BLISS RATING: ★★★★★
“I never knew I could feel so much pain, and yet be so in love with the person causing it” – via Curiano.com
This is an astonishing and brilliant concatenation. It had me hooked from the beginning. It is another brilliant jewel from Vietnam that exceeds expectations and does so with a simple story told as a narration. The story begins with one recalling, in painstaking detail, the saga to love he augmented for his stepbrother, as told in the past tense. Now older, wiser, and more reflective and pensive. It becomes a story within a story. Happily, told but sadly experienced.
Hoai Tan (Hoang Cong Dat) is an angry young man, full of bitterness against his lot in life. He lashes out at the world in frustration because he is misunderstood and feels left out and perhaps abandoned. A tough exterior hides an interior of vulnerability and pain. It is mostly directed towards his stepbrother, Nguyen Vu (Vo Tran Song Duy). Vu is a bit older than Tan and by all measures liked and respected by others. He is smart and studies hard which is the opposite of Tan. Tan is so angry with his father for having married Vu’s mother and subsequently leaving his father to raise Vu as his ‘older’ son as well. Because Vu’s mother is away on business a lot, Vu is now seen as the brother who bears the responsibility to watch over and be responsible for Tan, and his welfare, since Tan is younger than Vu. This takes away from Tan’s time with his father and creates a sibling rivalry, which drives Tan to act out even more. Tan despises his stepbrother and claims to hate him.
Yet, through this all, Vu and Tan begin to bond. Vu takes on more and more of the role of older brother, protector, and mentor to his younger brother. Tan’s anger begins to subside or becomes more a defense mechanism to not wanting to face what he is really feeling. Fairly quickly, as Tan begins to realize that Vu is not an enemy, he learns to respect him and begins to develop more affection towards him. As these sensualities intensify, Tan becomes more cognizant that these feelings are just not feelings of brotherly love for him but way more fervent. The development of these feelings is so spot-on and honest, they endeared me even more to this series. For example, as they develop a closeness, Tan begins to notice that Vu has a certain ‘smell’ that is unique to him and he becomes aroused when he smells his unique scent. This is so astonishingly accurate as any young gay guy will tell you (including me) that once you have identified that unique ‘smell’ of the person you are interested in, be it from the aftershave or cologne or deodorant plus their body smell, it becomes an aphrodisiac.
It becomes obvious that both are feeling something for each other that is no longer covert. When the power is lost, Tan is fearful and asks to sleep with Vu. When he sees Vu’s body, it becomes an overwhelming sensation for him. And an excitement envelopes him. When he wakes up, he looks down at his and begins to wonder. Curiosity and prurience gets the better of him and he slides his hand down Vu’s underwear and obviously gets caught. This is an astonishing and real scene and so, so accurate. This screenplay captures the nuances of boys growing up and shows their unfiltered responses to their sexual drives with complete accuracy and realism in all its stupidity.
Vu, is more reserved in his approach to how he feels towards Tan. In one sense, he does not want to influence him to feeling pressure to develop a relationship, and thus holds back in expressing his true feelings. Pressured to be with his mother in Singapore to finish school, he tells Tan he is leaving. That exchange between the two is breathtaking. Tan is devastated but in a significant sign of maturity tells Vu, weeping, that he understands his reasoning to go even before he says anything. That decision is between him and his mother and he knows he cannot choose him. “But I still hope you would choose to stay with me,” Tan says. They kiss and embrace, just as the mother passes by and sees them together. That night, they make love. It is, at that point, they realize the depth of their love for each other, and the shackles of inhibitions are broken. Tan now becomes an adult.
The mother tries to process this relationship, but she and the father need more time to understand and appreciate its depth and accept this relationship. Therefore, the time apart will do them good. As time goes by, the contacts between the two brothers become non-existent. The time for healing and reflection begins.
What makes this story so unique is that it is being told as a story for a book that is being written called Tien Bien (Calm Sea). It is an anthology about love told by recall of the past with time the great equalizer and maturity providing healing power to tell the story with more objectivity and checked emotions, except sadness. I found this approach a beautiful and unique way to tell a love story as the author was able to ask the questions too painful to perhaps ask of yourself. Thus, we get a pensive picture told through the eyes of the person reliving the love again but written with a clearer focus.
Who really S.T.O.L.E. this series? It is hard to see this story other than through the eyes of Tan and Vu and their rollercoaster ride through the different emotions that they had to experience. Therefore, Hoang Cong Dat) as Hoai Tan and Vo Tran Song Duy as Nguyen Vu are the stars. One emotional, the other realistic. One older, the other younger. One always sure, the other needing to get there. They brought depth, a sense of reality, and intensity to each of their characters. You could see their connection grow from dislike, to tolerance, to acceptance, to deep respect, to admiration, to love, to soulmates, as if it was meant to be. It is a journey of love fully warranted to be told as a vade mecum. Their acting brought it to life and gave it real meaning. Kudos to making us feel as if they characters were intrinsic.
But the real impact of this story is how it is told. It is told through eyes that have learned and reflected upon both the silliness of his actions and the depth of his love for his stepbrother. It started out childlike and ended with adult regret while still holding out a sense of hope. It was presented as a chapter in Tan’s life now seen through the eyes of his adult self. Sometimes with regret but mostly with a sensation that he had known a person in his life who gave of himself and had loved him. And he was satisfied.
How does the story within a story end? That is not my story to tell. That is for you to experience. All I can tell you that this is a masterful chronicle told almost flawlessly with the aim to feel a deeper sense to reality. The screenplay is first rate and presents love unashamedly. And is brilliantly written with a profound, seemingly experiential, understanding of the stages of growth that a young man, particularly a gay one, must muster through. It is yet again another masterpiece from a country that still has not been recognized as giving us BL series we can see, feel, and experience in a way that moves us by reaching our inner core where we have stored our long-forgotten emotions. This story indeed touches the soul.
One of the best BLs in the year 2022.
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