Stories of Our Lives is an anthology of five short films with LGBT themes from the East African republic of Kenya. It was made by the Nairobi-based art and activist group The Nest Collective, many of whose members prefer to conceal their identities to avoid possible persecution under Kenya’s notoriously draconian anti-gay laws. The film is still banned in it some country. The five dramas are mostly personal and domestic inspired by true incidents. ASK ME NICELY Kate, a rebellious young high school girl, meets first-love Faith, a fellow student. They begin a secret relationship, until the school principal takes action to separate the two by suspending Kate from the school. Back at home, Kate impulsively has a sexual encounter with a boy in her neighborhood. Two weeks later, Kate and Faith have an awkward reunion leading to their separation. RUN After negotiating a business deal, Patrick stumbles upon a local gay bar with his homophobic best friend, Kama. Patrick later returns to the clu...
Zhou Shu Yi has always had to be content coming in second his entire life in competitions. Its primarily because of Gao Shi De, who always comes first and is handsome, smart, intelligent and an all-rounder. The duo competed not just in school but now they are enrolled in same university also. This competition is actually though one sided. Gao Shi De has secretly had a crush on Zhou Shu Yi since childhood but because of their competitive nature, the two could never become friends. When a girl breaks Zhou Shu Yi's heart he is hurt and cries his heart out, which gets recorded by Gao Shi De. Later, he uses this video clip to blackmail xx who doesn’t want his friends to see this embarrassing footage of him. The only way. To get out of this is if Zhou Shu Yi can beat him in a competition. The duo are soon forced to spend time together during which they end up becoming good friends. One day when Gao Shi De is confessing his feelings to his doctor cousin about Zhou Shu Yi, he hears it but he is not sure how he should handle that. Slowly Zhou Shu Yi realizes that he also enjoys Gao Shi De's company and before you realize they become a couple. Zhou Shu Yi meets eye's mom and she instantly likes him. Unknown to Zhou Shu Yi, the mother son are soon supposed to go to America for few months but thankfully the couple are string enough to make sure they can handle a long distant relationship
As always lets start with some positives. The production of the show is of a very good quality and the makers have chosen some really handsome male actors. Not just the lead but actually the other 3-4 side characters, especially the doctor were all extremely good looking. Coming back to the two leads, they had amazing chemistry both as friends and lovers. I love their scenes with Gao Shi De's mom and the comfort and ease that you see in their interaction felt very real. And yes, the duo do share a few kisses and thankfully it wasn't awkward at all. Sadly, the show rather ends abruptly. Also, there are plenty of places, where you feel that some story is just starting to develop for side characters and then they are just left in a lurch. We are introduced to Zhou Shu Yi's father which hints of a possible drama but that never happens. I mean that character could have been completely eliminated. Overall the plot was a bit underdeveloped. When you have money and an excellent cast, and you see that the story ends up being the short end, you just feel bad and disappointed. Having said that, the relatively shorter duration and just 6 episodes it was indeed an easy watch. The chemistry of the lead actors makes it worth watching. It may not be the most phenomenal show but somehow something was still pretty good. (6.5/10)
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Looking forward to your thoughts on KinnPorsche and Triage, both still airing.
Edward: have you seen the two shows you mentioned? Are they good?