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Journey With You (Chinese Series)

By Golu
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...
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Sibak (Filipino) [Midnight Dancers]

By Golu
This was such a weird film in every sense. I have not seen so many people in a movie being ok with sexuality. A wife being completely ok with her husband having a boyfriend, a mother ok with her sons being call boys, 3 brothers dancing naked together etc etc. The list goes on. The director probably wanted to show us what some of the poor lower class people have to go through to make their needs meet in life but he could have shown that in a much nicer way in which viewer will empathize with characters a little bit. This is not to say that film was bad but it could have been treated better.

Sonny and his older brothers, Dennis and Joel work as go-go boys in a sleazy sex emporium called the Club Exotica whose upstairs cubicles are reserved for paid assignations. Through prostitution, the boys are able to keep their closely knit family from starving. The 3 brothers essentially think of themselves as heterosexuals but do not mind doing things to get some money. Joel has a wife and child; he and Dennis are saving money to buy back lost family land. Sonny has dropped out of university and sees dancing as a way to make money for now. Joel has a regular boyfriend as well; Sonny spends time with Michelle, a transvestite; Dennis and his pals steal car radios. Most of the movie revolves around the brothers and the family's struggle to meet their needs. Their life changes when they give shelter to a young boy who turns out had some gang connection. In the process, Dennis gets killed and to take revenge the 2 brothers kill 2 guys and now they have to run from their family to hide themselves. As the film ends, Sonny observes that although people say that when men prostitute, they dont lose anything, but he doesn't agree. He definitely feels that something is lost.

First some negatives. I do not understand why did the director have to focus os much on the actual dancing and club scenes. We understood what's going on the first time but to show that again and again was not really adding to the whole crux of the story. And then again, everyone in the family taking things so lightly was a little odd. Maybe I just don't understand some cultural aspects. On a positive note, I thought the scenes between Joel and his boyfriend were handled very nicely and sensitively. The homosexual element is not really the main focus.It depicts a general working class family's daily life. Its just hard to digest when the brothers repeatedly identify themselves as straight, why does Joel have a boyfriend and Sonny dates a transvestite.

The film was sometimes engrossing but most of the other times would make you feel as if you are in a club with not much happening with the story. (4.5/10)
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