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Journey With You (Chinese Series)

By Golu
I've always had kind of a love hate relationship with Chinese historical BLs. Some are genuinely excellent, but then there are others that cram in so much plot that keeping track of all the layers of betrayal and scheming gets exhausting, and I end up checking out mentally. Part of the issue is also just how much content is out there in this space, so something really has to stand out to keep me hooked. In this case, the production value is genuinely impressive, top tier stuff, but story wise, I just couldn't bring myself to actually care about these characters. There's a ton of political scheming and backstage manipulation running throughout. Somewhere in the middle of all that chaos, a hostage ends up falling for his own Prince Charming. The show runs eight episodes, each around 50 to 60 minutes long. After spending three years guarding the border, Fifth Prince Yin Qi gets called back to the capital because of a secret letter, only to end up walking straight into a deadly...
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Ai qing wan sui (Taiwan) [Vive L'Amour]

By Golu
This was such a ridiculous movie. The first thing I read someone's review online was that it is one of the director's best film dealing with contemporary loneliness and alienation. BS !! This was crap, boring and utterly annoying. Viewers just keep waiting and waiting for something to happen but almost never nothing happens.

In Taipei, a middle-aged real estate agent, May Lin, goes about her daily routine of putting up signs, inviting potential customers to an open house, then sitting and waiting for them in empty apartments as the hours drag by. Hsiao-kang, a young gay man who sells wall space for burials, soon finds the key to an apartment being shown by May Lin and moves in. When May Lin meets Ah-jung a slick street vendor of women's clothes during a lunch break, they coyly size each other up, then use the apartment for casual sex. Ah-jung, unaware of Hsiao-Kang's presence, takes the key from May Lin and also moves in. The characters live an existence surrounded by silence, unwilling or unable to reach out to each other, living in the empty spaces. They spend their time aimlessly, drinking beers, smoking cigarettes, and just watching the time pass. When May Lin comes to the apartment to rest, the two clandestine guests forge an alliance to avoid being seen. In an unforgettable sequence, Hsiao-Kang hides under the bed masturbating while May and Ah-jung make love directly on top. After May leaves, the young man crawls into bed with the sleeping Ah-jung craving to kiss him. The film ends with each member lonely staring at a park in the city.

In a movie of more than one and a half jour, there is very minimal dialogue. Scenes just go on and on without anything happening at all. The film then abruptly ends. No point. No entertainment. Just pure, concentrated torture inflicted on the viewer.

Pleading again to not give crap in the name of art-house cinema. (0/10)
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Pitbullshark said…
While I understand that filmmakers wish to have the freedom to make "artistic" films or express a certain vision or mood that they feel like sharing, I think in the long run, whether they like it or not, they HAVE to think commercially. It might behoove them to ask themselves, "Is this a film that anybody else would actually really want to see?" If not, then they shouldn't waste the money or the time (their time and money, and the audience's). I, myself, wouldn't want to spend time shooting arrows at a target I couldn't even see. "Oh, it's just fun to shoot them." No, it is not...the point is to hit a target, achieve a bullseye. If a film is one that somebody else will want to see, THEN it is a target your arrow has hit, otherwise it is just empty space. So, I guess the often-maligned "studio execs" (who green-light or reject film projects) actually serve a valuable purpose!
July 17, 2011 at 6:57 AM
Golu said…
Couldn't agree 100% with you on this one
July 17, 2011 at 10:02 PM
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