Is this technically a gay show? Even after getting through the whole thing, that's still kind of tricky to answer. There's never any physical intimacy shown between the two leads, not even a single kiss. What it gives you instead is something that goes way deeper than that. It traces an emotional bond that spans a full decade between two guys who are both dealing with their own baggage, and what they share basically amounts to being soulmates. The story moves across Japan, South Korea, and Berlin. Honestly, whether people want to call what they have a romantic relationship or not doesn't really matter to me. A relationship doesn't need a label like boyfriends attached to it to actually mean something. And closeness doesn't need to be physical to feel genuine. What this show captures is something quieter but way more powerful, a bond rooted in understanding, respect, and just showing up for each other. Across eight episodes, each running 35 to 45 minutes, this is one...
In the early 1920s, Jean Cocteau fell in love with the writer Raymond Radiguet. Cocteau was 30, Radiguet 10 years younger. It was an unhappy, addictive love affair. When Radiguet died of typhoid in 1923, Cocteau sought solace in opium, plunging from one addiction into another. The film tells this fascinating story as if narrated by Cocteau: associatively, surreally, fantastically. Besides the lovers, the third main character is the music, which as a sounding board reflects a feverish epoch. The film shows Jean checking into rehab and then into flashbacks on how the things unfold with on musical number after another.
In my opinion, this musical is so lubricious and poorly made, that it fails to hold any attention at all. With hardly a narrative to cling to, and one pretentious, crudely mounted sequence following another with no rhyme or reason, Opium is an unpleasant and boring watch on the screen. Films like this are so not my kind of thing. The love story of the two men is also just touched upon with their ups and downs and careers and jealousy and just that age old story of a young hot guy trying to take advantage of an older successful socialite while also probably being in love. I am sure that the film may hold some sentiment and value for people familiar with Jean and his work, but as an outsider, I would have been invested if the story was interesting or presented well. Instead, this seemed like the film maker's over indulgence in something that is way to whimsical for any normal person to enjoy. (1/10)
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