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...
Although this is just a 30 minute short film, it definitely deserved a separate entry in my blog. 'Cute' was the first word when I was 5 minutes in the film and it ended the same way. In between it had its bittersweet moments but in my opinion a very well handled overall theme. The interactions and relationships between two individuals who are very different from each other in every which way be it age, likes, sexual orientation and how it ends. The film is kind of 3 acts and shows the three summers over a span of 3 years. Jørgen lives abroad, but every summer he comes back to Denmark with his wife. He invites, as usual, his neighbours and their teenager son,Thomas, for dinner at his place. Only, this time there is a strange tension in the air between the adults. After dinner, Jørgen and Thomas go to the beach for a walk. They discover that both have secret problems, and the fact they cannot talk about them is creating great stress. They decide to share a secret each. Thomas tells he is gay and Jørgen says that he wants to divorce his wife. With this a new friendship begins. Its the second summer now and Jørgen, now divorced invites his neighbors again. Thomas stays back to hang out with Jørgen. They are generally chit-chatting and the night ends up in them having sex. Finally , the third summer comes. Jørgen has met a new girl and is very happy with her and is having a party with his friends. Thomas shows unannounced. Jørgen freaks out but all Thomas wants is a final kiss for the sake of keeping each other's secret. Initially hesitant, Jørgen finally complies and Thomas leaves him very peacefully and quietly.
How over the course of three summers, a friendship starts and how the relationship develops is shown in such a beautiful manner. The first time they both share a secret was such a nice, simple scene. It could have been from anyone's life when people much more comfortable sharing secrets with strangers. The intimate scene in the second summer was also handled with sensitivity but it was the finale which was superb. Some people might judge the fact that a middle age man is getting sexual with a teenage boy but you need to see the whole chemistry with an open mind. How Jørgen is scared, how Thomas is heart-broken but then finally they are both at peace by just a simple kiss. They both know they need to move on and they do.
One of the best short films that I have seen. Wonderful. (8.5/10)
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