I honestly think this might be the first time I’ve actually enjoyed a proper horror BL. I’ve checked out a few others in the past, but they usually felt a bit unpolished or amateurish—I can’t even remember their names, to be honest. This one is definitely a slow-burn rather than a fast-paced romance, tucked away inside a world of supernatural mysteries and fantastic secrets. You can tell the production is high-quality and well-researched; it feels like the creators really pushed themselves to give the audience something fresh. If you’re into BLs mixed with suspense and ghost stories, this is right up your alley. Just a heads-up: it’s a massive time investment. There are 12 episodes, each over 75 minutes, and the finale is basically a two-hour movie. The story follows Khem, a young guy in his twenties whose life is getting harder by the second because of a heavy family curse that lets him see ghosts. There’s this terrifying rule in his family where the boys don’t live past age 20, so hi...
Staff Sergeant Logan Ireland loves serving in the dangerous Kandahar province in Afghanistan. When the film opens, his fellow troops don’t know he’s trans. As he says, “What I like about the deployment is I can be my authentic self,” including growing a wispy mustache. His scratchy mustache is an issue for his girlfriend Laila, an Army Corporal. Her family had a difficult time accepting her transition, but she was more devastated when she realized that the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” did not apply to the T in LGBT. Captain Jennifer Peace escaped a troubled family life by joining the military. She says “I love being military. It gave me a home.” And finally, El Cook is an Army First Lieutenant. He wears his hair in a long ponytail, just in case he is required to present himself as a woman. All four are members of SPART*A, (spartapride.org), an organization for current or former trans members of the military and they manage to get a meeting with top officials in Pentagon. From there, the movie tracks the elation of the four service members when the military trans ban is repealed by President Obama, their despair when President Trump attempts to reinstate the ban and the current state of limbo they live in as the issue works its way through the court system.
The opening title reads: “Despite the ban, there are an estimated 15,500 transgender people currently serving in the military. This makes the U.S. military the largest employer of transgender people in America.” The makers highlight the importance of the military’s heavily gendered rules and regulations for appearance and the impact these codes have on trans service members. As the ban on open transgender service continues its battle in the courtroom, the film builds empathy, increases validation, and breaks down stereotypes. Without preaching, "TransMilitary" paints a vivid portrait of the everyday struggle for acceptance faced by transgender people. By focusing on individual stories, the film makes the argument for the rights of trans people with heart, soul and compassion. Expertly edited, the documentary interweaves the four subjects’ lives complete with statistics & research to paint a wholistic and engaging picture. Personal, familial, and professional hardships are explored, but it's TransMilitary’s stories of the brave transgender military service members and veterans that ultimately elevates the documentary from mere analysis to a compelling and emotionally moving portrait. (6.5/10)
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