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...
Jonas is a 30 something troubled young man. He picks up fights at the popular gay bar and sleeps around. His boyfriend has had enough of it and ultimately dumps him. But all this volatile behaviour has something to do with his past. Meanwhile we also see that Jonas has been stalking this young man everywhere but we don't see the connection until later. Flash back to 1997 when Jonas as a teenager meets the rebellious new student Nathan. Jonas immediately has crush on Nathan and they become good friends. The friendship. and eventually curios love blossoms and is depicted quite well. When they share their first kiss, the sparks are immediately felt. But a serious incident happens where Nathan gets kidnapped or murdered, we will never know and Jonas was the only one with him that night. Finally we see the connection that this young man is Nathan's brother and all Jonas is trying to seek is forgiveness.
This movie is a very emotional yet charged movie. Its hard to even imagine the pain that Jonas must be going through to pick up all the fights and behave the way he does. The director teases out the answers slowly and carefully, capturing our hearts even before the full picture comes into focus. The acting is brilliant by everyone. Everyone is so good, especially the guy playing Jonas that you feel you’re experiencing the film’s events as if you were walking in his shoes. As a teenager he’s shy, lacking in confidence and a bit awkward but always very endearing. As an adult he’s a lot harder, visibly troubled and struggling to move on with his life. Our life gets shaped by events that happen with us and this movie is a wonderful example of that. My one big problem with this film is the finale. It felt a bit rushed and I would have loved to see some kind of closure.
This film is not going to disappoint you. You will want to know what's going on and why Jonas behaves the way he does. You wonder how his life would be today, if the said incident did not happen. A movie succeeds when it makes you think and this film does a wonderful job of it. You just need to be patient. (7/10)
Comments
no hope to explain himself why his first love ended in such tragic way .
Its a good movie and i liked how they played it to different directions ( the way that French movies do ) but in the end it felt like its missing a sting. Not because of the ending ( i liked it ) but i felt the writer\director was putting more effort of hiding the cards about where is this going and playing with the viewer that he left something amiss - can't put my finger on what .
The acting was good - love Natan mother.
I liked the very end when Jonas is finally able to go to the funfair. I take it as a sign he is finally able to move on with his life (but I would have wished for a little more development too)