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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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A Distant Place (Korean)

By Golu
This is a nice and quite, slow burning drama that slowly but surely takes you deep in its layers. Yes, the film is slow, but the rural beauty of the countryside and some really god understated performances make up for it. Just be patient. The film is about individuals, relationships and how we perceive one another.

Jin Woo works and lives a quiet life in a sheep ranch somewhere in the countryside with his daughter Seol. The ranch owner and his daughter treat them as family, which also consists of the owners mother. Soon after, Jin Woo’s male friend Hyun Min arrives at the ranch, and reveals that the two have been long-time lovers. Except no one knows about their relationship and they try to keep it quiet. They dream of living happily with Seol in this peaceful place. However, with Jin Woo’s twin sister Eun Young’s visit, the conflict begins. In fact, Seol is Eun Young’s daughter but Jin Woo has been raising her because Eun Young disappeared. Conflicts internal and external start happening, starting with old lady's death, and town people finding out truth about Jin-Woo's sexuality. They become exclusive and discriminatory as they learn about the truth of the two men. Even the intentions of family members, who thought they knew each other well, feel like ‘a far place.’ Worse is when Jin Woo cannot take it anymore and the couple has a bad fight where he blames his boyfriend for everything. The boyfriend leaves him and soon his daughter is also supposed to go live with her real mother.

The ranch and its surrounding area provide a number of lovely sceneries to be admired, just like the characters and their story and how it unfolds. We are never given the backstory of the two lovers but it is not important. They met in college but for some reason Jin Woo moved here and now his partner wants to be closer to him. That is clear. My problem with the film is that if the idea was to make a queer film, which is what it feels, there was too little focus on it and it got crowded with a a lot of other characters and focus on them. Maybe that was the intention. How I wish the focus was more on the couple, the kid, the love but it also felt the makers wanted to have a good focus on the ranch owner and his family, which to be honest could have been reduced a lot. But, besides this, the film has a undercurrent of poetic vibe going on, which is not surprising given that the boyfriend teaches poetry. I would definitely recommend this film, if you have enjoyed slow burning films like God's Own Country. It definitely is not a match to that one, because of not going too deep in exploration of the entire queerness of the cinema, but nevertheless it does make for a good and beautiful watching experience. (7/10)
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