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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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Walang Kawala (Filipino/Tagalog) [No Way Out]

By Golu
Sometimes intentions behind a film are good. The plot is good, direction is ok, acting is decent, but still there is something that gets missed in connecting with the audience. Focussing on a very important issue of human trafficking and sexual slavery , there are ups and downs in the story telling. There are moments that you connect and are totally there with the characters and then there are other times, when you just feel things are just not going in the right direction. This film, with all right intentions, unfortunately falls in the second category.

Joaquin is a fisherman in a small village and is in relationship with his neighbor Waldo. When his wife suddenly arrives from her overseas job, Joaquin suddenly has to divert his attention on her because she just wants sex and get pregnant. Unable to handle Joaquin's behavior, Waldo, a young teenager, leaves for Manila in disgust. He is so hurt by his lovers behavior. When Waldo is gone, Joaquin realizes ho much he loves him and he comes out to his wife and also leaves for Manila to look for Waldo. Tracing his path, he meets few folks who in some way would have come into Joaquin's life including a gay bar owner, a restaurant owner and finally to Rufo, a bi-sexualcop who eventually turns out to be a devil and who holds clue to Waldo's disappearance. Rufo lures Joaquin into his home and introduces him to his submissive wife. A sadist by nature, Rufo turns Joaquin into a prisoner and sex slave. It turns out that he did exactly the same with Waldo and many other youn boys and girls . When Joaquin is finally reunited with Waldo, he discovers that Rufo is about to sell them like fish to an international sex trafficking ring, along with his personal harem of male and female captives. Finally with Rufo's wife's help, they manage o escape but in the process Joaquin is killed. Waldo takes his revenge after few months by killing Rufo.

The film does become quite brutal and sadistic in parts where they show Rufo. I am not sure whether it was demand of the scene of the film but the rape scenes and forced sex scenes are quite elaborately shown in the film, making it not suitable for all tastes. Sure its a gay film but it was also about the love that the two guys shared with each other. The scenes in the gay bar were also quite explicit but I think they were ok and didn't really affect anything. Those were the scenes where some basic premise of the plot and meetings with new people were shown. I have a feeling that film was as real as it could be. Joaquin acted really well as the lover torn between his wife and his love. Waldo was strictly ok. A better actor in that role could have done wonders in my opinion. Joaquin's wife was very very over the top , to the extent of even being comical in parts. The production values looked ok. Its a mature story but like I mentioned before, there is something missing that stops me from completely empathizing with the lovers.

It's definitely watchabale, given we have so much crap out there. (5.5/10)
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