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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 Turns out he had an injury that ended his football days, and that's what pushed him into being more withdrawn, and it only got worse once his younger brother got picked...
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Zimniy Put (Russian) [Winter Journey]

By Golu
When you read where the plot says that the film is a intricate gay love story between a musician and a bully set in Russia with landscapes of Moscow in winter, I was really looking forward to this film. I mean how many movies have we ever seen from Russia of all places, but gosh!! this film went over me so badly. I am not really sure what it was trying to say, but besides an intriguing plot, the execution left a lot to be desired.

Eric, a budding musician, is preparing for an important audition and his teacher is not really happy with his progress. The day gets worse when traveling in bus, a ruffian Lyokha simply takes Erik’s headphones and phone, leaving his keychain behind. Even though Eric's teacher advised him proper rest, he decides to spend a night with his boyfriend(?) and his other gay friends all night drinking. Lyokha uses Erik’s stolen cell phone to get hold of Eric and ask him to return his keychain. This brings the two together again and initiates an uneasy dance of sorts in which both characters start to realize they might be attracted to the other or at least want to spend more time in each other’s company, probably exactly because they seem to be polar opposites.

It’s clear from the get-go that their their attraction is as much based on their contrasting backgrounds and class differences as on their shared loneliness. Eric is gay for sure which we know at the every beginning, but Lyokha's feelings come more as a surprise, since he probably hasn't seen any affection by anyone in the past. The two lead actors are also the co-directors of this film , but the shaky camerawork and low budget with shots mostly in dark wintry nights over the course of two days is something that I just couldn't connect with. As actors they are both charismatic and do a good job but how I wish that was enough to hold my attention. I tried my best to connect with story, the characters or anything, but either I wasn't in the right frame of mind, or I am definitely missing something. This independent film has received some glaring reviews online and I wonder what is it that I can't see in it that everyone else is. Maybe someone here can help me. (3/10)
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