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...
21 year old carries responsibilities far beyond his years. His mother spends her nights drinking and bringing men home, leaving the care of Cassidy, his much younger brother, to Dylan. Dylan works as a day laborer, cooks meals for his brother and has conversations with him about things. He is tender and patient with his brother. He yearns for freedom but is too young to figure out how. On a 2 week gig, he goes to a ranch called House of Splendor. The ranch is filled with queer folks, gay, lesbian, trans. People work there but are also extremely happy. Dylan gets an instant-crush on one of the horse-riding trans woman named Sky, who clearly feels his interest in her and encourages it. She’s welcoming. Everyone is. Dylan has never been exposed to anything like this, not just different sexualities, but people who are kind and respectful to each other. Besides Sky, another important person we meet is Carrie, a warm friend and guide to Dylan who even invites his younger brother on a field fair day. Dylan's closeness with Sky doesn't go too well with her boyfriend and Dylan’s mom doesn’t take it well when he brings Cassidy home in a dress one night. The drama never goes over the top but eventually Dylan decides he needs to do what he has always wanted to do. Buy an RV and travel the country on his own.
First things first, the film is visually stunning and has a poetic overall feel to it, which is also a deterrent IMO. The actor playing Dylan does a fantastic job. There is heart and compassion and a bit of nervousness that the character demands. He and Sky have this amazing chemistry that you find yourself rooting for them from the minute we get going. It’s clear in the narrative how both of them are kind of finding different parts of themselves in this relationship, and both characters are so vividly drawn and so beautifully performed. There is an attention to detail in the specific nature of this community depicted in the film add so much to what’s going on here. I also loved the detailed about Dylan and his brother's relationship. Having said all this, there was a slight boredom also about the film. The attention span of audience has become so low and moody and poetic films like this need a person to be in a different mind space. Had I known what I was getting into to watch, my overall thoughts might have been different. Folks will have some divided overall feeling for this one, but you would not be able to deny that the film is filled with quiet moments of beauty, tenderness and heartache and most importantly hope and positivity. (6/10)
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