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...
From a story perspective there is nothing. Massimo is an Italian swimmer who is visiting Russia for a competition. He meets Vladimir, who happens to be a translator. They hit it off and that grows into love. They walk around, talk and dance. And at some point they talk about freedom, meaning of being gay in Russia. Yes, thats pretty much it. And in between you get to see old footage of Russia, and some old film that made absolutely no sense to a viewer like me. Acting by leads was ok but they are cheated by a low production value and absolutely lazy and dull story and direction. This story was at best a 8-minute short film, which in itself again would not have said anything new.
A really boring bloated short-film-in-the-format-of-a-feature. Completely avoid. (1/10)
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