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...
Pierre-Joseph is a young man years old when he joins a training center to become a gardener. There he meets Françoise Brown, the director, Alberto, his botany teacher, and Adrien, his employer, all of whom are decisive in his apprenticeship and the discovery of his sexuality. At multiple given opportunities he hooks up with these older men a they are all sort of happy in a commune sorta situation. All this while we keep hearing of this India guy Kutta, born to a French mother, owner of this. Agriculture institute and how everyone is waiting for him. 40 years later, Kutta arrives and is now owner of a strange castle, who seems to be looking for something more than a simple gardener. Pierre-Joseph also has sex within but somehow next day, they both end up dead (or maybe not, who knows and who cares at this point).
A film about a botanists sexual awakening with older men had nothing going for it except beautiful gardening visuals if you are into that sort of thing. Slow pacing, story told through voice-overs and over-eroticized storylines, that test the audience’s patience. The film maker wants to focus on how the beauty of nature paves the way for a young botanist’s sexual awakening. While all of this sounds quite intriguing and serves potential for a poetic endeavor of passion and desire, it ends up as a slog and a half. The film starts with mention of Kutta who seems to be central to our storyline, who doesn't show up until last 10 minutes of the film, Instead the film suddenly goes into this voice over narration from the woman, to teacher, to student to whatever else was going on. All of Pierre-Joseph's sexual hookups with the older men are seen through highly confusing scenarios with some sketchy progress in the main character’s exploration of passion and affinity. You never know what exactly is going on. And you don’t really care to understand it all because nothing in the film is interesting. And what the fuck was the final scene when our guy has sex with Kutta who seems to hav multiple penises that wiggle around like an octopus' tentacles. The film gets weirder and weirder. Really!! I can't understand how and why people can watch shit and then appreciate it as if it is the best thing that has happened to art. At the end of it, I am not sure why this was made, what were they aiming for and what message was being tried to show. What a waste of time. (1/10)
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