Skip to main content

The Most Peaceful Place (Vietnamese Series)

By Golu
Had I seen this BL back in 2021 when it came out, I might have a slightly more appreciation for the show than what I have right now. And to be honest, as of today, I don't really have much to say about the show. It just made me realize how basic were the stories that were being told in BL context from most Asian countries and makes me appreciate how we have grown both in terms of storytelling and the production efforts that are going in every year to make these stories bigger and better. This series was 6 episodes of about 25-30 minutes each and honestly was all over the place.

The basic premise is between Phuc and Tung who share a on-again-off again relationship. Phuc is staying with his cousin in countryside. When Tung visits his parents who are neighbors, they are not home so Tung ends up staying with Phuc. They were likley boyfriends or had feelings before, but Tung is a bit envious and jealous by nature. He once saw Phuc hugging another boy, who was Tung's brother and since then he has sort of been resentful with Phuc. And as a second couple we see that Phuc's cousin has a secret crush on Tung's brother, who I was never sure on whom he has a crush on. It seemed as if he was always into Phuc but when he sees that he is in relationship with Tung, he sort of gave up. The secondary couple of two brothers banter back and forth with one another without either one ever really confessing that they like each other. They pretend that they do not but are inseparable. All these folks move to Saigon for various reasons and live together. Phuc befriends his neighbor, a good looking guy who takes a liking for Phuc. Oblivious to this fact, Phuc, because of his nice nature, make friends with him, but this new guy plays all kind of dirty mind games so that he can get Phuc and Tung break up, which they eventually do since Tung himself is the jealous types. Eventually the misunderstand is clear and Phuc and Tung make up with both confessing their love for one another and that they will never hide anything from each other again and never say ‘good-bye’ to each other. The secondary couple also finally admit to each other that they like one another. 

It is obviously a low-budget production and is not particularly developed to advance any significant depth to the characters. So as mums it felt almost a torture to watch he show 4 years later, it is nice to see stories and production companies doing more for audiences all around. Coming back to this series, the editing was particularly bad. The show would randomly, all the time, just cut to some flashback sequence, which a lot of times would not make sense. Also, it was never clearly mentioned whether Tung's brother was also into Phuc or not because at a lot of places, thats what the case seemed to me. Even acting was pretty basic for me, which I would mostly blame the director. I have seen the lead actor playing Phuc in many other shows, so I know he is a decent one, but I guess he also evolved over time. I guess the show wanted to put forward that its al about communication when you are in a relationship. The primary couple never talked openly and honestly leading to misunderstandings while the secondary couple never felt brave enough to confess their feelings. But the big problem is that there is not enough time to develop the characters with any real sense of depth to them and therefore, I just did not enjoy or appreciate it overall. (3/10)
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Shortest Distance is Round 3: Fallen Flowers

By Golu
Continuing with the weird trilogy of "The Shortest Distance", I am so glad that finally I am done with part 3 and won't have to deal with this again in future. Thankfully, as of now the makers have not announced any further parts; which will save all of us on this earth from the embarrassment of watching this in near future. After the first 10 minutes are used in sort of recapping bits of first two parts, the story moves forward. Haruto is now starting to have feelings for Ruka, the mysterious pole dancer from second part. In a fit of rage, Ruka ends up killing the goat man and to save him and Haruto, Shibahara asks them to go underground. Meanwhile Shibahara continues the search for Seiya (the guy who had cut off Haruto's penis). It turns out Seiya is now also taking care of the original club owner from part 1. Both of them were released after they had informed Shibahara of Aoyama's secret location. Shibahara tortures Seiya's boyfriend leading to Seiya killin...
5 comments
Read more

Sei no Gekiyaku (Japanese) [Dangerous Drugs of Sex]

By Golu
Every person has their own unique way of dealing with loss. This film is as much a psychological thriller as it is a soft porn BDSM portrayal of two young men that makes the film overall horrifying as well as humane. It is really hard to describe the genre of this film in one word. Its important not that the film has some really disturbing scenes so if you go into seeing this film, please proceed with caution. Although any sexual non-consensual activity is not ok, this film has its won strange way of showing that suicide is not the only solution to all life's problems. Makoto is a regular office goer, who just finds out that his girlfriend is probably cheating on him. ON top of it, his parents sudden death coming back from a trip that he forced them to take, he gets completely dejected and decides to commit suicide. Unknown to him, he is saved by mysterious man Yoda Ryoji, and he wakes up finding himself tied up in leather and belts in a very BDSM setting. This mysterious saver soo...
3 comments
Read more

One Summer Night (Korean)

By Golu
I really wanted to like this film but for non native speakers, these movie leaves a lot to be understood and the way scenes were unfolding in front of me, I wasn't sure many times what was really going on. The story had potential button getting any back story on any of the characters limited my ability to empathize with any of these actors. Film starts with two North Korea military guys Yong Joon and Jae Sung having sex and they are caught red handed and they run. Three years later we see Yong Joon in Seoul leading a very mundane and poor life. He has a boyfriend Tae-Kyu, who is a weird guy. He is carefree, doesn't do any work and is completely emotional and financially dependent on Young Joon. In fact, even Yong Joon will go to any lengths to protect him , fend for him and taking care of him to the extent of even taking up prostitution. Suddenly one day Jae Sung appears in their life again. His motivation is not clear but it is obvious he wants Yong Joon back in his life, who ...
Post a Comment
Read more