Centered on individuals seeking to fulfill their desires through supernatural means, the anthology series MuTeLuv ensures that love intersects with every one of those paths. I am focusing my writing specifically on the two stories featuring gay plotlines, which are the only two within the entire series. This specific narrative spans four episodes, with each one lasting approximately 45 minutes. In the first story, "Hi" By My Luck, we follow Err, a high school kid whose entire identity is built on being the academic golden boy, topping his class and winning olympiads. This status quo is threatened when Mawin transfers in; without even trying, the quiet new student begins to overshadow Err's achievements. Err views him as a dark horse, and the fact that Mawin is effortlessly brilliant drives Err absolutely crazy, even though Mawin is completely unaware of the effect he has. With a major scholarship exam on the horizon that offers the chance to study abroad, Err refuses to let his position slip. After a friend tells him about an app that provides guidance on how to handle various situations, Err begins using it obsessively to figure out how to beat Mawin and perform better. During a training camp with fifteen other students preparing for the scholarship exam, the two boys are placed in the same room. Following the advice of the app's fortune teller, Err tries to do everything possible to get the icy Mawin to warm up to him, and as he follows these instructions to keep the fortune teller happy, the two gradually grow closer…
As the final entry in my coverage of the MuTeLuv anthology, this marks the second of the series' only two BL stories among the eight total. Spanning four episodes of approximately 45 to 50 minutes each, the plot utilizes an enemies to lovers setup that leans heavily into comedy to maintain a lighthearted tone. While it succeeds at being what it sets out to be, the experience might have been even sharper with some tighter editing. After making a superstitious vow to visit nine temples if he secured his position, Tum becomes the leader of the Nuea-in gang, but his luck spirals downward when he fails to follow through. He suffers repeated beatings at the hands of the rival gang, which is led by Oh, a man famous for stitching the insignias of every defeated leader onto his own pants after snatching their badges. When a friend suggests that this broken promise is the source of his misfortune, Tum decides to finally embark on the nine-temple merit-making trip. In a twist of fate, Oh is also out performing the exact same journey, forcing the two of them to travel together despite their mutual reluctance. As they spend multiple nights and several temple visits in each other's company, they begin to truly understand one another, uncovering their shared fears, family issues, insecurities, and actual life goals. As feelings begin to surface, they hook up, yet Tum finds himself unable to admit to his friends that his feelings for Oh are real. He eventually breaks through that barrier, and love does its…
It has been some time since I watched a movie set during the Pandemic, but this production immediately transported me back to that bizarre era that feels like a lifetime ago. By writing the script and starring as the lead character Chico, the Brazilian filmmaker successfully recreates that specific headspace of isolation, Zoom calls, and the social distancing that eventually became a new normal. However, the film is dull. While the director's intended message might have worked well as a short film, the actual experience involves stretching everything into long scenes where almost nothing happens. Living through lockdown alone, Chico is a bear who treats covid protocols like sacred law, spending his time watering plants and following workout videos. This rigidity has caused his friends to label him the protocol police, a reputation that has slowly pushed them all away. During a Zoom call, he receives even more bad news when his long-distance boyfriend ends their relationship, claiming he is no longer bisexual and has been sleeping with women throughout the pandemic. Despite his lonely routines, Chico remains horny, and watching porn is no longer enough to satisfy him. He reaches out to an old flame to arrange a hookup in perhaps the least seductive manner possible, asking the guy if he would like to have sex while following all the protocols. When the guy arrives, a charged scene of sexual simulation unfolds behind plastic curtains, eventually leading to them being fully naked and having sex with their masks still on. However, the moment the guy pulls his mask off,…
There are no curveballs or surprises here; once you strip everything away, you are left with a very simple Japanese love story. The series asks the viewer to slow down and simply sit with two people as their feelings quietly take shape over time. While the friends-to-lovers trope is nothing new, the show manages to stretch the single question of whether risking a friendship is worth it across ten full episodes of 24 minutes each, along with a bonus episode following them after they finally move in together. I will say the leads are charming, but my patience did start wearing thin, a point I will get into later. Bonded by a shared passion for photography, Minato and Wataru first formed a close connection during high school, a friendship that only deepened over time. While Minato is the quieter type who takes time to open up, Wataru has always ensured he never feels like an outsider. Their bond grew even tighter during university when they decided to live together as roommates. Even during a period when Wataru was seeing a girlfriend, Minato somehow remained the person who mattered most to him. Minato, simply grateful for their connection, promised they would remain friends regardless of what happened. However, everything changed after graduation when Minato moved away for a job in another town. Returning to a quiet, empty apartment, Wataru had a sudden realization: he is in love with Minato. This epiphany was so frightening that he went completely silent and cut off all contact. Three years later, while Wataru is working…
The sheer volume of Thai vertical BL content flooding in from everywhere right now creates a sense of FOMO that keeps pulling people like me in, even when we know better. This particular title serves as a perfect example of that trap. It relies on every lazy trope available to the format, featuring a bad story and basic acting that suggest the only real goal is churning out content in the hope that nobody notices. Everything changed for Ramin once his loving family was gone following the death of his parents. He was taken in by a man named Chai, but rather than raising him, Chai used him as a political prop to gain public support and influence. The person Ramin became was shaped by years of abuse, manipulation, and control within that household. Then Napat enters the picture; though no one around him realizes it, he is the son of a mafia king. An attraction pulls the two together, leading them to sleep together twice. Napat falls for Ramin, completely unaware that Ramin is essentially living under Chai's thumb. Because neither of them knows the other's true identity, an almost-real love situation hangs between them that remains unspoken. Ramin is unable to speak because he has been sent to either destroy Napat's feelings or kill him. Meanwhile, Napat stays quiet, convinced that Ramin will run as soon as the mafia connection is revealed. To add to the mess, Ramin's mother gets dragged in near the end, which feels like a last-ditch attempt to throw more chaos at a story…
It is rare to find a film that manages to transport an audience so effectively, yet this 2024 Cannes premiere achieves exactly that by immersing viewers in the 1990s and the HIV/AIDS reality faced by gay and bisexual men during those years. Rather than feeling like a modern production reflecting on the past, it functions as a proper time capsule that feels as though it could have been produced during that very era. Given how surprisingly hard it is to find gay-themed films set against the backdrop of the AIDS crisis, this work feels especially necessary. The story at its center is warm enough to allow almost anyone to connect with it, and the film handles the period's emotions with a palpable sense of love and respect. The narrative begins in 1990, centered on a moment at a party where a young couple, Sammy and Emma, both kiss a stranger who offers them ecstasy. This encounter triggers a shift in Sammy, leading him to reveal his bisexuality to Emma; though caught off guard, she responds well. A few years pass, and as the pair prepares to move into a new flat, they are joined by their son, Nathan. Their neighbor, a renowned photographer named Cyril, experiences an immediate creative spark upon seeing Sammy and Nathan and asks to photograph them. While Cyril is HIV positive and managing his condition with AZT, his health remains stable. An irresistible pull draws Sammy and Cyril together into a relationship, one where Cyril is transparent about his status and Sammy remains unfazed. When Emma…
Because regional Indian cinema seldom explores gay love stories, a Gujarati film tackling the subject feels significant from the start, especially as this one aims to convey a meaningful message regarding self-acceptance in a world that makes it so difficult. While the Narmada river villages serve as a visually stunning backdrop, and the care taken to capture that setting is palpable, the storytelling is where the film falters. The narrative suffers from scenes that drag on without purpose; a sharper edit focusing the camera on the actual process of how these two men fall for each other would have done the story much more justice. After pulling a drowning Ratan from the water, a fisherman named Raaymal decides to mentor the gentle, withdrawn man who has had little experience with life. As Raaymal teaches him how to row, cook, and find his footing, a genuine friendship develops between the two. Their bond is complicated by their differing diets; Ratan does not eat meat, while Raaymal is devoted to his fish curry, a detail that becomes increasingly significant as their relationship evolves. When Ratan eventually reveals that he attempted suicide because his family rejected his sexuality, Raaymal simply laughs it off without judgment and helps Ratan build a home near the village. In a reciprocal gesture, Ratan learns to cook Raaymal's favorite Katlaa curry, which Raaymal claims is the best thing he has ever eaten. When Ratan confesses his love, Raaymal is initially unsure how to react, having never truly sat with his own sexuality, yet he cannot ignore the pull…
Maintaining the same calm, warm, and genuine atmosphere as the first season, this follow up avoids high stakes or heavy drama. While the first series focused on the couple getting together, we now observe them discovering their individual identities and their roles as partners who support one another. It feels rare to see a depiction of love deepening in such a way on screen. Their relationship is sweet, constructed from small, ordinary moments that feel as though they were pulled straight from real life. This season consists of ten episodes, with each one running for approximately twenty five minutes. Things are going well for Mamiya and Sahashi, who have now moved in together as a couple. While Mamiya is thriving in his new role as Chief of his department at the store, Toma has turned his focus toward his career, aiming to become a top makeup artist. After a leading makeup artist recognizes the potential in Toma's steady skill, she selects him for training with the intent of grooming him as one of her successors. This presents a major dilemma: accepting means moving to Paris and being separated from Mamiya for two years. Although Toma initially hesitates, Mamiya encourages him to take the leap, leading Toma to commit fully to this massive opportunity. As Mamiya begins to contemplate his own future, a timid and unsure new Beauty Advisor joins his department. It takes significant effort from Mamiya to coach this newcomer into gaining confidence and skill, which leads Mamiya to realize he has a knack for mentoring new talent and…
Set in communist Yugoslavia during the late 1950s, this film presents a jarring blend of beauty and devastation. We follow a group of friends working in film who find themselves hunted, humiliated, and punished solely because of their homosexuality. It is a devastating cinematic experience that explores the heavy price of bravery, loyalty, and standing firm in one's convictions. The story centers on four friends—Lovro, Nenad, and two others—who once fought together as partisans against the Nazis during WWII. By the late fifties, sixteen years later, they have achieved fame as filmmakers. Their status as former military service members provides them with government backing, allowing Lovro and Nenad to work on set undisturbed and live their relationship openly, a fact even their parents accept. However, complications arise when Lovro attempts to sneak a scene into their latest film implying that a border guard and a soldier from the Yugoslav People's Army eloped to Italy, an act spotted by a member of the censorship board monitoring the production. This leads to the arrival of Emir, a middle-aged bureaucrat positioned in the middle ranks, who is quietly instructed to sabotage the film from within without an official mandate. Interestingly, Emir is not actually troubled by the couple being gay; his sole purpose is to destroy the production. His attempt at sabotage fails when he gets caught in a fire, and it is the four friends who ultimately rescue him. Feeling a sense of debt, he invites them to his sister's seaside home for a relaxing weekend, failing to realize the danger this…
I am still struggling to process the experience of watching my first fully AI-generated vertical BL, an encounter that felt uniquely unsettling. There is a distinct difference between viewing brief AI-generated clips and sitting through a feature-length production constructed entirely this way, though I cannot quite articulate that specific sensation. My head and my gut are currently at odds, leaving me undecided on whether to continue exploring this medium or to simply back away. What is certain, however, is that for a creation made by an AI that presumably faces no limits on storytelling, the decision to rely on the same exhausted tropes that this genre has recycled indefinitely is a major letdown. Furthermore, the entire production bears a very obvious hangover from Heated Rivalry. Hockey rivals Adam and James can't stand one another, yet a shared punishment leads to an unexpected hookup that leaves both of them stunned. Adding to the chaos, they find out their parents—his dad and his mom—are dating and planning to marry, effectively making them stepbrothers. Forced to share a bed under the same roof, their relationship shifts from barely tolerating each other to something entirely unplanned. James initiates things by flirting his way toward Adam, but the drama intensifies when a girl who used to live next door to Adam arrives, triggering James's jealousy. He reacts by pretending to date someone else, sparking yet another cycle of back-and-forth tension. While they remain fierce rivals at school and on the ice, they continue to end up in bed together behind closed doors. The tension peaks…
Relying heavily on the reincarnation trope, this Thai BL features all the standard elements: a love story spanning multiple lifetimes, a scheming female villain, and a sprawling mansion that feels like a set I have seen in at least ten other shows. As a viewer, the direction of the story is quite predictable. However, the execution remains solid, the leads possess genuine chemistry, and the mystery is sufficient to maintain interest. My main complaint is that the plot drags through far too many segments. Given that it consists of twelve episodes, each lasting over fifty minutes, it requires a significant time investment. The narrative jumps between two timelines, set in the early 1900s and the mid 1900s, where nearly the entire cast from a past life is reborn into comparable roles and relationships in the present. In the current day, Kaewta is living with his mom and struggling with financial issues when two men unexpectedly arrive, claiming he is a distant relative of Khun Yai and has inherited a massive house. He moves in, feeling confused but willing to go along with the situation, only to slowly sense a presence in the house—something he can feel and occasionally glimpse, even if he can't be certain it is real. This presence is revealed to be Khun Yai's ghost. Through various conversations and scattered flashbacks, we discover that Kaewta and Khun Yai were lovers in a past life, but Kaewta has zero memory of those events, and an unresolved issue from that era is preventing Khun Yai's spirit from moving on. Everyone…
Having loved all three seasons of Heartstopper on Netflix, I felt a massive sense of anticipation for this one, though I was also slightly anxious about how the creators would manage to pack everything into a mere two hours. While the series has primarily focused on Nick and Charlie navigating the timing of saying I love you or deciding whether to have sex, this movie shifts the focus toward a different question: can teen relationships truly endure into adulthood? This inquiry carries even more weight given that Nick's last year of school is underway and university is approaching rapidly. I will outline the plot first before providing my take. With Nick in his final year of high school, much has shifted. He has decided on Leeds for university, which is roughly a three or four hour journey away. Meanwhile, Charlie has outgrown his shy persona; he is now running for Head Boy and attempting to establish a club for queer students. Although he is still managing his eating disorder and urges to self harm, his decision to attend therapy and be honest about his emotions has fostered significant growth. While Nick is happy for him, this development leaves him feeling less central to Charlie's life than he used to be. Nick is also having a hard time writing his college essay, and Charlie refuses any help when Nick offers. Ultimately, Nick just cannot open up about his true feelings. As college approaches and Charlie becomes preoccupied with new responsibilities, Nick feels his established life slipping away. This leads to petty…
