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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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Orpheus' Song (German)

By Golu
The film is just unreal. A story where things just happen, there is no build up or no explanations. You think maybe some mystery or something interesting would happen, but nothing really ever happens, except for the sudden kiss/sex scene that also come out of nowhere at all. Its as a whole lot of things mixed into one film, where you just constantly keep questioning what was the whole point of the previous scene and then just like that, the film ends.

Philipp and Enis are best friends who workout together. Philipp is obsessed with pitting on more muscle (and yes this has no relevance to story but somehow for 15-20 minutes we are forced to understand this fact). Somehow Philipp wins a free trip t Greece , so of course he takes his best friend with him. They spend their time exploring, partying and hiking. They visit an abandoned island where they meet a mystery man who gives them shelter at night but steals their money. Next morning the two guys take the pomegranate that was kept in the cave as offering and eat it. Next thing you know is the two men are kissing having sex at beach. The following morning they wake up and Enis is withdrawn and confused with what happened. After reaching back to Berlin, Enis completely cuts off all ties with Philipp who constantly is trying to get in touch with Enis. Finally he gives up and decides to take a job in Greece. When he informs this to Enis, his hidden feelings warm up again and he realizes he also loves Philipp and decides to join him leaving his girlfriend behind.

The whole film tries to cache on the muscular bodies of the two men who walk around half naked sometimes only n shorts or underwear. Are they both straight or is one questioning? We are never shown if Philipp is gay, since he is flirting with some woman. Enis has a girlfriend, so no confusion about him. But the whole Greece journey and them walking around shows us no chemistry at all between the two guys. Yes, they seem like friends but nothing more than that. The whole scenario of eating forbidden fruit and suddenly they have hots for each other is so damn unbelievable. The final scenes stretch beyond believability and they betray, in some ways, both characters. The only good thing about the film is good eye candy from actors and also the island of Corfu. Besides that, we spend a whole lot of time on watching two men workout, then walk and hike around, then kiss, then fight and then make up. The actors can barely hide the improbability of what happens, the audience is left baffled by the lack of foretelling. The story, the plot, the execution, everything borders on high improbable scenario, even if the idea was to go for your take on Greek mythology. (2/10)
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Comments

Miisu said…
Great minds think alike, indeed... When I saw this film, the word "surreal" came to mind. It was like watching someone else's dream that was sometimes a dream within a dream. But this should feel like having a super power - and it didn't.
April 14, 2022 at 9:33 AM
Untouchable Ace said…
Yours is the first review I've read that points to the pomegranate representing forbidden fruit. Then after sharing it sensually they are changed forever.


While I'm here again,
Are Maurice and Jeffrey on your viewing list yet?
April 14, 2022 at 9:55 AM
Golu said…
well said Miisu.

Untouchable Ace: believe it or not but I have seen Maurice and Jeffrey both but it was before I Started writing my blog. I need to revisit them again, so I can pen down my thoughts on these films here. Hopefully that would happen soon
April 14, 2022 at 1:42 PM
Sailor Maan said…
Can I say I started it and after a while fast forwarded to the sex scene that looked promising? Yes, I know I should be ashamed. And what I did doesn't make sense. But neither did this movie lol.
April 19, 2022 at 3:33 AM
Golu said…
exactly. At least your purpose was clear and you went straight for it
April 19, 2022 at 5:21 AM
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