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...
This documentary is nearly twenty years old now, and it follows a gay couple as they navigate the stressful and exciting journey of their first pregnancy through surrogacy. You get to see it all— the hope, the nerves, and the dramatic hurdles they have to clear along the way. Back in the day, this was probably a massive deal, but since I’ve known a few gay couples who’ve gone through this exact process, some parts felt a bit dated to me. I liked bits and pieces of it, but I also felt like the film stays pretty surface-level. It doesn't really dive into the deep, complicated reality of life after the baby actually arrives. If only raising a kid were actually as simple as this movie makes it look!
Erik and Mark have been together in New York for ten years, and since they feel solid in their relationship, they decide they’re ready to raise a child. They start the hunt for a surrogate and eventually connect with Wen, a wife and mom from Maine who agrees to carry the baby for a standard fee. Pretty quickly, the three of them form a really tight emotional bond. What’s surprising is just how much support they have; Wen’s husband and son are totally on board, and both Erik and Mark’s families are thrilled for them. The road to getting pregnant is a long one, though, including a heartbreaking miscarriage and a couple of years of trying, but they finally welcome a daughter. The documentary wraps up by letting us know that a second sibling joined the family about nineteen months later.
The film really takes you on the whole ride, starting from those first "should we?" conversations between Mark and Erik all the way to the finish line. Along the way, we get a lot of sweet, funny glimpses into their life together, their friends, and the somewhat quirky relationships they have with their own parents. One of the most interesting and honestly "trippy" parts was that both the insemination and the birth happened right at the surrogate’s house. The insemination scene is actually a bit shocking because it’s done totally home-style, which is kind of wild to watch. Instead of a polished documentary, it often feels more like a collection of home videos stitched together to log their progress. The biggest thing missing for me was a real conversation about what the mother’s role would look like afterward. Erik and Mark’s parents even bring up the fact that this is the toughest part to wrap your head around—they can't imagine a mother just giving up her child and walking away. Even with those lingering questions, the movie is a happy, feel-good journey. It serves as a solid reminder that gay couples have every right to be parents and can be just as great at it as anyone else, especially when they have a strong support system backing them up.
It’s a sweet, albeit slightly dated, look at the emotional highs and lows of starting a family through surrogacy. While it lacks some of the deeper "what comes next" details, it’s a heartwarming piece of queer history. (5.5/10)
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