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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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Papi Chulo

By Golu
After finishing watching this film, it reminded me a little of 'A Single Man'. Not that the two movies have anything in common, but its the fact that both films focuses more on the loneliness of a gay man and in both cases it has something to do with the loss of their partners.

Good looking weatherman Sean broke up with his boyfriend Carlos almost 6 months ago. After a breakdown on live TV, he is asked to take few days off. He decides to get rid of the bog plan from his deck, the last remaining memory of his ex, but then that means he needs to get his deck repainted. For some reason, he picks up Ernesto, a middle-aged hispanic migrant daily worker. There is obviously a language barrier, but intentionally, Ernesto becomes an ear to everything that Sean has to say, given his loneliness. A very unlikely friendship develops between the two. Sean takes Ernesto for hikes, rowing, parties, eateries, much to Ernesto's dismay on why this is happening but sensitively provides listening companionship. One day when Ernesto doesn't show up, Sean takes to drinking and shows up to his place drunk where his family takes care of him. He leaves embarrassed for his actions and few days pass till one morning Ernesto shows up with his kid to help them translate and to finish the deck painting job he started. The 2 friends are back together.

The story may sound very serious but it's actually done in a very light comedy manner. The chemistry between the leads is really good and you get to see how the friendship between them ultimately develops. There are very few films that show friendships between a gay man and a straight man, unless they have been friends from childhood, so in that sense it was something new. It was fun when Ernesto would call his wife everyday to tell him of all the odd things that he was doing and he doesn't understand why Sean is taking him to all these places. I didn't understand the reason why Sean picks up Ernesto? Did he look like Carlos or something else? May be it was just a chance! It was great to see the hot hot Sean also do a great job of acting and bring out the sensitive side of him. You could see the loneliness he is going through and the craving for friendship and companionship. Talking about flaws, the film dragged in a few places to be honest, and I found myself losing interest, but overall it was ok to see how the two men get used to one another.

A funny yet poignant tale of a lonely gay man, that shows that long lasting binds can be made in the unlikeliest of people. (5.5/10)
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Unknown said…
Hello! Our LGBT/thriller CRISIS HOTLINE was recently released on Dekkoo (https://www.dekkoo.com/crisis-hotline) and I'd love for you to review the film after coming across your blog. If you don't subscribe to Dekkoo, just give me an email address where I can send the private screener link and press kit.

Thank you so much for doing thoughtful reviews for LGBT films! And we will make sure it gets posted to all of our social media as well as the IMDB page!

Thanks again!

Mark Schwab
writer/director - Crisis Hotline (aka Shadows In Mind)
mschwab@ditrfilms.com
April 28, 2020 at 12:02 AM
Miisu said…
Actually the story is much deeper than that. It's not presented very clearly, but Sean and Carlos didn't break up, Carlos died and Sean is grieving. That's why his coworkers keep on suggestin he'd take days off and talk to somebody, because he's been hiding his sorrow and devastation and it's starting to affect his work. I was rather confused about the situation with Carlos throughout the film until the moment when Sean calls Carlos's parents and expresses his devastation about them closing Carlos's voice mail. It's a frequently used feature in gay films - when a loved one dies, their voice mail is not closed so it would be like calling the person. You dial their number, hear "their voice" and speak to them, until the inbox is full ("Breaking Fast", "Eyewitness"). Sean offers the parents of Carlos that he could have paid the monthly fee of his voicemail himself, if that was the problem, just to keep the option of "talking to him".

And when Sean arrives to Ernesto's party, all drunk, Ernesto takes him inside and puts him to bed. Some male relatives make a joke and Ernesto says something like "don't you remember what you were like when you were grieving?" and the man immediately becomes serious.

I absolutely loved the last part where Ernesto arrived to finish the deck and brought his grandson to interpret. Since I'm a translator it brought me to tears, because our profession was valued so much in that scene - sometimes all you need is someone who can navigate between languages, and everything becomes clear again.
August 9, 2021 at 7:23 AM
Golu said…
This is such a very very interesting perspective on the film. I never saw it this way, and it makes more sense now.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts !
August 10, 2021 at 9:51 PM
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