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...
The drama takes place over 24 or so hours in the life of 7 (or maybe 8) gay or bisexual men and youths. Different story lines are juggled and the various characters find their lives engaging with others - often by the most spurious and improbable of coincidences. I will try to sum up what I remember.
Will and Gavin are getting married after gay marriages became legal. Their waiter Alfie gets Will's attention and Will tries to get in his pants. Will resists but doesn't wrk. WIll gives him his number and his ring. That night Alfie goes to a bar. Terry hits on him but Alfie ignores him. Later that night Terry goes with a guy but ends up hitting and beating him bad. 14 year old Theo who is just discovering his sexuality is waiting for his parents to go to a party so that he can masturbate while watching his neighbor Tim whom he has occasionally seen in the library. Tim is rumored to be a pedophile. Robin, a screenwriter being rejected an offer of a gay film goes to a public bathroom where he s flashed and propositioned by another man but some other guys interrupt him. Robin later meets the man at a party where Theo's parents are also invited. The other guy actually finished his job in the bathroom with another man and he later saw some gay bashers running after Alfie. Alfie is killed. Robin asks the guy to come clean but he refuses fearing his social status. When Alfie was dying, Terry look the ring from him. During one of his encounters, he gets beaten up badly and lands up to a doctor who is Gavin. Gavin sees the ring and realizes that Will is not being honest. Theo finally meets Tim. They have a rough animal sex. Oh! meanwhile there is also clips of this lower class black boy learning violin but always living in fear that he will be bashed by other street smart ghettos and the film actually ends with pieces of the violin.
The story is confusing but it was interesting how small pieces were interconnected to each other. I found the whole thing very fascinating. The intimate scene between Theo and Tim is easily the best scene in the film. There is so much tension in the scene that you can actually feel it. The film was not perfect. There were lots of questions unanswered but I guess the whole point of the film was just to show that how still homophobia exists in the people's mind and how some people still lead double lives. I struggled a little bit with the thick british accent but it was ok.
Very much recommended for lovers of good cinema. (7/10)
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