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...
The film essentially is about the male sex workers (gigolos) in Beijing, China. We see interviews with many young boys telling us their stories of how they came into this business and how they need the money. We hear how they go targeting their customers, what are the things they keep in mind and so on. But sadly there is no proper character development on any of the main protagonist. They could be easily interchangeable. The production values are really bad. Yes, you do hear the stories of these young boys and how these men have been forced into the business sometimes by hook or crook and most times just to meet their basic needs. This film seems to have been made just for the sake of it. If someone seriously wants to showcase the plight of male sex workers in Chinese society, we will need something that is a lot better than this. For now, this is totally avoidable. (0.5/10)
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