Skip to main content

Contrast (Japanese Series)

By Golu
This is basically a high school BL where two guys who have nothing going on in common somehow end up getting really close to each other, and that's kind of the whole point of the title too. There's barely any drama or fluff packed in here, it stays pretty straightforward the whole way through. A little bit of friction pops up here and there, but it's nothing compared to what you'd normally get in this kind of show. Runtime wise you're looking at 8 episodes, each one sitting around 25-30 minutes. The two guys carrying the story are Akira and Kanata, and funny enough they knew each other's faces way before they ever knew each other's names. Kanata's the type everyone likes, always got people around him, popular guy, but there's this distance to him that people can't quite place. Turns out he had an injury that ended his football days, and that's what pushed him into being more withdrawn, and it only got worse once his younger brother got picked...
Post a Comment

Eat The Night (French)

By Golu
I am not much of a video game fan, but like me, if you were trying to avoid this film, because of that, STOP! This film is actually pretty decent. It is a compelling look at how a video game can provide not only entertainment, but a sense of community for those lacking it in their real lives. It's about the loss of love, safety, and human interaction. The video game is just the catalyst for it all, and it all actually ties in pretty good. I found myself liking the film.

Pablo and his sister Apo are very close siblings. They both have been playing a game called Darknoon, a fantasy role-playing game that has no real aim, but provides an alternative world in which you can create an ideal version of yourself, and run around fighting battles, slaying monsters and meeting other characters. But it is announced that Darknoon will soon shut down for good. While Pablo doesn't care much, she is devastated by the idea, especially since all her connections have been in the virtual world. Pablo is a drug dealer, who manufactures MDMA from an abandoned cottage in the countryside. One day, he is attacked by a rival dealer, and a young black man named Night helps him. Pablo invites Night to work with him, and teaches him how to press pills. The two soon form a romantic connection and between cooking drugs and selling them, both of them deeply fall in love with one another hoping that they can actually live a happy life together. Sadly, Apo feels neglected in all this. While things are going well, and their drug operation becomes more prolific, their rivalry with another dealer and his gang goes a bit out of control. They frame Pablo who gets arrested for 3 months. He asks Night to lay low and take care of Apo. Since she had almost shut him down, Night also joins Darknoon as an avatar and strike a friendship with Apo, so that he can take care of her. But rival gang soon find out about night and beat him up real bad. He is in hospital in coma. Pablo manages to hurt himself knowing this so that he can see Night and then eventually he runs away from hospital.

The contrast of the video game's virtual world and the real world is pretty significant. While the game provides good escapism with colorful natural surroundings, the real world is full of concrete buildings where hooligans are quite prominent. We never get to see what Apo's ambitions are besides the world of video game. Pablo and Night seem to be the only ones considering a better life, and talk of wanting to leave and find somewhere better, rather than "rotting" in this soulless place. This is one of the elements that makes their romance so intriguing. It goes from an arrangement of convenience to a genuine love story, and Pablo's drive for success ends up costing them dearly. I really liked how this love story grows. Night is a good man, with a strong sense of friendliness and familial love, and you so desperately want everything to work out for him. Even Apo eventually comes through. Her only real goal is to be there for the end of the game, along with her brother, but as his problems escalate, she is pulled away from that objective to be there for Pablo and Night. Her obsessiveness with her brother is a bit questionable, but that might be something to do with her world being just this video game. The movie doesn't condemn gaming. It's about how, even amid painful physical separation, the game offers her a means of communication with and comfort from those who care about her. It is an unusual but compelling story of how the real world and a cyber fantasy can eventually converge, and how the bridging of this gap can offer hope to the vulnerable. It ends on a tragic note, with Night beaten into a coma, Pablo on the run having gone on a vengeful spree, and Apo desperate for the comfort of her brother. A very interesting film for sure. (6.5/10)
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Phor Lae Lukchai (Thai) [Father & Son]

By Golu
I think the budget of this film was probably too small, but for that, the film definitely offers a different and unique storyline without over dramatizing anything. Yes, some scenes were a bit amateurish but in the bigger scheme of things, that can be overlooked. The film is both beautiful and sad in its own unique way. Aek is a gay dad, whose partner died right around the time their son Nueng was born through surrogacy in a road accident. The relationship between father and son is unpleasant and unstable. We are not really told why, but it seems the father has been unsuccessful in caring and loving his son because of his partner's death. Aek continues to hook up wit hookers. Also, Nueng is constantly bullied by everyone around him for having a gay dad. He has no friends, except Nat, a neighborhood boy, who also happens to be Nueng's boyfriend. In a sudden turn of events Nat is found murdered along with another boy naked. Saddened by the events, Nueng jumps from roof and k...
1 comment
Read more

Gaya Sa Pelikula (Filipino Series) [Like In The Movies]

By Golu
Pinoy BL series seem to be catching up to the popularity of the Thai shows. And I must say that they are doing a pretty good job at it. Where Thai series started to get repetitive with so many shows based in a college setting with seemingly similar storylines, Pinoy series are offering the viewers with new and interesting stories and some really good sets and surroundings. This series was 8 episodes of about 25-20 minutes each. Karl, a 19-year old introvert architecture student is in the middle of an identity crisis. Prior to the start of the second semester in college and forced by his parents, he moves into his uncle's condominium unit so that he can learn to be financially independent. Karl takes on odd jobs online to do so. But when one of his major clients suddenly goes MIA, he is left short on funds and without a means to pay for his utilities. An opportunity presents itself when his cocky neighbor Vlad has to hide from his family and proposes to share Karl's space for th...
23 comments
Read more

The Tuxedo (Thai Series)

By Golu
When I saw this series with 8 episodes of about 20-25 minutes each, I thought, good: Finally someone has come to senses and made a show which is not stretched out and they have tried to squeeze in a decent storyline in a good small episode format. But unfortunately, despite a decent premise on hand, the clunky writing, bad screenplay and an extreme tasteless portrayal of mental illness makes this show, not a fun watch. By the time it finishes, you just want to laugh off at the entire absurdity of it all. Aioun is talented tuxedo designer and very much in demand but he has handful of clients and he builds suits only for people who he feels a connection to. One night when his younger brother is about to get mugged, he is helped by a total stranger named Sichol. Since he tears his suit in the fight and has an interview the next day, Aioun gifts him a suit form his design as an expression of thanks. Sichol's interview is for. Personal assistant of a man named Nawee, a wealthy heir to h...
25 comments
Read more