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...
slice of life kind of indie film that is probably trying to show us th growing complexities of relationships in today's time. The film starts off well but somehow feels dragging in the middle only to redeem itself in the last 20 minutes. Probably shot with a very tiny budget, the film is set in just one apartment.
Clement, a gay man in his early 30's and his roommate Alex, who is lesbian are looking for. Anew roommate. Clement's ex-boyfriend and lover David has recently move out to a new city for a. New job and that has left bitter taste in Clement. Their only demand is that the new roommate is gay. Enter Leo, who desperately needs a room and pretends to be gay to snag the apartment, and in fact introduces his girlfriend as lesbian. The trio start hanging out and occasionally Clement's older sister also visits. Alex tries to kiss Leo's girlfriend who runs away. Two weeks later, she visits them complaining how Leo has been avoiding her. Heartbroken, she tells Clement and Alex the truth. But by now since they all like Leo, they ask him to continue to stay. This is when Leo confesses that he likes Clement's sister. The film ends on a positive note when Clement decides to visit his ex-boyfriend David in his new apartment.
The movie has a very play like setup, which I don't know if it ever was. The story is extremely basic, and I had mixed feelings towards the film. Nothing dramatic ever happens. People just sit around, walk around and that's it pretty much. A straight man pretending to be gay to get a room in an apartment could have led to so many interesting situations but the film never explores even one of them. This film started out with much promise. I was looking forward to see how things would unfold with the new roommate. There were a few scenes that were encouraging that new developments were coming. Then half way through it went down hill. Clement himself is a rather sad if good looking protagonist. He’s constricted and dreary and the actor makes no attempt to have you empathize with Clement’s situation. Alex, on the other hand, is a delight and the one bright spot in the casting. Leo's casting was good too. He is extremely good looking man. None of the characters arcs is ever really shown or explored. A random film snippets, (a film that apparently Clement made or is trying to make) keeps showing up in random places for no reasons. Overall, below average film that really has nothing to say ether about relationships, or sexuality or friendship. Even slice of life films need to have some purpose, in my opinion. (3/10)
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