Vertical BL dramas have been a rough ride for me so far, toxic dynamics, humiliating tropes, the whole package. This one was a breath of fresh air compared to that, even though the story has been done to death at this point. Every production company seems to be muscling into vertical drama content right now, and LGBTQ+ is a big enough market that they're all going all in. Kit and River come from completely different worlds but were friends as kids. Kit was the son of River's family's helper. They lost touch and ended up in totally separate social circles in high school. Kit is openly gay, creative, and pretty much an outsider in the school's social order. River plays the confident popular athlete. River is about to fail his guitar class and can't afford that, so he goes to Kit and asks for tutoring, offering protection from bullies in exchange. The more time they spend together the clearer it gets that River has genuine feelings for Kit and starts flirting. Kit does...
A glance leads to a smile, a smile to a rendezvous: every love story begins the same way. At the center of it all, from what I understood, this Arab love story is about a group of men trying to navigate a polyamorous relationship. Three men in a relationship and what each oof them thinks about it, how they got into it, how the meetings happened, what the other person thought, the communication that happened or didn't happen is all talked through various montages and monologues. There is never a straight forward conversation. In between all this, we have all kinds of other monologues from guys on how they met their lover, their hook up ,what happened later etc etc.
Filmed against green screens that allow for a joyous color palette, the central narrative of three lovers and the tensions of polyamorous relationships is interlaced with homoeroticized traditional fantasies (like mermen), dialogues about flirtatious encounters, and renditions of Egyptian and Lebanese songs. Animation, drag performers, stereotyped porn scenarios (photographer and model, mechanic and client) and a moving monologue to a dead lover are entwined in a manner that speaks to the fulness of queer Arab communities. The film celebrates sexuality by making it both familiar and sexy, whether through physical encounters or a dialogue about the sparks generated by a casual meeting at a party. Even though rooted in Egyptian culture, the stories all sound very familiar like descriptions of parties, the self-analysis and emotional vulnerability. The central story, of a guy whose preference for polyamorous relationships creates tensions with his two lovers, is universal but made region-specific by language, song and cultural markers, ensuring a recognizable form of representation that’s more than refreshing, it’s revolutionary. This is an intriguing mix of artistry, eye candy and camp, though the lack of a more unified narrative can be a tad frustrating. Thankfully it is just over an hour, but will clearly not be everyone's cup of tea. I myself was frustrated at times but somehow the visual representation, the songs all kept my interest. Perhaps the best way to enjoy this one is to simply sit back and let this one wash over you and not think it too much. (5.5/10)
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