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Soul Mate (Japanese Series)

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...

Johns

This is a metaphorical story about people's dreams as they search for themselves and some meaning to life. Unfortunately, not much of those metaphors were interesting enough to hold my attention. It seems like people enjoyed this movie but for me, it didn't do much. 

Its Christmas Eve and John, a male prostitute has a plan for Christmas which also happens to be his birthday. He wants to make enough money so that he can stay in a luxurious hotel for one night. John works on a street in Santa Monica Blvd in LA trying to make money. One of his close associates is a friend of his barely 18 who left home because he was gay. Interestingly John is not gay. He has a girlfriend. Throughout the film we meet his clients, his friends, his enemies, and we are a voyeur to the problems he faces in his line of work. He's a likeable chap. In al this he also has a $300 dollar loan that he has to pay back to a drug dealer. The film continues to show us what happens in the life of John in that one day. The day is sooooo long in the film, yet John's shortage of the stuff keeps up the tension and sympathy, especially as he allows himself to take bigger risks, and the viewer knows it, as the camera indicates visual clues as to his possible next chapter in the day. David Arquette plays the character of John with total honestly. I think I was able to watch the film only because of that. Otherwise the film had not much to offer. The character of his young gay friend was also not clearly sketched. He liked John but John had no feelings for him. And randomly there were a lot of characters being introduced which would affect the flow. Way below average for my taste. (2.5/10)

Comments

Anonymous said…
I think you might have rated this one too highly... I do not own this one I think I got to see it on like IFC or something. Did not really do much for me at all.
Golu said…
I sometimes rate it just for visual appeal of lead characters :)

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