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Journey With You (Chinese Series)

By Golu
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...
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Inferninho (Portuguese) [My Own Private Hell]

By Golu
Set almost entirely in the confines of a low-rent dive bar, offers an enchanting tale of community, self-belief and belonging shot-through with very contemporary politics about government-backed gentrification and the displacement of non-conforming communities. The film is an ode on why community is important and a tender tribute to all those oddballs in the society. Whether, personally I liked the film or not is something we will see later.

Unfolding almost entirely within the confines of the seedy, gay-friendly Brazilian bar called Inferninho, we meet Jarbas, a footloose sailor who arrives at the bar. The easygoing dude immediately catches the eye of world-weary transvestite proprietor Deusimar, who offers him a room for rent. Of course, they dance and love sparks from the very first night itself. Jarbas is welcomes by other members of this seedy bar including a man always dressed as rabbit, bearded Wonder Woman and a chubby Wolverine and such other characters. A nefarious developer approaches the bar to buy it for property development giving a very high price which Jarbas refuses. Apparently he has become a couple with Desusimar, but soon his past catches up. He owed some money to other sailors who come looking for him to eventually one night he runs. Deusimar cannot bear to be alone after having found love in the sailor, decides to sell the bar and commit suicide leaving all her money to the patrons who worked in the bar. After a dreamlike sequence the films ends in a reverse scenario where Jarbas is working behind the bar, and enters Deusimar looking for a drink.

These kind of films are definitely not my cuppa tea. The campy-grimy aesthetic and artificial theatricality is just not scene. Somehow reminded me of a famous film "Querelle' which is big in critics world, but I never liked that film too. The whole idea of the misfit people dressed variously as Mickey Mouse, Pocahontas, Wonder Woman, the Silver Surfer and Darth Vadar finding safe harbour, is something I do not enjoy. I was watching this film strictly from a narrative point of view and to an extent the experimental nature of it was fine, but it kept going into this extreme theatrics and art zone, I just could not keep my interest alive. I am sure, there will be critics who would be going gaga over this new style of gritty film making  and taking on a subject of queer misfits, but this just did not work for me. (2/10)
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