This review may contain spoilers
This is a series that will linger in your thoughts long after you're done watching it....
FYI: This project started off as a short university film project for Mean Phiravich Attachitsataporn, who then not only adapted it into a series, but also directed and starred in as a support role.
WRITING / DIRECTING / PRODUCTION:
The dedication and passion for this project is so blatantly obvious from the very first scene, to the last and beyond. There is a level of quality in this series that is only truly matched by other works that have the same dedication and passion fueling them. Mean has provided the foundation, but it's obvious that the entire cast and crew put their hearts, souls, and undoubtedly more than a few gallons worth of tears into this.
CAST:
If a script is only as good as its writer, then a series/movie is only as good as its cast. These aren't just characters on a page, the raw emotion and performance of the cast has truly brought these characters to life as fully developed, living, breathing and deeply feeling as real as any people.
The biggest compliment that could be given to the actors who this is their first project would be that throughout the entire series you can't tell who are the veterans and who are the newbies. They all appear and feel so natural in their characters that you could easily think they are just portraying themselves and not some fictional character.
For the veteran actors, it doesn't matter how many other series, movies, etc. works you've seen them in, you become so immersed in the characters in this series that you forget about any other roles they've done while watching it.
STORY:
There's something truly haunting about the beauty and realism of the story that makes this stick with you long after you're done watching it. It draws you in like you are experiencing this extraordinarily difficult time in the lives of two of your closest friends and not just characters on a screen. The emotional pacing of the series is incredible, especially when it comes to invoking the stomach churning uncertainty on how situation to situation is going to progress. Mean absolutely lives up to one definition of his name in the middle of the series and the way he lets you linger wondering until the end.
SEMI-SPOILER (Not a spoiler if you've watched the final episode through to the end including the special content)
This is apparently only the end of one chapter of the story as there is a mention of "The Yearbook: The Movies" in the special extra content.
OVERALL:
This series doesn't just mark a dramatic shift in the quality of BL/LGBTQ in Thailand, but should also stand with the best examples of the BL/LGBTQ genres in the world. There are series/movies that are provocative in the way they try to portray BL/LGBTQ to spark a reaction to create discourse and change, and then there are series like this that portray it as a normal everyday, no big deal just a small part of life in a beautifully done way. In the end I personally think a series like this will have a much more meaningful and impactful place than any "throw it in their faces until they accept it" work.
Thank you to the cast, crew, and anyone involved in this work for your dedication, passion, and for giving us viewers such a beautiful experience.
WRITING / DIRECTING / PRODUCTION:
The dedication and passion for this project is so blatantly obvious from the very first scene, to the last and beyond. There is a level of quality in this series that is only truly matched by other works that have the same dedication and passion fueling them. Mean has provided the foundation, but it's obvious that the entire cast and crew put their hearts, souls, and undoubtedly more than a few gallons worth of tears into this.
CAST:
If a script is only as good as its writer, then a series/movie is only as good as its cast. These aren't just characters on a page, the raw emotion and performance of the cast has truly brought these characters to life as fully developed, living, breathing and deeply feeling as real as any people.
The biggest compliment that could be given to the actors who this is their first project would be that throughout the entire series you can't tell who are the veterans and who are the newbies. They all appear and feel so natural in their characters that you could easily think they are just portraying themselves and not some fictional character.
For the veteran actors, it doesn't matter how many other series, movies, etc. works you've seen them in, you become so immersed in the characters in this series that you forget about any other roles they've done while watching it.
STORY:
There's something truly haunting about the beauty and realism of the story that makes this stick with you long after you're done watching it. It draws you in like you are experiencing this extraordinarily difficult time in the lives of two of your closest friends and not just characters on a screen. The emotional pacing of the series is incredible, especially when it comes to invoking the stomach churning uncertainty on how situation to situation is going to progress. Mean absolutely lives up to one definition of his name in the middle of the series and the way he lets you linger wondering until the end.
SEMI-SPOILER (Not a spoiler if you've watched the final episode through to the end including the special content)
This is apparently only the end of one chapter of the story as there is a mention of "The Yearbook: The Movies" in the special extra content.
OVERALL:
This series doesn't just mark a dramatic shift in the quality of BL/LGBTQ in Thailand, but should also stand with the best examples of the BL/LGBTQ genres in the world. There are series/movies that are provocative in the way they try to portray BL/LGBTQ to spark a reaction to create discourse and change, and then there are series like this that portray it as a normal everyday, no big deal just a small part of life in a beautifully done way. In the end I personally think a series like this will have a much more meaningful and impactful place than any "throw it in their faces until they accept it" work.
Thank you to the cast, crew, and anyone involved in this work for your dedication, passion, and for giving us viewers such a beautiful experience.
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