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Burnout Syndrome (Thai Series)

True to its title, this show tries to capture burnout not as some big dramatic collapse but as this slow, draining exhaustion that quietly eats away at relationships and how you see yourself, and honestly it makes the characters feel really real. The pace is slow on purpose, and everyone here is flawed and full of contradictions, nobody's simple. It uses this messed up boss and employee dynamic to sneak in some pretty smart commentary on society. The story digs into toxic work culture, mental health struggles, and how money ends up running our lives whether we like it or not. And yeah, there's a love triangle thrown in too, because of course there is. This one runs ten episodes, each around 45-55 minutes. Jira's twenty eight, broke, and struggling to make it as a painter. Nothing's going right for him, his art isn't selling, he's got no steady job, and he's basically on the edge of falling apart. His best friend Ing does what she can, finding him odd jobs an...

Reir, Cantar, Tal Vez Llorar (Spanish) [To Laugh, To Sing, Perchance to Cry]

What the hell did I just see? This one was so damn amateurish that a basic school play put together might be taken more seriously. Right from the script , to fillers, to acting , to direction; almost everything was horrible, except for the basic story idea. The makers had something good on their hands and could have made a poignant love story and show audiences a mirror towards how we perceive immigrants, but OMG! this was atrociously bad.

Set in Barcelona, Toni, a trans woman, who works as a hair dresser is looking for love. One day she meets a Moroccan youth 20 year old, trying to hide from the police and she brings him home to help her. She slowly starts to fall in love despite the prying eyes of neighbors who are not very sure of what the arrangement is. Seeing a hot young man, many of her friends and other people at clubs try to hit on the guy but he has eyes for Toni and soon they fall in love. In the midst of this love affair, the days go by: looking for a job, paying the rent, parties, dances, nosy neighbours, problems to solve, time with friends, other lovers; life, with its joys and hardships, thrills and devastations. One day they fight over some random stuff and the guy leaves Toni's place and meets another woman leaving Toni completely heartbroken.

Where do I even begin on how bad this film was. I mean, if this was a satttire or a comedy, I could understand , but I dont think it was either. It was supposed to be drama where food was fake, baby was a doll, you could see actor looking for cues towards the camera, the lead actor was stiff as wooden, the neighbors were weird, I mean everything was bad. There were a lot of random side characters who added nothing to the story. Toni, was the only actress who did a half decent job of even trying to act. The less I say about direction, the better it will be. The makers likely had a good idea on hand -  the best and the worst of ourselves, of classism, racism and transphobia, of the onslaught of love and heartbreak, of a city on the margins. But for me, it was not a comedy or parody (which if it had been, I would have reviewed with a different lens), but as I saw it, it is one of the worst films that ic an remember seeing in recent times. (1/10)

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