BLISS RATING: ★★★★★
“So, you can’t separate the feelings of the character from reality.” – Quote from Top Form
This series is so near perfection that it almost belongs in a separate category. Wow! (However, I do think it is infelicitously titled). I had almost given up on Thai BLs until by happenstance, I came across this discovery. I was so enthralled from its beginning that I binged watch it from start to finish with just a small break in between. An exceptional rarity for me. It captured me on every level and seized every fiber of my being. I cried. I laughed. I felt joy. I encountered pain. I understood. Most of all, I regarded each and yet both. I perceived two individuals destined to be together. They made their journey so credible, real, genuine, and most of all sincere. They gave us passion, devotion, and an unwavering sense that the only thing that mattered was each other. And they did it without sacrificing their own sense of who they were or diminishing their own connection to humanity.
This is a BL about a BL. Perhaps that is too simplistic, but it is precisely that. Take away all the drama and trauma and pain, it is about two men who instantly fell in love with each other on a set of a movie. One veteran; the other, a newbie. From the beginning, we discerned the magic of sexual attraction. Compounding its beauty was the notion that it was a love story about two men falling in love with one another. That was fantasy. What happens when fantasy now turns into reality because it has nowhere else to go?
Jin (Smart Chisanupong) gets a big break and is cast opposite the veteran Akin (Boom Raveewit). Jin, with boyish yet intensely piercing looks, is astonishingly handsome, almost hypnotically so. We can see Jin’s raw talent. Akin, older, seasoned, deeply reflective, is ruggedly and mesmerizingly handsome as well. Despite misgivings in the beginning, there was something about their natural connection that seemed a natural fit, like a hand to a glove. Jin eager to learn. Akin willing to teach. The fit got tighter, stronger, and deeper. Even if one or the other did not want to admit it, the magnetism was there. It almost seemed ordained. The scene where Akin teaches Jin how to pull out his emotions with the use of his finger is one of the finest acting scenes I have ever seen in any series. It is magical and begins the connection between the two that you felt will last for the rest of their lives. It is a beguiling scene and one that is memorable.
Who really S.T.O.L.E. this series? The number of raw emotions that were shown is breathtaking. A special shout-out must go to Boom Raveewit as Akin and Smart Chisanupong as Jin who showed more passion and commitment to their individual roles that I have ever seen performed in a long time. It is rare to see such depth of personas throughout the series. Each and every time, one of them was hurt, so was I. Their sincerity was sheer perfection, as was everyone else in this series. Kudos to flawless performances by everyone in this series. Yet perhaps there is one here that will capture your heart and bring you to tears because of sheer human affinity. That is Tonaoy Pintira Singhaseem as Akin’s grandmother, Maria. Part human, part mythical but all love. She is the compass for providing direction not only for Akin but also for Jin. Her love for Akin and what his chosen career is, surrounded Jin as well. Even though she never met him, her influence remained strong enough with Akin to provide extra strength to Jin as a guiding light for them as a couple. Both professionally and personally. Such an enlightening exchange occurred between the three of them that somehow felt real even though it was a dream state. I would be disingenuous if I did not say that I could not get through that scene without stopping and reflecting on my own relationship with my grandmother. And wiping away my own tears.
The uniqueness of this series is immeasurable. It breaks all the usual tropes and cliches of your typical BL series and does so, ironically, by telling a story about a BL. Proving that you can portray a BL story with freshness and originality if you have the right actors, and the right vision, and the right direction. What we witness is breathtakingly original. We get to see two astonishingly handsome men convey love to one another unhesitatingly and with complete and totally conviction. They were able to convince me they were deeply and profoundly in love with each other. Not by merely ‘acting’ it out but by showing us their characters were in love. Their stares at one another. Their touches. Their kisses. Their love-making were off the authenticity scales. And oh, what they did with honey was not only sensual, it was erotic, hedonistic, and seductive. And romantic. All their passionate scenes were enchanting, seductive, and arousing. That is what love-making is supposed to be! It was extraordinary as well as believable. I have never used this word before in a review for a BL but the best way to describe watching their relationship is that one will swoon after viewing. Perhaps not an elegant word, but one that most aptly describes the feeling of what you are observing.
The story itself was not afraid to have pathos and felicity. It presents life as we know it, as we feel it, as we experience it. It is accentuated here because of who they are and what they represent. They are, after all, living in a fishbowl, for all to see. Yet, they have the same painful life experiences that the rest of us do. Life-death, happiness-sadness, euphoria-depression, ordinariness-extraordinariness. Only theirs is magnified because of their enormous status. A curse and a blessing because of the profession both have chosen to be in and pursue. These two protagonists allowed me to feel all of it with them. I understood them. That is how good they were at portraying their characters. They are mesmerizing. I would not want to be them at the same time that I am them.
It felt as if these two were not acting and we were watching a documentary about the life of Akin and Jin. While at other times we were one of them as we could feel their emotions. And their story became our story. There was something we could all relate to as they made it so.
This is one of the finest and best Thai BLs I have seen in a long, long time. Certainly, also one of the best acted with what now has to be or at least should be THE BL power couple from Thailand because of their naturalness and commitment to their craft. They are Smart Chisanupong and Boom Raveewit.
Overall, this is an ardent, sensuous, erotic, BL about a BL that tells a story full of life. And what a life it is. One of the best for this year! Perhaps even THE best for this year!
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