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...
Gay men are being murdered ruthlessly and investigative journalist is trying to figure out the case. He has a beautiful wife who is an air hostess and his best friend is a magistrate who keeps asking him to help police with investigation rather than working on his own. He starts cursing in search of serial killer with his camera woman trying to get footage, but murders keep happening and somehow Marco is always near or have met the men who keep getting killed. One day he meets an enigmatic male hustler Andre, Marco questions his sexuality. The two men do it, even though Marco pretends otherwise be asleep. Soon Marco starts to use information provided by Andre to find the killer but the more he gets into the investigation, the deeper he himself keeps becoming the prime suspect. Meanwhile his wife thinks her husband is having an affair. Finally when the identity of the killer is revealed, it does come as a surprise but I also wasn't surprised because by this point we all have started to assume patterns of such murder thrillers.
Marco uses an internet chat room for hook-ups which seems way ahead of its time for 1993 and the gay world depicted is true-to-life in other ways, too -the pick up parks, porno theaters, discos, and gyms are all typical trysting places and Marco meets a wide variety of gay men (mostly married) ranging from a restroom pervert to a closeted senator, all of whom are handsome and none of whom are effeminate in the slightest. Despite all this, the film struggles to hold my attention. The characters were just not charming enough, but for such roles, you need a charming actor. Sadly Marco didnt fit the bill. Although I should say that Andre did have the hot mystery look. The wife just barely said anything, regularly skipping work to follow her husband around and then random sex scenes would show up. The lack of focus on sleaze in favor of plot creates serious pacing issues but there are some elements in here which almost makes it worth watching alone for. So we get the horniest, creepiest and most enthusiastic peeping tom in cinema history plus the most obvious hidden camera in cinema history as well. And the ending with wife showing up in short hair waiting for her husband to pick her up is even more messed up. Is Marco now gay or what and what is the wife trying to prove? Even for its time, this film was weakly acted, poorly shot and features an underwhelming score. The film could’ve been so much more if they had actually focused on the queer themes and made it more polished. (3.5/10)
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