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...
We meet Reme anther son Miguel who are clearly very close. Miguel is just 17 and is preparing for entrance exams to go to university to become lawyer. His fatherhood committed suicide. Miguel likes to sing and dance but his mother's pressure to be a lawyer is his top priority. In parallel LGBTQ movements are going on and people trying to get governments attention. One day when Miguel sees a drag performer in a club, he gets very pumped up and is ready to realize that this is exactly what he wants to do and secretly starts hanging out with this group of people. When he flunks the entrance exam and his mother confronts him, they both have a huge fight where Miguel accepts that he is gay and he can't help it and leaves home to live with his friends. In a sudden twist of events, one day he is arrested by police for wearing women clothes in the street an this is when the revolution takes on a new direction. The mother Reme is initially very angry at all her son's friends but when she realizes that none of her so called social friends are willing to help her, the mother joins the Andalusian LGTBQI movement to get her son freed from the police and in turns become a part of the whole movement.
Apparently, based on a true story of the 70s movement, I am not sure of this actual mother-son story is true or not. Regardless it is an interesting story weaved into the gay political movement of Spain in those times. It is an interesting film both from the perspective of a single mother wanting what's best according to her for her son, her son's struggle to be true to himself and the whole movement itself and how it came about bringing various people form different minorities fighting for their rights. The film thankfully has a light tone with some funny moments and it never feels high on intellect. The way the story has been put together is something so that it makes sense to a common man and people relate to it in one way or the other. You can empathize with the mother, with Miguel, with his friends and people around. Having said that, I didn't find myself too engaged in the film. I was fine with what was happening but at the same time, I didn't find myself nervous or excited or challenged. In fact, I was more like, aah let the film just end now. Enough!! And maybe this is because I really am not very well educated on the LGBT movement os Spain form that time, but strictly from a story perspective, even though the story was nice and warm, it just failed to keep me engaged and I would rate this as average at best. (5/10)
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