Stay with Me (2015)

Story: Two boys go from friends to being more than friends, but less than lovers. Their shenanigans escalated from silly things like spinning bottles on their foreheads, to more brazen acts like throwing Molotov cocktails in public streets. And at some point, probably experimented with each other during one of these reckless escapades. But to what extent, we don't really know.

Acting: The actors are not too shabby.

Music: Unmemorable.

Rewatch Value: If only to figure out whether some parts are a dream or the reality.

Overall: We see two friends bonding with each other for different reasons. Jie Yu uses his friendship with Yan Shiu as an escape from the real problems his family had been facing, with his mother working hard, and still had to help at the shop his father was supposed to oversee. His father doesn't seem to take responsibility; he wakes up late and he runs off to "business trips" that no one knows where he really went. Tired of picking up his father's slack, Jie Yu goes and spends more time with Yan Shiu. But the time spent made Jie Yu confused about what he really feels, especially when sex gets in the mix.

All the scenes of both boys being together are interspersed with scenes of Jie Yu riding solo on the streets. The camera work was choppy as the frames go back and forth the present and the past. If the film's intent was to confuse the viewers, it certainly did its job.

So many questions were left unanswered. Was Jie Yu running away because he had developed feelings for Yan Shiu , or was he just escaping the increasing intimacy of their friendship? Was Jie Yu denying his sexuality or was he afraid that Yan Shiu was only fooling around and wasn't as invested in their friendship as he was? Nevertheless, we will never know whether the lovemaking between them really happened or just a figment of Jie Yu's imagination.

I'm leaning towards the belief that they did sleep with each other, since Jie Yu said he wanted to go back to being friends. But whether he meant it or not, was another question.

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It's also not clear to me how it was with that girl... Kraťas looks very simple, but appearances are deceiving, it's a painful story straight from life, it's not a fairy tale. There is an immeasurable variety of relationships between human beings. From camaraderie, friendship, love, infatuation to hate and hundreds of varieties in between. Very solid.
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Také mi není jasné, jak to bylo s tou dívkou ... Kraťas vypadá, jako velmi jednoduchý, ale zdání klame, je to tíživý příběh rovnou ze života, není to žádná pohádka. Vztahů mezi lidskými bytostmi je nezměrné různorodé množství. Od kamarádství, přátelství, lásky, zamilovanosti až po nenávist a stovky druhů mezi tím. Velmi solidní.

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