BLISS RATING: ★★★★+
“The moment I met you, I knew every step I took was to come across you.” – Quote from Red Balloon
Alluring, intense, and softly romantic. This is a short BL series about two students who meet in school and develop a friendship which eventually leads to a more intense interest in each other. One is Xia Zhi Chen (Shi Cheng Chen) who is a son of a gangster-type father who is controlling and brandishes a lot of power and control over his son and the school. The other is Li Xian Wan (Tao Xu). Both are incredibly good-looking young men and play the teenage version of these characters. It is a slow-moving development of a cursory relationship that ironically developed early in their meeting but remained buried until they had a chance to kiss. By that point, however, it was too late, and the father forbade them from seeing or being together after he catches them kissing. This had to be (and was) crushing and a story that undoubtedly is played out more frequently than we care to know.
Fast forward, years later, the expression of sadness on Chen is carried over into adult and is so overwhelming that you almost want to cry for him. The older Chen is played by Che Liang and the older Wan is played by Kun Da Xie. Both guys are incredibly good looking and play their parts with such resignation and the realization of time that had been lost. We do not really know how they reconnected some 13 years later; we just know that they do. A lot has changed.
Obviously, Chen is married to his teenage sweetheart, Xu Chu Quin (Beatrice Fang). In the opening scenes, we see them sitting at the table discussing their lives and marriage. As she signs the divorce papers, she toasts with a glass of wine, “To our perfect phony marriage.” They begin to reminisce about the earlier times and her inability to read the signs. Chen had little choice but to play the dutiful son and live up to expectations and ‘normalcy’. A sad life for both. There is no real anger here but there is hurt, pain, and a realization of time lost. By this point, the father is dead and his influence over Chen is now gone. So, the yoke is off and now life can begin anew, for all of them. It is a profoundly melancholic story that is undoubtedly too familiar in many people’s lives.
The acting here is first rate, and they downplay the intensity, which they should, because the relationship never really developed outwardly. It was all unrequited. Even Chen’s relationship with Quin was never deep when they were younger as he did not see himself in that capacity as a lover. His first and perhaps only love was Wan.
There is a beautiful reference to the title of this series. As (younger) Chen and Wan talk and as their connection becomes more intense, Wan says to him, “We are like balloons; we can’t fly to the highest, yet we don’t live here on the ground. One day, the two balloons will meet in the sky.” Oh God, that is beautiful and extremely moving. You can sense even at this early point, that their relationship is almost destined to be so, yet the road will be very difficult and long. The bond is there.
Who really S.T.O.L.E. the series? There is an odd side story here of an obviously gay character in school who is bullied and frankly tortured by other students for being gay. Quin is his only support, but his life is extremely rough and difficult to face because of the constant bullying. His story is a profoundly sad one as well and we can feel his pain and we see it on is face. I cannot find the actor who played Xu Yang as he is not listed. This is truly unfortunate because for me he almost steals the series with his intensity. He does get his revenge in the end, however. Things are so bad that he does try and commit suicide but survives. He asks Chen to give a note to his father who he knows has great influence over the school’s affairs. At first, Chen does not want to do it. So, Xu Yang starts to slap his own face. Chen is taken aback by that and tells him to stop. Xu Yang looks at him and says, “If you saw someone hitting me like this, would you stop it?” This was brilliant and excellent screenwriting. Chen is moved and does give the note to his father, who then corrects this injustice and bullying, ironically. The ending scene for Xu Yang is nothing short of artistic brilliance.
The poignancy of this story is simply breathtaking along with the symbolisms. It is well written, well-acted, and tells a solid human tragic story. I wish there were a bit more character development and a greater explanation of how they got together when they are adults. I also wish that more time would have been taken for Xu Yang, as he is the one who is the most bullied and abused. Since he also attempted suicide, this simply cannot be dealt with so casually. This is a serious subject and not all suicide attempts are unsuccessful. I cried here for the pain he felt as if that was his only option. Again, as I have said in other reviews about this subject matter, I applaud the dealing with it, but please not so superficially. Please show that they can get help and this bullying and abusive behaviors towards others who are different is morally reprehensible and wrong and should be dealt with swiftly and with commitment.
This story did have some consequences for persons not taking action on bullying which showed promise. Yet, I did like that the two red balloons have intertwined again and are on their way to greater heights.
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