My Friendship (2020)

The main characters are classmates (they don't seem to be roommates despite what the MDL synopsis says), and it's not clear how close they are at the start. But after Jack places his hand on Bank's thigh, they frequently go on school toilet trysts.

How much of it is merely sexual desire and how much of it is mutual attraction or even love? We can't really tell, but the relationship is kept purely sexual for a while, with Jack barely speaking to Bank after the trysts. For Bank, it seems to be purely sex at first--he doesn't even consider himself gay (I guess what he means is that he hasn't considered a romantic relationship with another guy even if he enjoys sexual activity with one guy).

Despite Jack's aloofness, he seems to be the one who actually wants to be lover with Bank. Its also at this point where it becomes problematic to continue using the male pronoun for Jack because it is revealed that he is transgender. Despite having had sex with Jack, Bank claims that he isn't gay and tells Jack (dressed as a woman) to go away.

But perhaps the love was mutual. Eventually Bank realizes that he has lost someone he loves.

I must have seen mini series and short films that have more running time and yet end up telling much less of a story. Of course, My Friendship has its flaws. We learn too little of the characters too late to be more engaged. Yet, the actors have done surprisingly well in conveying the latent desire that the characters barely dare to reveal and their confusion while maintaining a relatively casual front to each other when they are not engaged in sexual activity. Oak, in particular, manages to portray Jack as someone who seems cold not because he is cold but because he fears revealing more of himself.

A sequel has been announced, but I'm not sure how the story is going to be linked, given that the Part 1 has already revealed the key events, including the death of one of the characters. I think a different cut can make things better, but I can't be sure about a sequel.

Read More

The teasers amped up the hype on this short film by promising a much more racier (think R-rated) film not normally seen in Thai series in this genre. What you get is an ok story, good acting, and teasers that were only adjunctly related to the story.

Let’s get this out of the way first, several of the scenes used as the basis for some of the teasers were not included in the actual film. So if you were expecting that, you’ll be disappointed, The teasers that weren’t used are somewhat related but don’t blend well into the timeline and narrative as shown. It’s almost like the director had two arcs to choose from. A more innocent, slower relationship development or a torrid love affair. He chose the later. Yes trying to meld the two arcs could have added more of a back story and depth to the character’s relationship but with the direction they decided to go these scenes frankly not necessary.

The film’s story of acceptance of self and the lack of acceptance from the ones you love was told just fine. There’s a bit of roughness and deliberateness with some of the scenes which begs for better editing and perhaps even one or two more scenes to add depth to the story..

The acting was good from the two actors. Mon Hatsawatchon is the better of the two in his portrayal of Bank. You can see where his acting has improved over the other short films that he’s done in recent years.

Music was kinda creepy and didn’t really fit the mood.

Overall, it’s an ok short film that’s worth the 30mins to watch. It definitely didn’t deliver on the hype of the teasers which is a bit of shame as it marginalizes the credibility of the film, producers, and directors. No need to sensationalize! Let the quality of the story and the acting stand on its own.

Read More

Nothing here

So little happens here, aside from the one key scene that I can’t recommend this unless you’re desperate. Two boys have lots of sex (I’m guessing there’s no intercourse, since it all takes place behind a closed bathroom door). We don’t learn either of their motivations until the one pivotal scene, so we don’t get a sense of their characters nor can we truly root for them as a couple. The reveal is not explored at all. We don’t know if Jack is trans or just dressing up to entice Bank, since he “knows he’s straight”. The casual handling of the suicide is almost negligent. These are serious issues that demand exploration. Banks reversal does little to lessen the poor handling of the issues.

Decent acting, especially strong by Bank.

A mediocre student film feel at best. I’d skip it.

Read More

La triste réalité pour certain-e-s

L'histoire est un coup de poing. Après c'est un court métrage à petit budget, il pèche par quelques maladresses mais les acteurs sont à la hauteur du propos. Ce n'est pas un BL c'est un film qui expose crûment une réalité bien triste. Le personnage de Bank est tout excusé du son attitude envers le personnage de Jack : ils sont tous les deux de jeunes lycéens. Leur histoire a commencé dans " My Friendship 2" qui a été tourné après celui-là, il est d'ailleurs plus accompli du point de vue narration et cinématographique. Lorsque l'on a vu les deux parties on se rend compte des errements de Bank et la non acceptation de ses propres désirs, et les difficultés de Jack à être ce qu'il est et sa grande souffrance. Si la fin peut paraître abrupte, elle me semble juste car que pourrait-on dire d'autre? Ce n'est pas des courts métrages à regarder dans un moment de tristesse car il faut s'accrocher pour ne pas être éprouvé. J'ai lu plusieurs critiques que j'ai trouvé assez injustes : oui il y a des manquements mais ces films sont produits pour exposer des faits, et montrer certains aspects de nos sociétés hétéronormées et leur violence envers les personnes LGBT.

Read More

Triste, mas muito real

É o tipo de projeto que você assiste uma vez e dói a vida inteira... fiquei muito chocada ao ver essa microssérie, foram dois eps que mexeram muito comigo, primeiro por se tratar de uma história que não é BL, não é algo idealizado ou romantizado, é algo muito próximo da realidade, algo que já aconteceu e acontece todos os dias em algum lugar do mundo. O segundo ponto foi o fato da história ter sido real... isso nos deixa mais vulnerável à dor de saber dessa realidade.

Em se tratando da história, ela é bem didática. Os meninos iniciaram um relacionamento pq um deles teve coragem de dar o primeiro passo e tocar o outro, mesmo com medo da rejeição e da reação. Quando esse toque foi recíproco, eles iniciaram o relacionamento, mas o que me chama atenção e dói mais, é saber que eles nem ao menos se falavam, se encontravam transavam e nem mesmo trocavam palavras, isso, ao meu ver, se dá por causa do preconceito estrutural que existe de forma muito forte na Tailândia (no mundo inteiro, na verdade), ou seja, é possível se tocar, beijar, transar, mas se falar em público te "faz um homossexual", enfim, a hipocrisia estrutural nada velada.

O momento da declaração é muito impactante, pq nesse momento sabemos que quando houve aquele primeiro toque, já faziam 2 anos que Jack estava apaixonado por Bank, e eu fiquei imaginando o sofrimento dele durante esses dois anos para buscar a coragem de se aproximar.
Não preciso falar do resto da cena... quando Jack fala que foi expulso e não diz o motivo, e em seguida aparece travestido, fica subentendido o motivo da expulsão. Me julguem, mas eu entendi a reação de Bank... Já seria difícil assumir um relacionamento sexual com alguém do mesmo sexo, imagine se esse alguém fosse trans? O nervosismo dele, o medo dos pais verem, afinal ele é apenas um adolescente no décimo ano... que infelizmente descobriu da pior forma que deveria ter ouvido seu coração. A série deixa muitas lacunas, afinal são menos de 40 minutos de série, a segunda temporada só veio ano passado, dois anos depois da primeira, e preenche algumas dessas lacunas, mas não todas elas.

No aspecto técnico, obviamente é uma obra de baixa produção, mas eu achei que Mon e Oak evoluíram em suas atuações, a trilha sonora combina com a melancolia da série. Não temos uma fotografia maravilhosa, a filmografia tem alguns defeitos, mas não tira o impacto da história.

Eu não pretendo ver de novo, finais tristes não são meu forte, mas verei mais uma vez a segunda temporada para fazer a resenha aqui no site.

Read More