called and that's how I like it: download the file to view it when and how many times I want.
"It seems that Li Xi has joined so many other renowned Chinese filmmakers and television directors who have portrayed homosexuality in their films, series and short films, with works such as 'River Knows Fish Heart', 'East Palace, West Palace', 'Spring Fever', 'For Love, We Can', 'Looking for Rohmer', 'Wu Yan – Speechless', 'Shangai Panic', 'Kinematic Theory', 'The Ambiguous Focus', Boss, I Love You, Find You in the Crowd 2, Find You in the Crowd, Find You in the Dream', and many others", they had told me hours before in the Editorial Board, and I wanted to confirm it.
I sit in front of the computer with a steaming cup of coffee and prepare to watch the first four episodes. "Chinese national beauty! Tanmei! Two male protagonists! Two couples of boys in love! The passion and visual talent of the Chinese director were ideal to bring the series to fruition," I jumped for joy in my seat.
There's another reason I'm drawn to 'Blue Canvas of Youthful Days', I think, as I sip a sip of the fiery black liquid: it's one of those Chinese homosexual dramas that have become something more, a sociological phenomenon.
I remember the precedent of 'The Raccoon', the gay film by Tang Shi, starring Weng Hai Bin and Wu Di in 2015, about two young Chinese university students who live in the same student residence and meet through a mistake with a blanket, and after being declared enemies or adversaries they gradually discover a deeper connection that transcends the initial animosity.
Well, I have already settled into my seat, and the images begin to flow. Each episode is more than 27 minutes long, and Xi Li is not in such a hurry as I imagined, she takes her time, from the first scene to the last.
'Blue Canvas of Youthful Days' also evokes in me the Chinese drama film of the romance and yaoi genre 'Nan She Nan Fen' ('Hard to Give Up'), filmed in 2016 by Hisa Ho, an adaptation of the famous novel 'Men's Men's Points'. There is also a painter, Su He, about 30 years old, who is having an affair with the young Er Meng, his model for drawing artistic nudes, while he prepares for an important exhibition in Japan and another in China, with a collection of works with the title "Difficult to abandon" or "Difficult to give up."
He tells me about the romantic relationship that arises between Qi Lu and Qin Xiao. The first is a talented 18-year-old painter in his last year of high school, who comes from a rich family of artists, who is forced to learn to paint since childhood under the controlling influence of his father. The second is Qin Xiao, a village boy, two years older, living in the city and equally an artistic prodigy with paintbrush in hand. He did not enroll in a university degree at the time because he was burdened by family responsibilities and financial difficulties from an early age. Now he is determined to enter a house of higher education.
Despite his poverty, Qin Xiao is cheerful, brave, and optimistic, while Qi Lu is the reserved, quiet, and pessimistic type, due to his mother's absence and his father's abuse. However, there is a transformation in the character since he joins his life with that of Qin Xiao.
The crucial moment of the meeting of the two protagonists occurs around the first 20 minutes of the first episode, which is not much time for what really happens. However, Li Xi manages to make the time barely noticeable, thanks to the use of a beautiful city landscape, intelligent editing and a very effective use of my expectations, that I know what is going to happen but not when. This entire first act is used to introduce me to the two protagonists, but also to tell me where and how the fall in love between them occurs.
With great changes and unexpected turns, I come to know that by rebelling against strict education and a father who beats him, Qi Lu decides to secretly attend Bo Xa Art Studio, to complete his preparation before entering University. There, in the classrooms of the young master painter Liu Ming Yang (Yao Xing Hao), he meets Qin Xiao. Despite starting out as archenemies, the two quickly break the ice and form a bond.
The episodes go by and the series captivates me even more. In a plot twist, I witness that to Qi Lu's surprise, Qin Xiao turns out to be the online artist "Lan" (Blue) that he has been looking for. Feeling unintentionally responsible for a punishment imposed on Qin Xiao, Qi Lu struggles to muster the courage to confess that he has discovered his secret, but does not wish to upset the seemingly irritable Qin Xiao, whose personality seems to be totally different from that of the artist he admire.
Therefore, he chooses to approach Qin Xiao in the hope of becoming friends. As they break the ice and grow closer, Qi Lu and Qin Xiao weave an indestructible bond.
I find it very beautiful that while Qi Lu admits to being in love with Qin Xiao, this boy experiences the process of self-acceptance. So we will see him suffer, walk anguished, as if he had no direction in life and was stumbling, while exploring his feelings and emotions. It seems like he wants to hug and kiss Qi Lu, especially when he realizes that he suffers from physical and psychological abuse from his father, but an invisible power holds him back. Until when? Will the time come when he will spread his wings and fly free?
Music, especially the theme song "We" (我們), by Chinese arranger and composer Yan Er, helps to enhance and recreate this process that can be long, difficult and terrifying when a young person tries to keep their true self hidden from both others. others as well as himself.
Producers Wang Wen Yin and Li Jue Xuan ('Hi! My Mr. Right', 2023), also an actress who plays Sun Xiaorui, the only member of the young cast with experience in front of the cameras, pleasantly surprise me with the excellent music, perfectly combined with the canvases and the laughter of the two boys that I soon begin to hear.
Despite the appearance of various characters throughout the series, Qin Xiao, a role played by Zhang Xuan Yu, and Qi Lu, played by Guo Jia Le, are discovered as full protagonists who symbolize something much more allegorical such as affection, the warmth, the physical attraction of two young people who without realizing it discover their homosexuality.
Both actors get into the skin of their characters and do what only real actors can do: bring a fictional character to life.
The director's skill lies in the fact that she focuses the main plot on the narrative act of the protagonists' discovery and acceptance of their sexual orientation, while they intertwine a beautiful story of friendship in which painting plays a transcendental role. Xi Lin moves me by transmitting the joy and love that the protagonists feel, through subtle resources that are gradually exposed.
I enjoy a feeling of placidity and tenderness through the images, images where the protagonists themselves discover themselves visually small before the greatness of love and pictorial art that surround them.
One of the keys to this transmission of love towards the person who has burst into his life is achieved through the essential performance of Zhang Xuan Yu: saying with his eyes, with his gestures, with his silences, much more than what his express mouth. The actor builds a well-rounded character, full of security expressed through small doses of aggressiveness and tons of tenderness that the character carries in his chest; of a body language that is both rough and tender, very elaborate. He has suffered, but he also knows the love of his grandfather and his friend Tan Yin (Xiao Zi Zhuo), and the kindness of painting teacher.
This actor's role manages to captivate and excite me. The actor manages to give real life to the character by creating a character and personality of his own, something that not many actors achieve. The series has great moments, all of them loaded with moving drama, scenes such as when the character vents his pain against a brick wall at the possibility that his grandfather, with Alzheimer's, has suffered an accident, or when he cannot contain his tears when seeing him safely back after getting lost when leaving home to watch a game of street chess in a nearby park, or how symbolic a photograph taken on a day visiting the zoo can be, great moments starring Zhang Xuan Yu.
Against this, Guo Jia Le plays the role of someone more extroverted and sensitive. I see how he rebels against his father in the television interview after winning an important prize in a painting contest, or when he flees from abuse and finds not only refuge and a place for artistic creation in the classrooms where Qin Xiao studies.
However, although on the surface they are opposites, both have deep inside a great desire for freedom, self-improvement and love that each one is capable of transmitting through their perfect interpretations.
"How is it possible for these rookies to achieve such magnificent and memorable performances?", I ask myself as I pour myself some more coffee from the container in which it is still warm.
"And this other character, Wei Jiayu (Hu Ze Ming), who I thought was the typical abusive and problematic student and then turns out to be a good guy, while he joins forces with the protagonists and falls in love with the also haughty painting student Sun Xiaorui”?, this question arises in my head.
The series, as a corpus, is capable of germinating warm fragments of humanity, in which I discover the most vivid features of the human condition of LGBT+ people.
Its plot, populated by areas of light and shadows, with climate, nerve and dramatic meat, places its emotional core in everyday situations inhabited by real human beings - in all the extension and connotations of the term - who expose their intimate dramas in a very realistic, very natural tessitura, without forcing emotions or managing empathy at all costs through melodramatic underlinings or cheap script blows.
The series, although at a certain point it is not complete and still requires much more rigor in certain areas, deserves all my admiration. There is too much creative talent, dreams, and desire to do involved in its existence, to avoid or undermine it.
To the good character study of 'Blue Canvas of Youthful Days', add its fortunate acting defense. Its story progresses, in part, thanks to the reflections of its creators on very recognizable human conflicts in today's world, and thanks to its performers (it is impossible not to make a special mention here of the histrionic competence of Xiao Zi Zhuo, the actor who plays Qin Xiao's hearing-impaired friend and tenant, and who takes care of Qin Xiao's grandfather when he is in the classrooms at Bo Xa Art Studio, and Yao Xing Hao, who plays painting teacher Liu Ming Yang. These two characters will make up a second couple.
'Blue Canvas of Youthful Days' breathes art from all sides in a literal way. That is why its presentation and farewell cannot be any other way than through the application of the pictorial and photographic universe to cinematographic language in terms of color and shape, sharing a common grammar, fulfilling the requirement of imitating pictorial and iconographic values. to get closer to the artistic.
I turn off the computer thinking about Qin Xiao and Qi Lu. There is both love and pain in her story; It is as tender as it is sad and addictive, as happy as it is heartbreaking and romantic, that I think I will never be able to forget it.
I turn off the computer and my Internet connection. I look forward to the next episodes.
The leftover, untasted coffee has cooled in my hands.

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New trend: forming a main couple with star actors in JDramas?

When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade. And when life finally offers insecure and hesitant rookie actor Yuki Shirasaki (Taisuke Niihara) an important role in a television drama in which he must portray a homosexual character in a relationship with popular actor Asami Hayama (Komagine Kiita) as co-star , and given his inexperience in love, he decides to make the best of the situation... looking for a real experience.
This is how he goes to a gay bar with the aim of finding someone to sleep with to experience a full-fledged apprenticeship and to be able to incorporate the emotions acquired into the character to embody. There, he meets Hayama, his co-star in the television series, a superstar in the world of entertainment and modeling, who in college shared the same film study club with him.
How will Shirasaki react when Hayama offers him his body? What will happen between the kōhai and inexperienced in matters of love Shirasaki when the senpai Hayama proposes to form a "romantic relationship for the sake of character development" until filming concludes? What will happen between these two very different people when filming ends?
And, while Shirasaki gets to go through a lot of fake "official first moments" with Hayama—her first real kiss, her first real date, her first sexual encounter, her first role in a television series, her first leading role in a non-theatrical play or his "first coming out", he is surprised that among the lies, emotions flourish, feelings grow and they fall in love. In other words: what seems like a solid plan soon turns into emotional chaos that will lead them to…
The series raises questions about the nature of falling in love (is it a pure matter of instant chemistry or a difficult process of adaptation to the other?), the transition to adulthood and the acceptance of sexual identity.
Based on the manga series "25:00, in Akasaka" by Natsuno Hiroko ('25ji, Akasaka de' / 25時、赤坂で), first published on November 24, 2018 by Shodensha, the action adaptation real with the same name, is directed by Horie Takahiro ('Death Kyun Loop Wa Tomaranai!) and Kawasaki Ryo ('Minato Shouji Coin Laundry Season 2' and 'My Strawberry Film').
Based on a script written by Aso Kumiko, known for writing the script for 'Inochi Aru Kagiri Tataka e, So Shite Iki Nukunda', throughout the plot and the false courtship, the characters discover that love can arise even in the terrain of deception. The viewer might think that this is a classic tender story framed in a romantic comedy-drama, but in reality, it is full of script twists that exceed any expectations.
From the TV Tokyo channel, the series seeks to capture the audience with a formula that combines humor, drama and love through a pseudo-romantic relationship that off-screen leads to a touching and beautifully crafted love story that explores the complexities of relationships within the entertainment industry and between actors.
The cast is reinforced by renowned figures from Japanese cinema and television such as Takuma Usa, a figure known for his participation in other romantic dramas such as 'Kiss x Kiss x Kiss: Love ii Shower', 'Kiss × Kiss × Kiss: Melting Night' and 'Cool Doji Danshi'. Accompanying Usa in supporting roles is Shoma Nagumo, from 'Kiss x Kiss x Kiss: Love ii Shower' and 'Minato Shouji Coin Laundry'. The cast is completed with Atsushi Hashimoto, who began his acting career in 2004 in the film 'Water Boys 2'; Moemi Katayama, actress who in 2019 played the character of Kohiruimaki Himeko in the romantic series 'Ossan's Love: In the Sky', and Shinohara Yushin, known for his intervention in the film 'We Couldn't Become Adults', who together contribute memorable performances. It is, truly, a luxury cast.
I wonder: Will there come a time when they stop pretending that they are a couple and make it known that they ARE a couple? Will the student be a good apprentice to the sensei?
If someone asked me: What is so special about the series?, I would answer:
- Shows the non-stereotypical or stigmatized image of the homosexual man and same-sex relationships with the purpose of achieving significant changes in the conservative, patriarchal and heteronormative Japanese society.
- The right decision to make the main couple with two acting stars, since Japanese romantic dramas of the LGBT+ genre usually pair a popular, experienced actor with one less known to the public. Apparently, producers and creators of the genre are seeking to implement a new trend, if we take into account that in the recently concluded 'Sukiyanen Kedo Dou Yaro ka' (2024) they also paired two experienced actors who enjoy great popularity, such as Kan Hideyoshi and Nishiyama Jun.
- The use of monologue through which the characters define their traits and the audience can get to know their most intimate thoughts without the need for a narrator to intervene.
- The respect, passion and sincerity of the members of the artistic-technical teams to the original work.
- The forced plot does not take away from the magic of a leading couple that brims with chemistry and dialogues that manage to convey more than one substantial reflection.
- The two protagonists are very funny in this drama with characters that one represents maturity and experience and the other "first-time" naivety in all areas, both in love and sexual matters to those concerning his work as a novice actor.
- Although the script presents the same tricks as many other series of the genre, the truth is that '25ji, Akasaka de' has shares of originality in the evolution and outcome of the plot.
- The value of friendship, of the camaraderie of coworkers and students to help the two protagonists manage the complex emotions that will accompany them throughout the plot, focused on building the love relationship of Shirasaki and Hayama , their successful participation in a television series, and that both discover their authentic selves.
- Taisuke Niihara and Komagine Kiita play a seemingly impossible couple who will have to force themselves to have an initially non-existent chemistry, because they are unknown people chosen in a casting to play two protagonists of a television drama.
- The disturbing innocence of the entire approach.
- The purity of characters who grow without "corrupting", clinging to their first loves and unusual experiences on a film set.
- Its light narrative and good performances hook you from the first frame, making it a fun series.
- A series with a concept developed and outlined as a drama and not as a comedy.
- '25ji, Akasaka de' shows a series of circumstances that could hardly happen to its characters, always maintaining the premise that dramatic moments in real life are usually interspersed with humorous moments.
- The creators wanted there to be a certain honesty in the script and that the actors did not have to react intentionally to the planned moments of humor.
- With the dosage of humor and a choreography of gestures that also extends to intelligent and elegant compositions of shots, those responsible for the series achieve the very complicated task of getting each of the decisions made right.
- The music, the smoothness of the camera movements, the ease of provoking different emotions in the viewer and the palpable complicity of a well-rounded cast make the experience of the episodes something special.
- A series that from the pilot episode captivates the viewer and the illusion that the balance is not lost and those responsible are overcome in the following chapters full of disparate occurrences and interesting situations.
- The idea of ​​a closing with a delicate and tender musical sweep.
- Having two directors with extensive experience in the world of entertainment, whose experiences also as writers combined with the skill and vast writing craft of the accredited screenwriter could perfectly outline both the narrative discourse and the staging or production.

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