Skip to main content

Burnout Syndrome (Thai Series)

True to its title, this show tries to capture burnout not as some big dramatic collapse but as this slow, draining exhaustion that quietly eats away at relationships and how you see yourself, and honestly it makes the characters feel really real. The pace is slow on purpose, and everyone here is flawed and full of contradictions, nobody's simple. It uses this messed up boss and employee dynamic to sneak in some pretty smart commentary on society. The story digs into toxic work culture, mental health struggles, and how money ends up running our lives whether we like it or not. And yeah, there's a love triangle thrown in too, because of course there is. This one runs ten episodes, each around 45-55 minutes. Jira's twenty eight, broke, and struggling to make it as a painter. Nothing's going right for him, his art isn't selling, he's got no steady job, and he's basically on the edge of falling apart. His best friend Ing does what she can, finding him odd jobs an...

Survival Of The Fabulous (Documentary) (Canada)

Are gay men born gay? It seems the evidence says they are, but if that’s the case, how could same-sex attraction, a trait that prevents reproduction, evolve into the human race and survive generations of history? This question boggles the mind of proudly gay filmmaker Bryce Sage, who sets out on a cross-country adventure to understand the science of homosexuality and uncover the truth.

The film follows Bryce on a fabulous expedition across the globe, as he seeks answers from top scientists. He first goes to Chicago and gets into testing of his penile erection after watching few videos and similar test is done for his brain scan. Bryce's arousal pattern and MRI results are unsurprising in that he perfectly fits the homosexual profile. But The documentary wants to focus more on evolution. He  interviews a range of experts from zoologists to anthropologists, each with their own intriguing theories as to why homosexuality has survived natural selection. His quest takes him to a farm where he meets a woman researching on gay goat. He also travels to Samoa, where people don't accept openly gay men but acknowledge the third gender. We see his talks with multiple doctors and scientist around theories of nature vs nurture, science, genetics, chromosome theory etc. I am not sure it finds an answer but at just under an hour, the pace is fast and going are funny and entertaining.

One of the obvious things that stand out in this documentary is that the sole focus is on males. No discussion is done on lesbians or bisexuals or any other gender or sexual orientations. You don't really get to learn a whole lot about evolution of gay men from an overall perspective but its reassuring ,multiple times that there is a whole lot of science involved in all this. Its just that we do. Not yet understand the whole spectrum. Th biggest triumph of the documentary is its lively and engaging narration , which is huge win and a big part of that is due to Bryce's personality and enthusiasm. Mixing scientific facts, personal story touches, multiple travels etc make this one for an interesting watch. Don't expect anything ground breaking really. (6/10)

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Phor Lae Lukchai (Thai) [Father & Son]

I think the budget of this film was probably too small, but for that, the film definitely offers a different and unique storyline without over dramatizing anything. Yes, some scenes were a bit amateurish but in the bigger scheme of things, that can be overlooked. The film is both beautiful and sad in its own unique way. Aek is a gay dad, whose partner died right around the time their son Nueng was born through surrogacy in a road accident. The relationship between father and son is unpleasant and unstable. We are not really told why, but it seems the father has been unsuccessful in caring and loving his son because of his partner's death. Aek continues to hook up wit hookers. Also, Nueng is constantly bullied by everyone around him for having a gay dad. He has no friends, except Nat, a neighborhood boy, who also happens to be Nueng's boyfriend. In a sudden turn of events Nat is found murdered along with another boy naked. Saddened by the events, Nueng jumps from roof and k...

Sei no Gekiyaku (Japanese) [Dangerous Drugs of Sex]

Every person has their own unique way of dealing with loss. This film is as much a psychological thriller as it is a soft porn BDSM portrayal of two young men that makes the film overall horrifying as well as humane. It is really hard to describe the genre of this film in one word. Its important not that the film has some really disturbing scenes so if you go into seeing this film, please proceed with caution. Although any sexual non-consensual activity is not ok, this film has its won strange way of showing that suicide is not the only solution to all life's problems. Makoto is a regular office goer, who just finds out that his girlfriend is probably cheating on him. ON top of it, his parents sudden death coming back from a trip that he forced them to take, he gets completely dejected and decides to commit suicide. Unknown to him, he is saved by mysterious man Yoda Ryoji, and he wakes up finding himself tied up in leather and belts in a very BDSM setting. This mysterious saver soo...

The Shortest Distance is Round 3: Fallen Flowers

Continuing with the weird trilogy of "The Shortest Distance", I am so glad that finally I am done with part 3 and won't have to deal with this again in future. Thankfully, as of now the makers have not announced any further parts; which will save all of us on this earth from the embarrassment of watching this in near future. After the first 10 minutes are used in sort of recapping bits of first two parts, the story moves forward. Haruto is now starting to have feelings for Ruka, the mysterious pole dancer from second part. In a fit of rage, Ruka ends up killing the goat man and to save him and Haruto, Shibahara asks them to go underground. Meanwhile Shibahara continues the search for Seiya (the guy who had cut off Haruto's penis). It turns out Seiya is now also taking care of the original club owner from part 1. Both of them were released after they had informed Shibahara of Aoyama's secret location. Shibahara tortures Seiya's boyfriend leading to Seiya killin...