This is the second vertical AI BL drama I've sat through, and honestly I went in knowing better. I had it on while I was doing cardio at the gym, and what struck me was just how much the plot echoed the last one I watched. Same step brother romance angle, same mystery girlfriend showing up near the end, same extra guy pining after one of the leads. Genuinely the only thing going for it was the runtime, the whole thing wrapped up in forty five minutes flat. The setup kicks off with Finn moving schools because his mom just married into money. He finds out his new step brother Aiden goes to the same place, and he's warned to keep his distance from him. Their first run in at school is rocky, just like you'd expect, but there's this odd pull between them neither can shake off. Finn keeps telling himself not to read into it because Aiden's straight and openly homophobic. Things shift when some kids start bullying Finn and the student council president, Ryan, steps in to ...
Sherwin, a lawyer by profession and Paolo, an indie film director have been in a relationship for a few years. Still dwelling on a cheating episode by Paolo more than a year ago, they are still together. But when Paolo suggests that they should get married, Sherwin refuses the proposal because he knows that the law of marriage here in the Philippines was only for men and women couples and as a lawyer he must abide by the law. We meet Paolo's family who are every welcoming of Sherwin as his partner and all his well, but things are different with Sherwin's family. They both are in Sherwin's hometown for his teenage sister's wedding. For his family and friends, Paolo is a 'close' friend. He has been raised in a conservative, middle class family and has been the primary bread winner; so he doesn't want to disappoint anyone by telling people he is gay. Before, during and after the wedding ceremony, Paolo and Sherwin see more clearly how they stand in the public eye, and make very important decisions about their own relationship. Paolo is mad that Sherwin can't take a stand but Sherwin is more dedicated to his family and surprises Paolo by telling him he is moving to Europe for further studies.
Personally, for me, I can understand point of view of both the guys and have empathy for both and hence it is hard to judge if either of them is right or wrong. You feel bad for Paolo, who was all ready to propose to Sherwin but seeing his and his family's attitude throws away the rings. But I also understand where Sherwin is coming from between his love for Paolo, his dedication to work and his family’s point of view about marriage. These are all important but how to prioritize. The situation is tricky because of the circumstances why why the teenage sister is getting married. The wedding festivities take up almost half the film and we get to see some every interesting traditions of the Filipino wedding.The two actors actually did a very good job as actors and are easy on the eyes too. Sherwin as the more pragmatic and Paolo as more emotional one, they share a good chemistry and try to engage us in their world with a balanced point of view. But there were certain scenes that go on and on forever. For example there is an almost 15 minute long sex scene in the beginning, which is good to show the couple's chemistry but was it necessary to have it for so long? Maybe they were important for us to establish where the duo stands as a couple but there were times it did test my patience. The film does get engaged into a very good discussion on various aspects of relationships, love and commitment, but does get very wordy.
Overall the film is another example and viewpoint of why gay people are treated as threat to society in some countries. Everyone deserves to live freely and equally with whatever gender the prefer, but sometimes the society and surroundings does not make it easy. (6/10)
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