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...
A Little Comfort is a bright, pleasant French coming-of-age tale about a young man who falls for his "straight" male friend. Now how many times have we heard of similar plot but he good thing about this one is that it is done in a romantic and a short span of time which makes it even more believable.
Arnaud is a young teenager coping with his attraction to the popular hunk Guillaume who has a steady girlfriend. Arnaud imitates his idol trying cigarettes, alcohol and sex, finds a girlfriend, but when both girls leave their beaus, Guillaume (whose suicidal mother is hospitalized and who has no other family) seeks refuge with Arnaud. Arnaud's mother is more than happy to have his 'best friend' stay with them when Guillaume's temporary foster father has to leave town on business for several weeks. At last, in a comfort zone, away from the outside world, Arnaud and Guillaume bond, fall in love, and actually fit into the society that they feared would ostracize them..or..is this little tale merely the acting out of a dream for the tender little Arnaud....it is up to you the audience to decide. Films such as this serve the intelligence of the film audience well. In concluding we can only hope that the angel of a cyclist who appears at film's end is there to provide much more than just 'a little comfort' to our Arnaud. He deserves it.
The actors are all cute and make for nice eye candy. The acting itself is believable and you particularly feel the genuine longing of the young man for his friend. ... This short 36-minute film had the potential to be expanded into a full-length feature that would have provided the opportunity to develop the engaging plot further. (6/10)
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