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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 Turns out he had an injury that ended his football days, and that's what pushed him into being more withdrawn, and it only got worse once his younger brother got picked...
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Háblame De Ti (Spanish) [Tell Me About Yourself]

By Golu
Don't be fooled by the poster thinking that it's a teen comedy. In contrast, it's actual a dram about a teenage boy discovering himself, his sexuality, his family, friends and most importantly who he really is. Surprisingly, I ended up enjoying this film more than I thought I would, especially after the clunky beginning. It kept getting better and thanks to a very very charming and cute leading actor, things only got better. I won't really call it just a queer film, since it is so much more than that.

Chava is a 17 year old regular teenager. One day he starts getting messages from a "secret admirer" and he gets under the impression that maybe he has scored a girlfriend. What comes as a shock is that this admirer happens to be his half-sister. His father has been living a secret dual life, and bitterns out the mother knew about it and kept quiet. At the same time, Chava is dealing with his own feelings and sexuality. His swim team friend Carlos and he are hanging out one day when Carlos tells him he is gay and the guys kiss but Chava is not very sure. He is dealing with his personal family shit and despite getting a lot of love and affection from Carlos and his company, he still freaks out when Carlos publicly acknowledges his love in school. Confused as to what is really going on, he goes home who are pretending as if nothing has happened with his dad's other secret family, he tells them that he is gay. He then goes to profess his love to Carlos who educates him that he understands Chava will take his time and will have to go through his journey of finding himself out and that Carlos will always be there for him. Finally things have started to look out for Chava, where he now has a sister, his parents are accepting. He gets back his amazing friends and potentially love with Carlos.

Discovering his sexuality is just one of the many things that our protagonist Chava is dealing with in this film. The whole family dynamic is actually what this film makes more interesting. The sudden appearance of a half sister and how it totally disrupts Chana's life was actually shown quite well. It was very pleasant to follow that character and his discovery of his sexuality, despite the drama, I managed to empathize with him most of the time. I mean, he is just a 17 year old teenager. People fuck things up at this age; they are not supposed to have figured out themselves and their life and so it is easy to relate to the character of Chava. Of course, the fact that the actor is incredible cute with a beautiful smile makes things easy. I just wanted to hug him. The story is not completely pretty, it has its dark side, just like in life, combining romance and drama. The film has a happy ending, where magically things resolve easily, but hey once in a while we do wanna see happy endings without having to use the logic or realism of the whole thing. My favorite scene of the film is when Chava goes to Carlos to accept his love and how Carlos tells him that he has been through this journey of coming out and that he understands Chava will take his own time. Carlos will always be there with his shoulder for Chava to lean on as a friend forever. Come to think of it, as a teenager, if you find that one person who can listen to you and understand you, I think life would be so much easier for most folks. (6/10)
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