byyourname99
Yes the ending was rushed but DON'T MISS THIS. please.
Yes the ending was definitely rushed but DON'T MISS THIS. Please! *spoiler-free*[ The REVIEW ]
Although you'll find this innocent & sexy story a bit wanting, it's surely something you won't regret watching. The main flaw is that it feels like chapters of this story seem to be missing - nothing wrong with execution, characters or the immersiveness of the story here- the movie will pull you right in and keep you fully engaged till the end- it's just that by the time you come close and closer to the end, you get a clear sense that there was more to be told here - you feel it was rushed.
Q. So should you miss this?
A. No. Don't miss this one.
....Now, lets get into the nitty gritties.....
[ Theme Of SEX ]
This was a story centered around sex and it dealt with it so honestly - for the character Light, a young prostitute, sex was connection, love & all intimacy ever is - he wastes no time in wanting to go there, all he wants is someone to say "I love you" and that's enough to get intimate. Shuo, the undercover cop takes him into his home & looks after him without a second thought but what I think they were trying to show was that there was sexual attraction from the get go, - you see, Shuo has cameras in the alleyway doesn't he, and he knows what Light's been up to. Sex just underpinned so much of this story, it's what drew the characters together in spite of themselves. I liked how they made this their main pull.
And those explicit intimate scenes though- we don't get to see our BL character's being unabashedly sexual - you got some BDSM in here, the character Light is seen sniggering as he's beaten at times and some passionate & convincing scenes between the leads - I kept thinking these actors are amazing to not worry about being typecast as these characters - these are real actors in the sense of the word - go wherever the role requires - bold stuff here but it's what gave sparks to the story, giving the narrative it's high & low points, it's what moves the story forward.
[ The ENDING & Missing Chapters ]
I'm not disappointed with the ending but like everyone has said - something's up with HOW they ended this. What we got was 40 min movie, alright, with the love story reaching it's midway high point at the 30 min mark BUT then within the last 10 mins of the movie a conflict ensues and is resolved quickly- The End! - something was definitely up.
Chunks of story were scrapped and not all loose ends were tied. If you remember, Shuo's character is an undercover cop and he was clearly there to investigate some gangster/goon character - they set that situation up pretty clearly but they never deal with it EVER. My gut feeling is that his undercover cop storyline was meant intertwine with Light's storyline, like Light, being a prostitute would find a way to get caught up in all this mess - but it never happened. We never get to see Shuo in some action scenes and saving the day.
Even Shuo's character isn't really explored - the synopsis of the movie says more about him than the movie itself shows. he's supposed to be a character that "cannot love" said one description of the movie but did the movie ever go there - no. My guess is that this was supposed to be a 2 HOUR flick that was shortened due to COVID and the story was altered to accommodate the shooting limitations.
[ Final WORDS ]
Nevertheless i'm thankful for it having been made. it was worth watching. Liked the characters, the situations they were put into and how convincingly the love story progressed. This could have been a classic BL 10/10 EASILY, which is was makes me feel bad - there was stuff missing from it that's all. I genuinely think the filmmaker didn't get to tell all he wanted to tell here. Regardless they showed us enough to understand these characters & appreciate their relationship.
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To BL Fans out there - must watch this for ep13 & 14.
To ANY BL FANS OUT THERE watch episode 13 & 14. BL story between toxic bully Da Dong & his pushover ukke Xiao Lin. it's real, toxic, sweet & well made. Don't fall for the terrible title or supernatural tone - they are incidental to the story.I'm into the Bully-to-lover trope in BL but most of them have the bullies turn soft at the drop of a hat and just transform unrealistically the moment they set their eyes on their ukkes. This one however treats it the right way, we see a realistic growth with time - always trust good writing to come from a Taiwanese production.
Gloomy Days (Ep 13 & 14) also does a good job of giving layers to the bully. The actor plays this multidimensional bad boy character well, realistically shows his inability to healthily deal with his attraction to the girliest ukke on campus, which does cross a line big time & then even more...so you might get triggered but then again it's pretty measured and isn't gratuitous.
There's so much more to it. i just like how the writing gives a peak into how complicated it is for the ukke, it shows how toxic-ly he's also kinda into him. The show isn't problematic, it's just dealing with complicated subject matter, which is kinda real.
Simply put this is a well made, short but good story line - yes it's toxic but it's also tender and it's got small moments of humour- which is a sign of good writing I've heard. over all it's written well. Worth a rewatch for sure!!
Xiao lin & Da Dong could work great as BL series leads, this story can easily be unpacked into a good season of 8-9 episodes - just take out the supernatural element, which is quite incidental to the narrative and voila you got a classic BL waiting for you. Hope some thai or taiwanese production house thinks of doing this. We need a complicated, messy & sweet BL by now!
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ADORBS! Please Watch this Sweet Little Nugget.
Review:This is a sweet little nugget this is. Perfect for a cozy sunday afternoon light affair with earnest performances & an engaging simple story. it's a fun premise: a man disguised as his sister gets married to the boyish nobleman ryu and a sweet friendship that grows into a deep fondness ensues. . It has a good balance of sincerity & fluff with the golden charm of a 16th-17th century Korea.
However the scale of the story is small, there are no subplots or any garnishing or detailed sets - there's a charming simplicity to the scope of this story - it gets right to it with 8 short episodes but you'll find yourself appreciating it.
extra notes:
-I really like the actors, both adorable and convincing. I like the way Nobleman Ryu's face holds the gaze of the camera - I like his closeups. You see the vulnerability & restraint -it's adorable.
-The production value isn't high enough for a period piece but they've managed to create something special and with quality.
-I'm sure if the budget was higher the scale of the story would be more expansive, with more characters, details & parallel storylines - the story lends itself to a bigger scale easily - wouldn't mind if this was ever remade with 20 eps - it would work.
Watch this please!
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Watch this only if you have nothing else to watch.
Watch this BL only if you have nothing else to watch. This one is a strict one time watch with one finger firmly placed on the skip button throughout. I think the Seme's acting or appearance might have won my over or the reincarnation theme made me curious - otherwise I have no clue why I kept watching this. Seriously - i think it's because i had nothing else to watch (until i watched a lovely toxic 2 parter from Gloomy Salad (2010) ep13 & 14)The main problem w Until We Meet again is the couple gets together way too quick, i usually like a slow burn - i think everybody does - watch a relationship develop, i prefer a will they-won't they pattern - but here they skip the burn & it's just a waiting game for the reincarnation story to come full circle in the end. So whoever wrote this script or novel, I don't know why they thought people would keep turning the pages. Or maybe this is poorly adapted?
Finally, when it does reach that full circle point, it isn't a rewarding moment becuase there there weren't really any hurdles in this story at all - so storywise, there's not much a story here ... which is why kept skipping ... it's just passing time till the end. All this has is a reincarnation theme that is used to explain their unexplainable attraction, but it's otherwise not used to its full potential cuz trust me reincarnation is a popular theme is south asain movies, this didn't even come close.
Some other issues I had was the ukke isn't attractive but the Seme's looks do grow on u.
Also, the ukke's character is s just perfect at everything, his personality is too pleasantly perfect with a faux wide smile fixed on his face- it's too flat & unreal - i don't see the point of it. Being a good cook is not a character trait imo. Add to that the ukke cries a lot in this, and I mean a lot and it's unintentionally comedic, and they cue in this romantic track whenever he's having all these feels - i don't mind cheesiness but i was finding it legit funny
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