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Amazing in a lot of ways, but the story is a hit-or-miss
Do NOT read this review if you don't want spoilers.Spoiler-free tl;dr version: the cinematography, acting, music, everything is really good. The storyline is also mostly good but there are some aspects that go a little overboard and may be frustrating. The ending felt a little offputting to me; it felt like there wasn't enough closure compared to the things that happened. At the same time, I feel like this is a case of hit-or-miss, what was frustrating to me may not be to you. Nevertheless, its definitely worth the watch.
I heard a lot of good things about this show and barely even halfway into the first episode I could see why. The way the premise was set, the storytelling, the characterization, everything had me hooked. But in the latter half I felt like I was ready for it to be over already. Not even sure why I'm being so critical of this one, considering I've loved a lot of worse shows, but I think the first couple of episodes set the bar so high that the rest couldn't really meet those expectations and ended up feeling somewhat frustrating.
To start with, the cinematography is absolutely brilliant, and so are the actors. The music just ties it up together to bring you the perfect package.
I love the characterization of Teh and Oh, they're so different but at the same time have so much in common. I especially like the characterization of Oh as a "feminine" gay man but not falling into the typical cliches or being portrayed as a caricature of both women and feminine gay men. Teh's main characteristics are both his high points and his pitfalls: he practically communicates through grand gestures, be it the negatives or the positives, and finds it really hard to acknowledge his true feelings. He would leave everything and make a picture book so that the man he loves can study but can't freaking communicate with that man. The storyline isn't new, it's closer to overdone in romances, but I liked the way it was interpreted here. Starting with their childhood friendship, the fallout and the getting back together set the stage for the show very well.
I also loved the way them relearning each other and getting closer was showcased. Ironic as it may be, Teh helping Oh hit on Bas was one of my favorite arcs, it seriously gave me those bestie vibes and I loved seeing that.
Now for the downhill curve of the storyline... Well, I was expecting the angst but not quite in this way. Teh being in denial of his feelings was absolutely expected, but that didn't make the way he treated Oh any less damaging. I was so pissed at him in that scene after the kiss when he tells Oh that they were just friends. It's one thing to deny your own feelings, but his actions, even if inadvertently, were leading Oh on and he refused to give him any actual clarity. Oh was at fault too for continuing to push someone who was obviously not ready, but I feel like everything would've been a lot simpler if Teh actually talked to Oh and addressed what was going on between them instead of doubling down on other aspects and ignoring the elephant in the room.
The issue was that Teh was doing the most for Oh but not giving him what he actually wanted. He was breaking Oh's heart but then overcompensating for it through grand gestures. It was fine till making the book for him, but then the whole "throwing away his own future" thing happened and I almost smashed my laptop. I know they're teenagers so of course they aren't going to do everything right, but you would rather throw away the future you worked so hard for, throw away your and your family's dream, instead of simply talking to Oh once? And again, very expectedly, Oh chose not to "steal" his dream. The second person on that waiting list must have sent them a lot of blessings. This part really frustrated me lol.
Things just continued to go wrong from there, but honestly? This would all have been fine if they gave it a good resolution. But to me the resolution felt incomplete. The conversation with Hoon addressed his sexuality, but the guilt that drove him to do so much was largely unaddressed. Yes, internalized homophobia is a bitch, but in this one I would've appreciated if they actually brought up the things we saw throughout the show, mainly feeling guilty for the way he had treated Oh and the frustration that even after doing so much literally nothing good came out of it: he lost his seat at his dream college, he screwed up his chances at getting into the normal program, and he also lost Oh as both a friend and romantic interest. Honestly the way it was just boiled down to internalized homophobia kinda put me off. Yes, that may have been the root cause, but I kinda expected them to actually address the fact that his overcompensation did more harm than good. Subtext is fine too though.
I also had a major case of second lead syndrome for Bas. Honestly Bas was pretty much the boyfriend Oh deserved to have, so to see him with someone who was actually on the same page as him actually made me feel like I would've preferred this ship more. Like honestly, take the premise and make it a romcom about Teh helping Oh win Bas' heart lol, I need that brightness now.
Overall it was still an amazing show, and maybe after a rewatch it'll feel less offputting, but the main issue tbh was that it started out way too well for the devolving into your average drama to feel justified. At the same time, it felt like it ended too abruptly. I feel like there should've been more closure after all that went down.
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A BL/LGBTQ+ Game-Changer for Thai Dramas
This review is a personal opinion intended to offer readers a perspective about what I thought was amazing about this piece of work. It is not intended to sway anyone in any way. Please watch what you like regardless of what some people may say about a drama, so that you may formulate your own opinion.I wish I could rate this above 10 (though I rated it 9.5 because of Teh's crying and snot face LOL I just couldn't handle that). This was truly an experience that we rarely find in Thai BLs (or a lot of BLs). This to me personally was more than BL, this was a proper LGBTQ+ drama that tackled many issues that young people deal with.
I told sunset about you is a masterpiece that saved 2020 for Thai BLs (LGBTQ+) dramas. Most of us who have spent countless months watching dramas during our quarantine/lock-down, and have eitehr cried, laughed or even been disappointed in many ways. I personally have found that the challenges of COVID-19 forced many creative and talented writers to step up their game and provided us the viewers with amazing stories. Such story is ITSAY.
This coming of age drama offered many great things.
1) Cinematography
2) Character Development
3) Use of Tension and Colors as actual tools that made the story feel relatable
4) Idioms, symbolisim and allegories that propel the characters into difficult adult like situations
5) Sexual Identity crisis, sexual awakening, gender indentity, filial responsibilities
6) Amazing OST (I love love BILLKIN and PP's voices)
Though ITSAY is a relative "short" drama (only 5 episodes) the hour long format did not hinder the progression of the story; rather it made it flourish in a way that other dramas have failed to do so. Simply put, there was more development and real story telling in 5 episodes than most dramas have with 12-13 episodes format [no shade, just facts]
This drama is full of symbolism, allegories (moral condrums) and idioms that perfectly described each character.
Oh-aew was a character decribed as "aimless" who always gave up and had very little interest in things. This characteristic pushed him to give up on school and even on Teh after Teh who was confused about his feelings for Oh-Aew began to withdrawl from him. However, Oh tried to prove Teh wrong and while they were separated during their school years he continued to pursue a life as an actor. Something that made him and Teh "rivals"
Teh was the opposite of Oh-Aew...He was diligent, driven and direct. He was alos obessive, impulsive and surprisingly a very sensitive boy. I'll admit that he annoyed me quite a bit.
There is so much I can go on and on about, but I beleive that this drama is better experienced by YOU watching it and not by YOU reading anyone's review of it.
After watching the subs for Ep 5, I I highly recommend this drama.
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Masterfully Artistic, What I Wish The "BL" Genre Had More Of
Watch this series. There's literally no reason not to. It's short (only 5 episodes), beautiful in every way possible. The story is captivating, the actors are believable, I could go on and on...so I will. During this quarantining process I've watched A LOT of dramas and BL's. From all over the world. When it comes to Thai BL's or dramas a lot of the time they are lower budget and can be very tropey. What I mean by that is they stick to a similar plot thread, that can border on or completely glorify/sugarcoat the lgbtq experience. To the point where many of them are completely unrealistic and I cannot take them seriously at all. Not that that's necessarily always a bad thing, since these are just shows after all. Some of my favorite series could potentially fall into that category! Though I always try to avoid toxicity within these shows, because that's a problem that needs to end. What I'm trying to get at though, is that other Thai BL's specifically cannot compare to art like this. Yes, I said art. I'm a film student, at heart too so I live for series or films done like this as compared to those other shows. I'll dive more into detail of why this I consider "art" comparably, but if you stop reading here just do yourself a favor and give this series love. The sequel too when it comes out! Trust me, we want more of this.So, onto the film student side of me being fully unleashed. This series is shot differently (aka. a lot nicer) than a lot of other shows labelled "BL's". Within the first 10 minutes I could tell you that. The colours are so vibrant in this and the cinematography was very well done. There were pan shots, tracking shots, clever ways of framing scenes, wide-angles that showcased scenic moments/sets in the show. Seriously there are a lot of shots in this that I want to print and frame. Shots of gorgeous beaches, mountainous landscapes. It made me want to travel to Thailand so badly! One shot that really stuck out to me was the shot with Teh as a child acting out the play from behind the curtain. You see the shadows of the performers on the other side and it was gorgeous. Such a smart way of showing so much about a characters passion and determination, while also having just a beautiful looking shot. You can tell this was done by a crew that wanted to make something that could be potentially submitted into film festivals. It was that good. Very "Call me by your name" in nature, which is one of my top films of all time. I loved the cultural music utilized in this, since even though its a Thai BL its heavily centered around Chinese culture and language. They used piano a lot in the score too which was beautiful and again gave me "CMBYN" vibes.
Moving onto the characters and plot. Teh and Oh-aew, what a duo they were. Both characters are equally layered and nuanced, which is incredible to watch unfold. Together right off the bat the friendship is so sweet. We see Teh helping Oh out during the play with the cards. So when there's a misunderstanding and harsh words are said which leads to ending of communication for awhile, it sucks. Words can cause problems if they really cut deep and that's what happened. The screenwriters did a good job of laying breadcrumbs for us to follow as to how that fight led to problems even in their teens. Like Oh's thought process of "you'll always quit and never stick with something" making him continuously want to prove Teh wrong which made him miserable in life. Or Teh feeling inferior and letting jealousy control his life, both with Oh by trying to copy him with the instagram followers and with his older brother being the "favorite" of their mother. Great writing, really enjoyed that. So when Teh and Oh communicate again and hash it out, it hurts to see it. Seriously Oh's actor (PP/Krit) was fantastic (and very beautiful too my god), when Teh hurt him again in front of their friends you could visibly see the hurt on his face. It's not easy to show great facial-acting, but this dude did that throughout this. Teh's actor (Billkin) was of course also stellar, he broke my heart many times. We get to the beach scene where the characters finally reconcile and it was heart wrenching. This was all in the first episode and so much is packed into these that I couldn't look away. I knew this series was special then on.
So speaking about character believability again, I loved that there's initial hesitance from Oh about jumping back into a best friendship with Teh. Anybody would be after being hurt like that! The show surprised me with that, since much of the time to save time within the series they would just make up immediately. So using the tutoring as a way to establish a connection again, very smart ("Why R U" could never lol). There was this shot during the studying montage of showing the lettering book flip from the "rival" page to "intimate" page as a transition of their closeness. *chefs kisses, so freaking good. Another storytelling choice that I loved (count how many times I say love hehe) was when Oh tells Teh that he likes Bas, whom is a guy. There's no initial shock, no acting out badly. It's just natural and there's no weight to it being a "gay crush" which was refreshing. Teh is actually excited for him (at first) and its super sweet. Just chatting about their respective crushes and this is how it should be no matter sexuality or gender. Then there's Teh trying to help Oh out with said crush, oh lord when he put himself out there for Oh's sake to see if his crush liked him back. Dude...tears. Of course jealousy kicks in later on, but it was heartfelt.
Wow this is long...oh well lol. So we fast forward to the group trip. Where literally Oh is jumping between 2 guys, you better decide between them at once lol. Which leads to the hammock scene with the flowers, ah how I loved that scene. So little said, but so powerful and very intimate. What a great display of young adolescent love. There's more bonding that borders on dating, like going through the blocked off shrine again like before when Oh was running away from Teh because of the grade embarrassment. To now being together. Then the singing translation on the mountain, wtf is this show doing to my heart at this point? Wrecking it. The chemistry between the leads is so real, like I can believe they are very much into each other because it feels natural. There's no fantasy world fake feeling even in this show, not even once. So of course we have conflicts, Teh's confused feelings hold him back and that's completely understandable. He doesn't want to lose a very important friendship, but obviously he feels more for Oh than just that. I mean you wouldn't touch your friends in those ways if you didn't want them as more. That's why the scene with his "almost girlfriend" was so interesting. Because it was basically her seeing what coloured pencil he would choose to draw in the flower (a call back to Oh btw, yes I noticed the colour was the same as the flowers they had in the hammock) to see if he looked at her in the same way. So SMART. Callback after callback, such good screenwriting! Another scene that shocked me was with Oh and the bra. So self exploration is not new, sexuality and sex/gender are 2 separate things. At first I thought maybe he was deep down wanting to present or maybe even transition into a woman? Which is an important discussion on its own, but then I realized that's not what the script was going for. It was him trying to envision/ wish for Teh's approval in a way sexually. Since he had a thing with grabbing Oh's chest, which clearly bothered him. When he posted that picture of himself I literally was like "oh...baby" I was devastated for him because I knew people would see it. I felt protective of Oh's character in this series and exploration of yourself is perfectly natural, but don't try and change yourself for someone you love. You can't without being miserable and I'm glad he figured that out.
So some of the last plot points I wanted to discuss were Teh's brother. Thank you for not making him a "villian" in this. Seriously THANK YOU! He actually was the start of Teh's acceptance of himself after that talk they had. Since some of the "problems" Teh dealt with trying to live in his shadow, these other insecurities stemmed from that. So having the brother be his first person to talk to was beautiful. I always wanted to say, Bas was such a good character. Seriously, he could've been an antagonist but he definitely wasn't. He brought Oh to see Teh when he knew that's what they both needed, saying it's okay not to be ready yet when Oh didn't want to see Teh sad. Solid, really solid and I'm glad there was no animosity at the end. So finally, the ending. Phew it took awhile to get here but we made it! I thought it was 99% perfection. We got the promise of running from Teh's house to campus and then the sunset mountain (which is where the shows title comes from). We got them making up and really talking it through. We got Oh admitting he doesn't care how Teh stays in his life, he just doesn't want him to disappear again after the resignation fiasco. Then finally we get Teh saying he wants a relationship, a real one. Fantastic. The only minuscule thing I wish they would've done is end with a kiss or some type of affection. Since it felt like it was leading up to that for awhile. Sure we got the underwater scene, but I wanted one to seal the deal. I know we'll get more in the sequel, but it's just what I envisioned as the perfect ending. Either way, 99% is still damn good. Please PLEASE watch this series. It's made its way onto my top lists for LGBTQ shows and dramas, and into my heart.
P:S- Download the entire soundtrack to this series. Including the multiple versions of the title track, it's all stunning.
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How did they get it so right?
First things first, I am not crazy about the BL genre. It feels weirdly fetishistic towards gay couples and from what I've seen, most of them look rather cheap. But after seeing some clips of I Told Sunset About You I decided to give the show a chance. And good god am I glad that I did.When it comes to teenage, angsty romance, I have never seen a show just nail it like that. As I watched this drama all I could think about was: I've been there. I've been Teh and Oh-aew. I've felt that pain. How did they get it so right?
ITSAY captured the essence of being an insecure gay kid who hates themselves. Of falling in love with your best friend and the fear that once you take that step, you can never go back. Of your first real heartbreak that feels never-ending. And it did that with a relatable, simple story, likable, believable characters, a beautiful ambiance, brilliant acting, and stunning cinematography.
I bought every second of those actors' performances. I believed in their relationship with each other. You can physically feel the yearning every time they're on screen together. It was like I was carrying every unsaid word between them on my shoulders. Of course, they had some passionate scenes but to me what made Tehs and Oh-aews love seem genuine was in the little things. Teh hating the smell of coconut before he started associating it with his crush. Being jealous and not even understanding why. Always needing to touch each other. The sexual tension was in the things they DIDN’T dare to do. They didn’t portray the fetishized version of a gay relationship that I have witnessed in other BL dramas but the awkward puppy love that your first real crush always is.
The raw power that episode three holds is incomparable. I have absolutely zero issues with NSFW content but ITSAY proved, that graphic scenes are not needed to convey purely sexual themes. The way the direcor portrayed Teh's sexual frustration enitrely through his restlessness was incredibly convincing. He clearly did an incredible job at directing the two lead actors, their performance and chemistry could not have been any more natural and it truly felt like every small movement between Teh and Oh-aew mattered. Every interaction, no matter how small seemed to further the tension between the two characters.
As mentioned before, this drama also looks beautiful. Every shot felt like it had a purpose but at the same time was creative. The colour grading was especially outstanding, the colours of this show are beautiful and contribute a lot to the mood and feel of each scene. I really really liked that the kiss scene was underwater as a metaphor for letting go and escaping society's expectations. I also liked that Teh and Oh-aew had to hide behind the stairs to feel safe and unseen enough to passionately hug. There was a good amount of symbolism in the show in general. The red hybiscus as a symbol of passion, that Teh first associates with a girl he likes before Oh-aew makes it his own. The Chinese characters that would ellude to how the relationship of the two leads was progressing. The coconuts, or firecrackers and of course the sunsets, all those were like a red string that tied the whole thing together. The scenery was gorgeous too and now I really want to go to Thailand. And while I surely am no expert on music, I really liked the OST as well. It really went with the general tone of the scene instead of dictating it and telling the audience what to feel. I even liked the Chinese song that also was one of the reoccurring symbolic themes and which lyrics matched up with the relationship of the main couple.
What else? I am so happy that this show tackled the subject of internalized homophobia in such a mature way. Often times I have heard a BL love interest exclaim that he's definitely not gay, not gay at all, definitely, definitely not, he just happens to like this one boy. That makes homosexuality feel like a taboo subject, which is absurd, especially in BL. Teh struggles with those thoughts as well, but something actually comes from it. When he isn’t able to accept himself he, as a result, pushes Oh-aew away. It’s only after he makes peace with his own feelings that him and his best friend can reconcile. Having Teh’s brother actually say to him that it’s “okay to be gay”, that his feelings are normal and natural and that he doesn’t have to hide who he is, was so special to me and very very necessary to see.
But it’s not only Teh who battles internalized homophobia. Even though Oh-aew theoretically is out and proud he hasn’t accepted who he is completely. We see that especially in the powerful and painful bra-scene, in which Oh-aew puts on a bra after being essentially rejected by Teh and then breaks down crying, because he can’t give Teh the normal life that he wants and he would do anything just to be accepted by him, even changing gender. There is also a beautiful moment between Oh-aew and his first boyfriend Bas, in which Oh-aew is surprised that Bas is so willing to hold his hand in public. He has become so used to being someone’s secret, the fact that he’s worthy of love comes as a surprise to him.
I would argue that the main theme of the story is acceptance, acceptance of your feelings and acceptance of who you are. That’s why at the end of the show, Teh and Oh-aew are different, better people. And that’s what good storytelling is all about, sending your characters on a journey.
I am so happy that I Told Sunset About You exists. A show in which feelings are acknowledged and validated. In which men are honest about their emotions. In which women are not plot devices and hindrances but allies and friends. But most importantly: A show about acceptance. Of course, it wasn't perfect. It felt like a bit overwritten at some points and yeah, maybe if I am being strict it doesn't really deserve the 10 stars. But I'm giving it this rating anyways because it touched me deeply and I think stories like this one are needed. For me, this transcended the barriers of the BL genre and can be seen as art. I hope the fact that a show like this can exist in South East Asia is a good sign for what’s to come. This show really reminded me of my undying love of cinema and fiction as well as the power it holds. I never expected to see so much of myself in two young men in Thailand experiencing their first heartbreak but here we are, only stories can connect people from all around the world.
Never have I felt so seen, so represented by a series and its characters and even half a year later, I keep returning to I Told Sunset About You. It's so incredibly genuine in its intensity, awkwardness and clumsiness; honest and helpless like only a first love could be. I truly mean it when I say that I lost a part of myself in Phuket without ever having been there. And I couldn't be any happier about it.
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ITSAY Sweeps The Competition!
I'll keep this short cause there are PLENTY of reviews, but ITSAY was a masterpiece. Beautifully executed through the scenery, the acting, and the story. This was my first time seeing PP and Billkin, and they did NOT leave me disappointed. A beautiful teenage love story that will coerce the BL industry for sure.Let's Dive In.
The acting was the best I've ever seen in BL. A huge job-well-done to all of the cast, but, I specifically want to point out the young Teh and Oh-aew. THE BEST ACTING DONE BY CHILDREN EVER. LIKE LITERALLY EVER. I have never felt so much emotion come from a kid ever before. Let's hope to see them in future projects,
A part of me wanted this show to switch up and actually have Bas and Oh-aew end up together. While I think Teh is a good person and would a 100 percent make as a great boyfrned, something in me pined for Bas and Oh-aew more. In season two, I want to see that Bas gets his happy ending.
Overall, this series was breathtaking and beautiful. I have to give an extra applause for the underwater kiss that took my breath away. Another extra applause for the production team, an absolute masterpiece. This BL has for sure paved the way for how we should hopefully be seeing future BLs to come.
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Very beautiful and a personal favorite for a lot of people (including me)
I told the sunset about you is my first ever bl, and my expectations went off the roof. The story touches everyone's heart. The way they explore the character's sexuality to how they portray the struggles of that aspect is just written and directed well. In many elements, this story is very realistic as it shows disagreements, understandings, imperfections and a real story of coming of age. Every character is beautifully written and portrayed, and this series felt like a hug to my soul. It's also very comforting and easy to watch. I am recommending this to everyone!Vond je deze recentie nuttig?
BEST SERIES EVER!
I can assure this is the best series, not just in bl category but all kind of series! I've fallen in love since the first episode. This series is not a cliche type of drama with cringey sweet moments that are unrealistic.They show a real plot, situation, emotions and story. There's nothing to complain about this series it's a perfection, a piece of art.
The acting, cinematography, color scheme, edits, songs, all of it is on point. All the actors succeed to show and potray their characters beautifully.
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EPIC
This series really exceeded my expectations in any Thai series, BL or otherwise that I happen to watch. Everything in this series is on point. A very grand production - superb cinematography, very tight storytelling and eargasmic musical score woven together to make this drama exceptional. If DBK underwater shot was classic, Oh and Teh underwater scene was epic. The main leads - it is awesome to see such raw emotions, the nuances and the characters they played was so complex and has so many layers to it which BK and PP portrayed to perfection. I had a rollercoaster of emotions watching this show especially Ep4. I anticipated that this series ends on a sad note but it wasn't. And before that beautifully shot ending at Promthep Cape, Ep5 offers a whole lot - that scene of Teh and his brother Hoon, Bas and Oh scene in front of Teh's place, Bas confession to Oh, Teh and Tarn - when the latter gave an artwork as a gift and that Chinese New Year scene with Skyline original score in the background. Overall, this series is one for the books and hopefully the second season will exceed season 1 in terms of production values, storyline and the like. For now, we will have to wait for 11 March 2021.Vond je deze recentie nuttig?
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The cutest name for a series ever! Indeed worth the wait. After watching the trailer though no eng subs it seems like I understood everything (55555555). This story implies the relevance of understanding, friendship, studying, culture, and family. This series made my eye tears. To be honest, I've been watching numbers of thai BL series and mostly I found myself crying in the middle or at the final episode of the entire series or program, but this, first episode out of five allows me to consumed a pack of tissue 😭.
I just want to highlight what Aew's said "If we are to become friends again, I can do it, but being as close as we were, I don't know about that". This line gives my heart pain. I cried a lot and even get noticed by my older sister (shyy). I started to love BKPP! All the best to the production team! Rooting for the success of this program.
(insert: season2 55555)
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A True Masterpiece!
This is the first time I truly feel a BL series deserves a 10/10. I Told Sunset About You is not just a BL series... this is a fantastic coming of age drama that happens to deal with LGBTQ+. The story is very impactful and well written about adolescents struggling to discover themselves and their sexuality. The cinematography is beautifully done, being filmed in Phuket's different locations that I would love to visit myself one day if I visit Thailand. After seeing the Documentary episodes, big kudos to the director for making sure each scene brings out the right emotion and feeling. Best director by far out of the many series I have seen. The acting was really amazing from BKPP and all of the cast! BKPP is a one of a kind pairing with great chemistry. They are now one of my favorites, along with OffGun and MewGulf. I cannot recommend watching this series enough, it was an absolute delight and emotional roller coaster.Everything 10/10 (would give it 100/100 if I could)
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Surpassed all other BLs that I've watched.
I have watched tons of BL, fall in love with many BL Couples, but never been once being engrossed to the story this much. At only third episode, they showed us more than what usual BLs showed in 10 episodes and it didn't feel rushed. I 'tensed up' while watch each episode. The tense that I felt was enormous, and it is without any kiss scene! This series has just open a whole new universe for me. Has surpassed any other BLs that I watch. I'm impressed.The acting is top notch. Cinematography is perfect. The OST was well made. And it sang by the actors themselves. They has such a great voice.
With only 5 episode, I has invested a river of my tears, with a thousands of emotion. This series deserve a better recognition. They definitely now at a God-tier level.
This one will be hard to beat series in a long run.
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Reasons why I Told Sunset About You is such a masterpiece.
If only I could give this series more than five stars and more than a score of 10.0, I surely would have.This series, as a whole, is a masterpiece; and each episode is an individual masterpiece of its own. The plot, the cinematography and production, the music scores and the OSTs, the casting, the symbolism and everything about it just you in awe of how well thought out and well put this series is.
THE PLOT. I Told Sunset About You is a breath of fresh air from all the BL series ever to have graced our screens. (Nadao Bangkok insists on not calling it BL but rather a “coming-of-age” series.) It really captures all the aspects of what is it truly to undergo a “coming-of-age” phase. It talks about a phase of one’s life that other BL series are afraid or is not ready to take on just yet. The plot itself is so well written. The phasing is fast but not too fast that one will get lost. The scenes are seamlessly interwoven with each other, there’s not a scene that looks like a mere filler. Each scene is really of importance to the whole story.
THE CINEMATOGRAPHY AND PRODUCTION. The series feels like five individual yet connected movies. The production of this series is no joke. The plot is accompanied with aesthetically pleasing scenes. From the color tones of the series, to the way the camera pans in and out on scenes, to the way how the shooting locations complement the plot, the series is giving us movie-quality production. What makes this series more immaculate is the fact that it was shot in Phuket as it gives the whole series a more magical feeling to it as if the characters are living in their own small world – far from the usual setting we see from other Thai series which is Bangkok.
THE MUSIC SCORES AND OSTs. The music scores and sound effects were really perfectly placed. It’s not that distracting and not overdone, it really piques up the feeling that the scene wants to convey. Some series have their music scores overdone that it becomes distracting but here in this series, it’s perfectly blended that you won’t even notice that there’s a background music. (I highly recommend that you watch this series on earphone to really appreciate all the music.) The OSTs really add another level of flavor this series. Billkin’s voice in singing two of the four OSTs just sends you to another dimension, it’s that immaculate. PP’s voice is equally immaculate as well when he sang a Chinese mellow version of Billkin’s Skyline. The way the OSTs were written were filled with so many messages and intriguing details. What this series really offered with its OSTs is a variety. Although two of the four OSTs are covers in different languages, it still sounded different and evokes a different range of emotions.
THE CASTING. Billkin (Teh) and PP (Oh-Aew) really delivered in this series; their chemistry will be a tough act to match. When they say that the leads’ chemistry is essential to the whole story, this series really showed that and it delivered beyond expectation. One wouldn’t really appreciate this series if it wasn’t for how Billkin and PP delivered their scenes. Best believe that these two really gave it their all. From the crying, to their subtle expressions, their eye and body language, their mannerisms, their lines and their emotions – everything was just perfect and well-executed. (Billkin and PP really proved that at a young age they really have the talent to really make it big in this industry.) As for Nobel and Pupa (young Teh and Oh-Aew respectively), these kids really didn’t just come to play, they delivered their brief yet very important scenes to a tee. The kids’ acting wasn’t mediocre but was at par with Billkin’s and PP’s, perfect enough to deliver an important backgrounder scene in the first episode. As for Khunpol (Bas), Rolex (Kai), Dream (Phillip), Christian (Mod), Smile (Tarn), and the other cast, not a single character wasted. Their roles had an important part to play in the series. All of them also delivered what they were suppose to deliver.
THE SYMBOLISM. This series really hints so much symbols in it. The “coming-of-age” aspect of the series really depicted what most, if not some, of LGBTQ+ people have gone through and are going through. The series somehow validates that these experiences and struggles are real. Even if one is not a part of the LGBTQ+ community, the struggles of the characters are still relatable. The struggles are realistic and not exaggerated. The way the scenes are shot symbolizes and manifest a deeper understanding and realization of what a particular scene really is. Even the small details in the series means something – the red color pencil, the red hibiscus flowers, the flashcards, the coconut scent, the hammock, the underwater scene, Promthep Cape, the beach, Oh-aew’s mannerisms, the bra scene. Every little detail was well put out that it really helps tie the whole story together.
Overall, as I said, the series is masterpiece in itself. Although the series is five episodes long only, it doesn’t feel too short once because of how the story is told. Nadao Bangkok has really proved to us all that it is a master storyteller. Nadao Bangkok is really pushing on so many boundaries and breaking so many glass ceilings with this series. Nadao Bangkok just raised the bar for future series so high.
For sure, I Told Sunset About You will become one of Nadao Bangkok’s crowning jewels, and I’m pretty sure that (even if Nadao Bangkok insists on calling it BL) I Told Sunset About You will eventually become a ‘BL classic’ or a ‘BL legend’ when time comes.
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