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Contrast (Japanese Series)

By Golu
This is basically a high school BL where two guys who have nothing going on in common somehow end up getting really close to each other, and that's kind of the whole point of the title too. There's barely any drama or fluff packed in here, it stays pretty straightforward the whole way through. A little bit of friction pops up here and there, but it's nothing compared to what you'd normally get in this kind of show. Runtime wise you're looking at 8 episodes, each one sitting around 25-30 minutes. The two guys carrying the story are Akira and Kanata, and funny enough they knew each other's faces way before they ever knew each other's names. Kanata's the type everyone likes, always got people around him, popular guy, but there's this distance to him that people can't quite place. Turns out he had an injury that ended his football days, and that's what pushed him into being more withdrawn, and it only got worse once his younger brother got picked...
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A Very Natural Thing

By Golu
You have to watch this film knowing that it came back in 1974. Its a simple but very enduring love story and romantic drama of a 26 year gay man living in Manhattan. Even though the film may sounds dated, but interestingly the prime, plot and the story is as relevant in today's time as it must have been then. The film is subtle, basic, realistic without any histrionics or unnecessary drama.  we get to see a real, very honest view on being gay and finding love in a time when we were just developing our community’s voice.

After dealing with his religious background, our man David, 26 year old, who is a school teacher is coming to term with being gay. One night he meets Mark at a gay bar and they spend a night together. The one night stand turns into a relationship and they start living together. David is a hopeless romantic and views their relationship as a marriage, but Mark wants more sexual adventure. A strain starts to develop between them but for some reason they stay on together. They try to make it work by opening up the relationship but unfortunately things do not work out and they separate. David decides he has had enough. This leaves a bad taste in his mouth and he wonders if he will ever find love again. Few months later he meets Jason at a gay pride event and they begin talking about things and the conversation flows very naturally among them. Clearly their is attraction and compatibility. When they spend more time, Jason asks David to move in together. David openly admits his reservations from his relationship with Mark, and instead asks Jason to give him time. Reluctantly, and with obvious love for David, Jason agrees. We wrap up with a slow-motion cinematic moment between the two as they race naked towards the open ocean – beautifully captured and showing honest bonding between two men that is not sexual.

Looking what Manhattan must hav been like in 1970s was the biggest attraction personally for me while watching this film. The film is nicely shot, captivating the essence of films from that era. And it does have a few sex scenes which are all done very tastefully. At the beginning and closer to the end there are many snippets from people attending pride events and all which don't directly connect with the main storyline and feel completely unnecessary and for a few minutes you wonder if you are there to watch a documentary. Having said that, this is still an interesting film to watch because we do not have many nice gay romance films from 70s-80s time frame. They were dominated by the emergence of AIDS or flawed characters. This film represents a short period in time where gay liberation flourished, and filmmakers could explore relationships in much the same way that films with heterosexual characters did. I enjoyed the two loves that David has, it shows his growth as a person and how he is using his learnings for newer relationship. I quite enjoyed the film and wouldn't mind recommending it for a nice vintage vibe associated with it. (6.5/10)
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