BLISS RATING: ★★★★+
“No matter how many times you say you’ll give up with words, if your heart still says “love’, there is nothing to be done.” – Lo Sakisaka
The English translation of this series name is loosely translated as Nation’s Boyfriend which again is not really all that important. There is just something about Vietnamese BL series that I truly admire. This is an incredibly wonderful story told sometimes in bemusing ways and sometimes with serious overtones but always with a softness to it like you are wrapped in your favorite blanket to keep warm and snuggle up with in the middle of winter. This is something that is just so endearing and sweet about these characters and stories that you cannot help but to be drawn into their lives.
The story revolves around an older brother who is trying to take care of and raise his sister. The older brother is Minh Anh (Ba Vinh) and his younger sister is Gia Lam (Minh Thu). Initially, we do not know why he is raising his sister by himself but later we find out that he was knifed in the back saving himself and carrying his sister to safety from their father.
That is a remarkable story told with a matter-of-fact tone (in a shower as you will see) that is now simply a part of who he is and what he has become. Indeed, he is a moderately successful businessman with a somewhat terse and curt approach to life and work.
Lam is not doing well in school, and he is constantly being called by the school because of her poor grades and perfunctory personality. She is indeed precocious and is exercising her personality and newly found thinking about how she does not necessarily have to be completely controlled by her brother. While happy-go-lucking, she is never flippant and is very astute as to her surroundings and her own brother. She knows when and how to ‘push his buttons’ to get what she wants. Honestly, she is a joy to watch and her quirky personality and her unwillingness to accept authority or perceived roles is rather refreshing.
Minh Anh has an assistant named Nhan (Viet Ly), who is a good assistant at the same time he is toadying to him. He is obsequious to Minh Anh to the point that Minh Anh treats him poorly or condescendingly. Yet, secretly, he is in love with Minh Anh.
Minh Anh goes for a walk and misinterprets the action of a young man on a bridge. The young man named Tam (Yuan Viet), appears as if he is jumping off the bridge. But he is not; he is just frustrated with the breakup with his boyfriend. Tam, small in stature and quiet, is an incredibly forceful person merely by his presence. He is one of those persons who could and does manipulate both people and situations almost at will with his charm, wit, and intellect. But does so in such a soft way and with pure logic that it is hardly noticeable. He gets Minh Anh to get them both drunk and in a fit of intense passion, they end up making love. Impulsively, fervently, and impetuously. Yet, it seems to be more actually for both.
Minh Anh finds out where he works and pursues him in a cold and distant fashion, without Tam realizing who he is initially. That was odd at first because I might understand that he was drunk and would not remember all the details, but there is something else that Tam suffers from. He apparently suffers from intense sleep walking where he might not remember parts of what he had done. (There is a stunning scene of this in this series that is both breathtaking, enlightening, and somewhat startling). Whatever the reason, he simply does not remember who Minh Anh is. Yet, he becomes even more attracted to Tam and Tam to him.
Tam is an excellent student and so is hired to teach Lam. Thus, begins the posturing behaviors of Minh Anh to try and win Tam without looking like he wants him. Tam can figure it out and ironically so does Lam. It fools no one yet he continues. Tam ingratiates himself into the family and when he is not there, Minh Anh is disheartened.
His best friend comes to stay with them for a while. His name is Phong (Vu Tan). He mixes up the equations and becomes jealous of the connections that Minh Anh has with Tam. Tam in his usual manipulative fashion convinces Phong that maybe he is jealous of their budding romance, and he is secretly in love with Minh Anh. Phong thinks maybe that is true and confesses to Minh Anh that he likes him and kisses him but immediately realizes that it is not what he wants. Normally, I detest these contrived scenes, but in this case, it totally worked because he has NEVER dated, and did not know if he was attracted to males or females.
This whole scenario is hysterical. So now he knows and slowly but steadily, a connection between him and Lam begins to develop. In the meantime, Nhan tries to manipulate the situation to break up Minh Anh and Tam but it fails. Minh Anh confesses his love for Tam in a unique and powerful way.
I just loved this story because it does prove that you can have a miniseries of only six episodes in a complete way and still give us just enough character development to make these individuals real and relatable. You can show a deep and forceful love connection in a short period of time if you have the right story and the right actors to flowingly move the story along and focused. These actors, all of them, were excellent and so incredibly believable. The nuances of their movements, changes to their looks, introspective faces made it all work so well.
There was such chemistry between Tuan Viet as Tam and Ba Vinh as Minh Anh that it was palpable and genuine. You just knew no matter what that they would be together. They had an instant connection even if it was very subtle. These actors are incredibly handsome and have boy-next-door qualities about them. You could not help but to fall in love with Tuan Viet (Tam) because of his sad and forlorn look about him and always appearing to be the victim. Meanwhile, Ba Vinh (Minh Anh) had this serious look about him most of the time and stern presence that when he did smile, he could light up the room and you knew he was up to something. Yet, everyone knew that his look was just a façade and underneath he was a good decent person.
Who really S.T.O.L.E. the series? A very difficult question to answer. ALL these actors without exception deserve this distinction but if I am forced to decide, I by a very slight edge have to give it to Yuan Viet as Tam. Obviously for the reasons I mentioned above but also because of his charm in bringing this character to life. He has a screen presence that just shines. He played the part of the sorrowful and dejected individual with perfection with always a slight glee and twinkle in his eye. It was just charming to watch and impossible not to be enamored by him. Honestly, if I had met someone like him in my early days, I would have been absolutely taken-in my him as well. (Truth be told, I almost was. That is why he was so relatable to me).
What is so likeable about this series is that it gets right to the heart of the story immediately and limits the tangents or off-shoots of drama that take away from the stories. This story was simply focused on Minh Anh and his sister and the impact that Tam has in their lives. It was amusing, entertaining, charming, witty, and just plain fun to watch. It presented a ‘slice of life’ that happens more often than not then the artificial dramas that a lot of BL series suffer from. These people were organic, represented real people, and the story was relatable and solid and believable.
There was also not a lot of time wasted on deciding where the love between the two would go. Minh Anh knew (actually since the first time they met) he was in love with Tam. Once he was told by his sister that you better act before the very thing you want may be gone from your life, he did. Awesome! As Minh Anh tries to reason with Nhan as Nhan explains that he should be in love with him as he has been next to him for a long time. But Minh Anh says to him that it is not time but feeling. He only feels (loves) Tam. Beautiful and romantic and I bought it.
Yes, the production standards may be off at times and the translations are not understandable or confusing but there is just something so charming about the stories. Honestly, you will ‘get them’ despite the issues.
I liked this series a lot. Watch it, please. It will make you feel good! And you will be entertained. Please seek out the Vietnamese BL series. They are so good.
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