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Soul Mate (Japanese Series)

By Golu
Is this technically a gay show? Even after getting through the whole thing, that's still kind of tricky to answer. There's never any physical intimacy shown between the two leads, not even a single kiss. What it gives you instead is something that goes way deeper than that. It traces an emotional bond that spans a full decade between two guys who are both dealing with their own baggage, and what they share basically amounts to being soulmates. The story moves across Japan, South Korea, and Berlin. Honestly, whether people want to call what they have a romantic relationship or not doesn't really matter to me. A relationship doesn't need a label like boyfriends attached to it to actually mean something. And closeness doesn't need to be physical to feel genuine. What this show captures is something quieter but way more powerful, a bond rooted in understanding, respect, and just showing up for each other. Across eight episodes, each running 35 to 45 minutes, this is one...
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Avril (French)

By Golu
Let me clarify some things first. This is not a gay film. One of the main characters happens to be gay. Thats about it. The film does not focus on his sexuality nor does it judge him or people around him by it. Even though the character is gay, it is shown as if it is absolutely normal and that no more value should be given to the gay aspect.

Avril is an orphan girl who has grown up with nuns in a remote village. She is very fond of painting but can't pursue her passion because of her surroundings. The head sister decides that now she needs to give herself completely to lord and as part of the process she will have to live in seclusion for 2 weeks but one other nun who has always looked out for Avril tells her that wen the church found her, she also had a brother who was given to an orphanage and maybe during these 2 weeks Avril should go look for him and then decide what she wants to do with her life. She runs from there and meet a very helpful man Pierre who helps her find her brother. She meets her brother David and his boyfriend Jim at a beach where they have been vacationing. After knowing the truth David and Avril want to know more about each other and spend time with each other. Avril slowly comes out of the shell with support from David, his lover and Pierre who likes her but would not do anything to ruin whats between them. He even pursues her to paint more. We slowly see Avril's growth from a shy church girl who is scared of water to eventually going nude in ocean but there is nothing vulgar about it. The scene shows her coming out of the shell she has been living. Towards the end of 2 weeks she comes back to her church with the 3 men. The good sister meets them again and we are tld a secret that she happens to be the mom of both the kids and why it happened what happened. When the head nun finds out she gets crazy and attempts to kill the serious nurse thereby injuring Avrill who ultimately gets well. In the process the kids and the mother get closer and Avril finds love in Pierre.

Like I mentioned before, My favorite part was not putting gayness or David being gay anything special or out of normal. You would assume that a church girl would be shocked to find her brother gay but her reaction is very normal to meet his lover. Even Pierre's equation with Avril and the 2 men is very heartening. It feels warm to see that things can be normal if you try to portray them that way. The film is little slow but it grows on you. There is a warmth , a coolness , a certain 'thehraav' about it which is instantly likable.

I loved the movie and if you by now know the kind of movies I like, you would like this too except dont expect any cheap gay stuff. This one is for emotions. (6/10)
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