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...
Ezéquiel, 15, is left home alone by his parents for a month while they tour around Europe. His big house and pool make it easy for him to invite male friends, allowing him to test whether they’ll return his overtures. Frustratingly none of them does till he meets Mano, an older skater and they become lovers. Things seem fine till Mono invites Eze for a weekend with his cousin Chino. Mono suddenly disappears after that weekend. It's only when Eze receives a video clip of him and Mono having sex from Chino, is when Eze realizes what has happened. The video’s going to go out on a pay site with blurred faces, and what’s more, he needs Ezéquiel to recruit younger boys for videos just as Mono did with him. Initially disturbed by turn of events, he starts to gain confidence as he turns to seduce a 13 year old boy Juan from his neighborhood. He follows the same tactics that were done to him, only to finally realize that this is not who he is and he confides in his father.
While watching the first half of the film, interestingly the film gave a thriller vibe as well, both through observational visuals and a score that keeps jumping the gun whenever anything potentially unsettling is on-screen. You could feel something is going to happen but it doesn't. It's not until you see the blackmail video. Nothing is in your face. You feel something is off over the weekend when you see a bit of aloofness from Mono and how they both just happen to be alone. The Mono chapter suddenly is paused and the focus then gets on Juan which I found a bit odd. I guess the idea was to show Eze's growth and how he deals with situations presented like this. The actor playing Eze fits just perfect in a role that demands childlike eagerness towards sex and also being aware of his own sexual power in the second half. He slides glances under his eyelashes at other boys when he thinks that they won’t notice, then is tongue tied with embarrassment when they do. He is learning to flirt and that reminds one of your youth days. The entire film rests on him as an actor and he does a great job. A few gaps that I feel are why would parents leave a teenager all by himself for a month, how come they don't question his friendship with younger boy, and how they seem totally disinterested in his life. Some background would have helped. But yeah, you do have a sigh of relief when Ezequiel (I love that name btw) reaches out to his father.
Slow film but if you are familiar with Marco's work, you wont find this out of place. Novel story and good treatment, I just feel slightly underwhelmed but still a good movie experience. (7/10)
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