BLISS RATING: ★★★★★
“An uncertain love is a certain pain. He has no chance to make it right again.” – Quote from Night Dream
Magnificent! This was the first word that came into my mind after watching this short charming and beautifully done BL. It is obviously patterned off the South Korean model and it works! I simply do not understand the negative criticisms of this series. It is well acted, storytelling is engaging, and it is such a delicate love story that I think people mistook that delicacy for lameness.
To be brutally honest, the only people who see it that way are not gay or those who have forgotten what it was like to struggle with acceptance. The intensity of its credence for each of us who had to face that is wildly different individually. Each persons’ journey is unique and soulful. But I am getting ahead of myself.
This is a story of two beautifully named individuals. Dream (Toosafe Krittawat) is a complex figure. He is smart, passionate about life, yet deeply reflective about its finality. He is focused and knows what he wants. He needed to grow up quickly as he lost his parents tragically at an early age. His best friend and childhood companion is Night (Ohm Thanakrit) who was and is more interested in trying to set his own path.
He is deeply in love with Dream and has been for a long time. Yet is unable to surface it for reasons that are all too common. He does not want to disappoint his father. He already feels like he is a failure to his father and to admit, even to himself, that he is gay, is too overwhelming.
So, he chooses to bury it. Instead, he cloaks it in acceptability by befriending a friend of both of theirs named Namwan (Jina Thanchanok). She early on becomes enamored with Night and later falls in love with him.
Shortly after high school, however, Dream disappears without a word to anyone. He cuts off all communication. One of the reasons is that while Dream and Night’s relationship went from friendship to something more, Night shut down. Dream’s love for Night did not and he could not bear not knowing how he felt about him. So, he disappears. Eventually, he does come back and opens a coffee shop, making mini pancakes, much like his parents did. However, he still does not reconnect with either Night or Namwan.
By serendipity or perhaps destiny, who should walk into his coffee shop one fateful day is Night with Namwan. They had not all seen each other for nearly five years. Instantly, both Night and Dream recognize, although not yet willing to acknowledge, the feelings that have not been lost. Dream, however, is sure; Night is not. While Namwan and Night are together, they are not a ‘couple’. After all these years with Night, even she does not know what her status is with Night.
Who really S.T.O.L.E. this series? This is an exceptionally well-acted series by all the performers. One must understand that to play a part with someone struggling with acceptance is never easy. You always want to ‘run away’ from it; pretend it is not there; or hope for a fairy-tale solution. I know that sounds like ‘magical thinking’ but unless you have been through those personal strains, you can not imagine how many times you feel the need to say “Sorry”. Therefore, the acting by Ohm Thanakrit as Night is exceptional. He internalized his agony to the point of shutting down, walling himself in. Finally, in a memorable and breathtaking scene with his father, he lets loose in one of the finest acted emotional scenes I have seen in a long time. He lets loose on how he feels like a loser and everything he does is worthless. It is a scene that brought the waterworks out in me. It was so relatable and simply an outstanding acting moment. Just remarkable. He never played the role for sympathy or even understanding; merely who the character truly was – confused, unable to decide, crying out for help. A second set of kudos goes to Jeff Nathadeji as Day. He is a friend of Dream, who is introduced as a character in the middle that I fully did not understand. While it is not completely explained how they met, he happens to be the estranged brother of Night. And harbors an unrequited love for Dream as well. This story deepens significantly when Day realizes the extent to which both his brother and Dream are in love with each other. Day quietly, yet agonizingly, steps aside to allow his brother to salvage the relationship with Dream. He never ever reveals to anyone his deep attachment to Dream. Jeff’s performance, besides being one of the handsomest men on the planet, is simply outstanding as he breaks down knowing he will never be able to be with Dream and to ever do so would be the self-destruction of his own brother. He conveyed that in quiet, reflective, movements and actions, all alone, as it should be. It was some powerful acting. Again, his acting shows there are no small parts. I openly wept as I could feel the pain of his unrequited love for Dream, never to be fully realized.
When given a second chance to make it right, Night yet again still cannot bring himself to do the right thing. He futilely and ridiculously tries to convince Namwan that he likes her. When Night and Dream kiss again and Dream tells him how he feels, Night is still unable to respond. He walks off like he is a shadow. When he finally does acknowledge the depth of how much he loves Dream, it is too late. As it is with Night, it is only from his perspective, not from Dream’s. He only sees life from his perspective. Dream, as before, leaves.
The drawback to this series is that the story does not flow well. The endless flashbacks got confusing, and the editing of the story got a bit wonky as well. Since this series is so short, I think relevant parts to the flow of the story were cut out, which would have helped understand the story better.
Nonetheless, it does not take away from its impact. The emotional ramifications are deep. Its portrayal of the struggle with acceptance of being gay is so real. Its desire to show that sometime escapism is your only solution is a good one. And true to our human instinct, hope springs eternal. And sometimes that is all you have to rely on to get through.
This is a classic BL with such soft, gentle whispers that it almost glides under the radar unnoticed. But this is a beautifully done and very touching series that because of its delicacy, is mischaracterized. There is some fine acting here capturing all the various emotions of coming out, of being jilted, and suffering from an unrequited love. The quote above is from the book written by Night about the meaning of love. The professor almost failed Night as he simply did not understand what love is.
However, when he read that, the professor truly knew that Night now understood, perhaps painfully so, by experience what love is. This is a rudimentary love story whose central theme is regret. The lesson learned was a valuable one that only benefited the character in Night’s book; but too late for Night himself.
This series had a wonderful homage at the end that truly reflected how much Night learned what love is. It is a simple act (which I shall not give away) but it creates an equalization in the writing of the book and acknowledges the love that Night has for him and bestows honor onto Dream as co-author. It was a stunningly unique gesture and a way to make sure that Dream ‘will not disappear again’.
One of the best Thai BLs for this year and will be in my Top Ten List. It is that good.
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