Vietnamese shows can really be a hit or a miss, and this one was no exception. The plot definitely had some good ideas, but it felt like they dragged it out way longer than necessary. Honestly, they could have finished the whole thing in eight episodes, but instead, we had to sit through fourteen installments that were 35 minutes each—and the finale was almost an hour long! Also, I’ve got to say, the "amnesia" trope is getting so old in the BL world. Writers really need to find some fresh ideas. The story is about Viet, a young artist who is going through a really rough time. He’s lost his parents, gets picked on by his boss, and eventually quits his job. To make things worse, his boyfriend has been ghosting him, and when Viet finally goes to see him, he finds out the guy has moved on to someone else without even bothering to break up with him. His only support is a female friend who sticks by him through everything. To clear his head, Viet heads to a quiet mountain village a...
Ekaj, a sixteen year, gender fluid person has an abusive boyfriend who just uses him and Ekaj somehow can't see it. Things change when he meets Mecca who takes him under his care. Mecca has AIDS and multiple problems of his own. He is high all day, stays occasionally with his cousin but still manages to be the only voice of reason in Ekaj’s hopeless world. They cruise the city together looking for money and places to stay, which includes meeting prospective clients where Ekaj gets forced into prostitution and sometimes rape. Their relationship develops into true love and care for each other. With passing time as Mecca gets sicker, Ekaj starts to become less vulnerable and stronger.
A film like this laced in realism with no professional actors is a gamble, which didn't pay off in my opinion. Mecca was good in his portrayal , but the innocence and grit and confusion needed was somehow missing in Ekaj's performance. The presentation of a marginalized community of people who have bene probably thrown out o house , belong to LGBTQIA community and need to survive, is a topic that's never easy. It shows reality and not entertainment and this is what this film does as well. Not just another portrait of life on the mean streets, it is also a study of sexuality that rings extremely true in todays shifting cultural climate, where the LGBTQ community continues to evolve, now, more than ever, within a media saturated aesthetic. This is independent cinema with low budget trying their best to make a point, except it just did not work for me. Had the film known that it is going somewhere, with something concrete to say, I would have connected more with it. (3.5/10)
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