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...
We have a simple family of husband, wife, a son and a daughter. The family is reeling debts, the husband is lazy, daughter is a wanna be actress and the son is just aggressive good for nothing mechanic. The mom has had enough of it. There’s money available for any family that signs up for and completes a state LGBT+ awareness training course, and it’s quite a considerable sum, too. The way it works is that a course representative who is gay will come and live with the family for three weeks, during which time he will conduct a number of LGBT+ awareness sessions. As you expect the family completely refuses but the mother will have none of it and enter Vasyl, the man from the course, turns up at the door, very smart and personable and friendly. Through various sessions over next many days, a lot of sessions happen where the family members get to talk to each pother freely, Of course they all come with their own drama but a few comic sequences as well. Slowly they all start to warm upto him, including the son who is likely the epitome of homophobia. What would be a LGBTQ friendly film where you dont see a kiss, so we see a kiss between Vasyl and the son one night when the son confides that he doesn't understand why he has so much aggression. The film just goes on like this, with the 4 members learning a thing or two about not just tolerance but about each other as family members.
I liked the fact that we get see the perspective of each members, and where do their insecurities come from, and to an extent all of them have a fair point. But if you think this all sounds dull, think once again. There are many genuinely funny laughs here, arising quite believably out of situation and character. Not the over the top loud comedy but genuinely funny moments. Scenes where Vasyl is massaging mother, or teaching massage to father, or when the father fails to understand the gender bias are genuinely funny but also thought provoking. There are a lot of people out there with sexual hang-ups of one sort or another, whether LGBT+ or not, and the film has much to say to all of them. The whole film is set in a tiny apartment with these 5 people and they all have an amazing chemistry with each other. The film is made in such simple language, scenes and structure that any par t of the society can easily understand, without resorting to any complicated deep messages. I am not sure of folks in Ukraine got to see this film, but IMO this film definitely deserves a chance for showing something different. By no means, it addresses any of the topics or you should magically expect the family to completely turn around, but it starts a discussion and the openness of the family members to be willing to have that discussion is a good start. (6/10)
Comments