Let's just cut right to it, this show was painfully boring. There, I said it. A story built around partial amnesia has real potential, but between the choppy scene structure and random flashbacks thrown in constantly, the whole plot ends up feeling more tangled than it needed to be. The romance doesn't fare much better either, it's written so poorly that I never really found myself invested in this couple. Both leads come across stiff on screen and deliver their lines in a really awkward way. The show runs 8 episodes, each somewhere around 30 to 35 minutes. Hanuel, a 29 year old language teacher, wakes up after an accident only to realize his memory stops at age 19. It turns out he'd been in another accident back then too, which is why his memories cut off at that point. He has zero recollection of the fact that he's currently living with his childhood friend Saebyeok, who's now a huge celebrity. That makes the whole situation even harder for Hanuel to wrap his ...
A lanky teenager has grown up in a rural town where most people expect him to be the weird gay boy. Called up for military service, Johan is fortunate to be accepted into the 23-member Defense Force Church Choir, aka the Kanaries, where he finds kindred spirits as well as standard-issue bullies and bigots. He meets effeminate Ludolf, for whom ehe eventually gets a liking and become good friends with. Johan continues to keep up his macho personality for fear of being bullied because of his sexuality. And then we have Wolfgang, with whom Johan shares their love for pop music. Over touring around country singing choir for military folks, Johan and Wolfgang's friendship soon develops into a very tender love and intimacy. But something is bothering Johan and he is very conflicted (mostly because of religion and what people would say). Johan is confused and self loathes for what he is doing with Wolfgang and decides to stay away from him. But he is so confused about love , he goes into a self destruction mode. Eventually with help of his kind teacher, that eventually what Johan needs is self-acceptance and only then he can look at God and his family. It is not very clear but the ending is a bit vague where it seems Johan is coming to terms with who he is and he is now friends with Wolfgang, all of them going back home after their first year in the military.
The opening sequence and dance number sets the tone for the film. Johan's small town boy is always conflicted having never gone to a club or from having Boy George as his only idol (who also never openly came out). As the film progresses, you slowly start to understand his predicament and confusion even though he has found the almost perfect love in Wolfgang. Two very important sequences according to me in the film are one where an older lady instills some confidence in Johan to become a fashion designer and follow his dreams and run away from his country. And the second one is with Johan's sister where she outrightly rejects even the thought of Johan being gay, further pushing him back in the closet. The way the filmmakers steadily build Johan’s inner turmoil then unleash it in a show-stopping dance number is surprisingly dramatic. The country in the 80s was at a very thorny and interesting intersection of religion, politics and racism which are subtly handled in the film. There is only one scene that touches upon the black folks and I think the makers purposely tried to stay away from it (maybe). The film, though a bit long, is something I actually enjoyed. I wanted Wolfgang and Johan to be together and they made such a nice couple but I can also relate to the turmoil that Johan is going through and is something he needs to deal with on his own.
This movie can explain how a gay man could be struggling in a racist army. A bit knowledge of South African history helps appreciate this film better. (7.5/10)
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