CAPTURE LOVER – 2020 – China

BLISS RATING: ★★★ 

“Family means nobody gets left behind or forgotten.” – David Ogden Stiers

Surprisingly, this series is from China and simply for that, it should be applauded. It is an odd series to critique because parts of it are actually pretty good and then parts are very bad. I just was not sure what they wanted and where they were going to go with it. Simply, it is a love story between Ding Jun Jie (Luigi Zhang) with a caveat, however, which I shall explain later. I know most of these guys who do BL series are incredibly handsome, but Luigi Zhang was blessed extra by God with super exceptional good looks. He is so incredibly handsome that it is difficult not to focus on him. He has such an expressive face, particularly for sad situations.

He is a deputy general manager of a company, and he is saddled with a lackadaisical employee named Ying Jia Ming (Han Jin Ching). Not to be outdone in the looks department either, he has also been blessed by God with exceptionally good looks but in a way more rugged fashion. And his voice is incredibly soothing. Of course, he is the son of the Chairman of the Board. But Ding Jun Jie does manage to give Jing Jia Ming some discipline and instill work ethics just in time for him to be named head of the department and he then becomes Ding Jun Jie’s new boss.

This is a fairly standard set-up, and it has its charm and humor as Jing Jia Ming tries mighty to woo Ding Jun Jie. He even ingratiates himself to Ding Jun Jie’s mother, (Jiu Shenghong). There are some cute scenes, and he is incredibly charming, real, and genuine in his desire to be with Ding.

But Ding is way more timid, unsure, and concerned for how his mother would react. Up to this point, the story is nicely done but then it turns a bit weird. While they introduced early on the ‘arranged’ girlfriend of Ying Jia Ming, named Lucy Zhang (Jiao Haitang). He does not like her and is not attracted to her. He pretends a relationship with Ding Jun Jie but she apparently festers over that and decides to capture Ding Jun Jie and tortures him. Of course, he is saved by Jing Jun Jie. That all seemed a bit hokey to me and could have been eliminated.

Since Jing Jun Jie is also badly beaten, he recovers with Ding Jun Jie and their relationship intensifies and they fall in love. The mother seems supportive of their friendship but when she finds out that they are in love, she pulls the “I am gonna die if you don’t stop” parent card. (After all, what will the neighbors think?) Even though he explains with real passion and persuasiveness tries to get his mother to understand, it is all in vain. She does not.

This seemed so out of character for his mother. Sure, I understand how she would be deeply concerned, but her whole demeanor did not strike me as one that would literally ask her son to choose – his love or her. I just did not buy that and felt that was more for dramatic effect than any type of sincerity. So, Ding Jun Jie breaks up with him and as they depart Jing Jia Ming, says to him, “If you let go, I’ll never turn back.” He reminded him about how cruel he is and how he fell into his trap.

But, in the end, there is a ray of hope when Ding Jun Jie tells him that maybe he will see him and be with him when he obtains his dream of opening up a barbecue restaurant. Both smile as each walk off, giving us some ray of hope that they will eventually be together. This last third of the series along with the first third, were surprisingly well scripted and a nice story. It was the middle with all that weird silly stuff that diminished this series from being better.

Who really S.T.O.L.E. the series? Who I think was the key figure here was someone I have not yet mentioned. She was the ‘girlfriend” of Ding Jun Jie, Meng Yeo, played beautifully by Xia Ke Xin. She has been in love with Ding Jun Jie since they were children and has clung to the hope he would come around someday. But as close as they were, he does not feel romantically attached in any way to her. Hers is a totally unrequited love that is absolutely one-sided. She played this part with a deep conviction and a real sense of sadness as if she knew the inevitable outcome of this relationship yet was powerless to stop it. In fact, she tells Ding Jun Jie, she will continue to try until he finds a ‘girl’ more worthy than her. It does not take her long, after seeing the two of them together, that she realizes he is in love, deeply, with Jing Jia Ming. He denies it, but she tells him to look into his own heart to see the truth and she will now not bother him anymore. It was an incredibly sad moment but uplifting at the same time. She had an expression of profound sadness yet conveyed a sense of peace with herself that he is now finally being his true self. That was not easy to do without making it a caricature and Xia Ke Xin did it to perfection. I believed her and felt her sadness. Well done.

However, there were problems with this series, mainly with the production. There was a lot of uneven sound, making it hard to hear. Also, the whole setup of scenes (editing) was not consistent. The props were not staged properly so they would not be so annoying. There really is a certain way to have a glass drop that is dramatic and then there is a glass dropping that is annoying, irritating, and detracts. You have to know the right balance. This is obviously a low budget series in which the effort is there and with more attention to directing, editing, and story, this could have been a bit more memorable.

But I want to take nothing away from the main actors. (Did I mention that they are incredibly handsome? I think I did). They actually have good chemistry together and make an adorable couple. I must admit that Han Jin Ching seemed way more into the role, and I found his performance more natural and real. He showed growth and was able to covey his passion for Ding Jun Jie with a great deal of sincerity. His romantic scenes were believable, and he seemed to have ‘gotten into it’. While Luigi Zhang was good, here is the caveat.During at least one of their love scenes, you can see him clearly looking at the camera with a look in his face conveying almost begging someone to rescue him. He looked very uncomfortable in the love making scenes and he seemed genuinely not connected to them.

Look, I can only imagine how difficult these scenes can be, but you just HAVE to convince the audience that you are in love with the other guy. He said all the right words, but the feeling was not real for me. This is where direction must take control and have them sense and believe and yes show that they are in love. Not just playing a part that says they are so.

With a greater focus on direction and an acting coach, these issues could have been fixed. It is unfortunate because I really do think they are an adorable couple together and by the showing of the outtakes and bloopers, they had a real connection.

They could be a BL couple to watch if they want it.