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...
Walt is a young lower-class shopkeeper who lives a necessarily minimal existence. He longs for Johnny, a young Mexican immigrant who frequents his store often and who in turn repulsed and intrigued by his friendly advances. Johnny and his best friend Roberto always hang around. Walt makes his first pass at Johnny by offering him $15 to sleep with him. He refuses, so settling for second best, Walt takes Roberto home and they have sex. However, he does not give up on trying to win over Johnny. He befriends them and the trio hang out together goofing around. One day Johnny suddenly vanishes and both Walt and Roberto don't know why. They become close friends and Walt thinks maybe he can get Roberto but he eventually is killed by police. Johnny comes back after he was forcibly sent back to Mexico and reaches out to Walt as a friend. But hearing about Roberto angers him and he just leaves Walt's place. Maybe Walt will have to move on.
The chemistry and the interactions between these 3 individuals could be an interesting study. It's like three individuals, lost in a barely navigable jungle of a big city, users and abusers but also friends and lovers. They all need each other for money, for comfort, for fun and have some ulterior motives too. There is a bit of power play. Walt throws money but the Mexican boys know they have youth hand charm. And isn’t imbalance of power the basis for a certain kind of sexual attraction? Its interesting how Walt comes to assume a quasi-parental role, teaching them to drive, take care of them and drive them for holidays even though he is a young boy himself. Actor playing Walt is very charming IMO. He is likable, decent, relatively well-adjusted, confident in his own skin and sort of knows most people in the neighborhood. Yes he is desperate for Johnny and he admits. And Johnny takes full advantage of the situation. The film's direction is very unique. Shot in black and white, most scenes are unusually dark and sometimes hard to comprehend. The film just follows 3 men with their relationships unbalanced by age, language, money, race and sex.
This film was quite decent, especially given it came out moons ago. The film is not slow, but somehow doesn't move beyond Walt willing to do anything to be with the boys. I fail to understand his desperation when he himself is quite handsome and charming. Still worth a watch. (5.5//10)
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