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 main character of the film is Joao. The film is a sequential events of him interacting with various people where all of them indulge in extensive conversations talking forever about various topics. He meets his best friend Irene, who cannot let go of memories of her ex. Then we have long drawn scenes between him and his boyfriend. He then meets Matias, a young main subway and then they have sex and then again talk forever. These encounters affect him and slowly begin to reveal a play of time frames which blends together life and creative process, present and memory. The film ends as randomly as it started.
Joao has a good screen presence but constant rumbling and weird scenes are too much to handle. In his meeting with Irene, I kid you not, for almost 15v minutes the scene just shows Joao finding a comfortable position to sit in. I am just not sure, whats the point behind it. Similarly with his boyfriend, they keep rolling around for 10 minutes and switch positions for some reason that I cannot fathom. Even the conversations these people have with each other and so random. Also there are situations where Joao is talking on phone but to himself. The only decent bit was his sexual encounter with Mathias and conversation in that but just when you thought its going well, that also take a nosedive. There is absolutely nothing at all in this film to look out for. I would have given some points if they at least had some nudity, but sadly we don't get to see that either.
Completely avoidable. (0/10)
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