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...
I had heard of the film first time in Philly LGBT film festival but couldn't see the film. So I was excited now when The film is finally out on dvd. I kind of knew the basic plotline but I was a little disappointed when I saw the final product.
Mark has died in a car accident. His best friend Jeff is taking care of his stuff. He checks his emails and finds out that a guy named Andrea was about to visit him from Italy. Jeff is surprised that he doesn't know anything about Andrea. With his regular correspondence with Andrea, Jeff finds out that they had met online about an year ago and have been in regular touch. This would have been their first visit in person. Since Andrea had already booked his tickets, he decides to come anyway. They eventually meet, where they extend their e-mail exchanges into more personal and intimate conversations. They talk about their respective countries, their jobs, their families, their lives. Mostly, they talk about Mark. What began as a tragedy that linked two strangers from different ends of the world becomes a deeply realized friendship. In the process Andrea also realizes that maybe Jeff had feelings for Mark. The film ends with Andrea going back to Italy with an invitation to Jeff to visit.
The film sounds simple and believe me, it had nothing more than what I mentioned above. The film's direction was fine but it was too dark. A little more money on lighting etc would have been better. Performance wise, the actors were just ok. You know how sometimes you know they are acting. They know what's coming up. Thats how I felt. It didn't seem natural.
Still not a bad watch. I have seen much much worse. (5.5/10)
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