My bromance(again)

[Guest shamahan]

This movie has been reviewed many times (including on gay message boards). But I watched it just recently and wish to share my impression. The movie is available on Youtube. Thai movies are (roughly) divided in two categories: 1. ting tong 2. those that make you cry. Unfortunately, there are gay-themed movies belonging to first category (e.g. recent reincarnation of Iron ladies). The one under review is definitely in the second category ( and I wonder who did not cry watching it). Of course, this quality alone does not qualify a movie for Oscar (and this one has a plot which is not plausible to put it very mildly). But a very strong feature of this movie (the young) actors playing two major characters. This (and only this) makes film worth watching and I recommend everybody to do tit , if you have not done it already

[kokopelli]

Me, I did not cry. I did enjoy the film but just so hi-so from the beginning with mom and pop sitting at the dining table drinking white wine from stemmed glasses. And the boys oh so white and pretty not like any Thai boy I ever met. The goofy, gay teacher   no older than the students and the young "doctor" . I just had to laugh.

And where do they send their boys to for punishment? The USA where else! 

 

I got the idea that this film was made not for a Thai audience but for gay farang men. The subtitles were in perfect English by a native speaker.

 

Oh, spoiler alert, a Christian burial in a Buddhist country?  

 

But yes, worth watching.

 

 

[Aikuchi]

I've never seen these gay thai movies before, but thanks to your post- I've just finished watching 3 ,,, 

I didnt feel much from My Bromance, but I guess I like happy endings which is why I'm loving this one Love's Coming (G Thai HD: Extended) on YouTube.

Yay! Happy Endings and the guys are so cute!  

[Guest shamahan]

Me, I did not cry. 

 

 

But yes, worth watching.

This is because you are Iron man (or lady?)

[kokopelli]

Guess I shouldn't be so analytical or critical and just enjoy these films as presented. Actually am grateful to those who posted these gay Asian type films which I am hooked on.

 

Recently viewed one set in Saigon named Hot Boy. Not sure how accurate the portrayal of rent-boys on one particular street in Saigon? What was interesting was all their customers were young, good looking Vietnamese and not dirty old men and, for sure, no farang! 

[kokopelli]

 

 

I got the idea that this film was made not for a Thai audience but for gay farang men. The subtitles were in perfect English by a native speaker.

 

 

 After writing the above comment now I am not so sure. I was looking at some comments on youtube about this movie and it seems many of the viewers are girls and young gays so maybe a much larger audience than DOMs (dirty old men).

[vinapu]

 larger audience than DOMs (dirty old men).

what about BOM (bathed old men)

[fedssocr]

 After writing the above comment now I am not so sure. I was looking at some comments on youtube about this movie and it seems many of the viewers are girls and young gays so maybe a much larger audience than DOMs (dirty old men).

 

Yes. Young girls all over Asia love boy-boy love stories. It's the whole yaoi thing. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yaoi

 

And they love their Korean boyband "skinship"

[Guest shamahan]

Guess I shouldn't be so analytical or critical and just enjoy these films as presented. Actually am grateful to those who posted these gay Asian type films which I am hooked on.

 

 

Sometimes we underestimate Thai directors but your original comment is not off the mark. The christian funerals (as you noted)

probably give a hint that the movie is not just Thai story. And, indeed, it is more like a universal story of forbidden love. Kind of a gay version of Romeo and Juliet. You have just two amazing characters front and center. The background is deliberately weak...

As for white-skin boys. Well, I am not racist, I can handle a variety of boys skins

[kokopelli]

 I recently checked out Love of Siam but not to my interests however noticed the boys were wearing the same type of school-boys uniform in other films such as My Bromance even down to the name of the school (I assume) on their shirts. And again, a clear reference to Christianity and more specific Catholic families judging by the prayers at the dinner table.

Not sure why that is but quite deliberate.

[bkkguy]

And again, a clear reference to Christianity and more specific Catholic families judging by the prayers at the dinner table.

Not sure why that is but quite deliberate.

 

the dialogue in the scene where Tong's mother visits  Mew is straight out the standard western Christian handbook - "I want my son to grow up normal", "he should be looking for a wife and have children", "don't interfere with him, one day you will understand" etc

 

it is of course also straight out of the middle class Bangkok Chinese-Thai handbook, but then the Thais are not usually good at examining a situation and finding fault with themselves - it is always much easier to have a foreigner, or at least a foreign influence like Christianity as in this case, as a convenient scapegoat

 

interestingly a lot of the original promotion coyly focused on the two girl/boy pairs implying a straight teenage angst movie  that then got a far greater initial cinema audience than a gay coming of age movie would have

 

I don't know of too many Thai people who view this as a "positive" gay movie and I am still constantly surprised at the number of western gays who latch on to this as an iconic and beautiful gay Thai movie - I thought we grew out of the wrist-slashing coming of age genre  in the 60's!

 

but it gets worse - I lost interest in My Bromance halfway through, it was just so full of stereotyped characters and situations, and yes Love's Coming was obviously targeted at 12 yo girls/ladyboys with just enough plastic doll "cuties" in the cast to attract the DOM

 

perhaps it just shows how far Thailand still has to come in accepting modern gay lifestyles - and most western gay sexpats/sex tourists probably think they already do or don't care either way!

 

bkkguy

[kokopelli]

...- it is always much easier to have a foreigner, or at least a foreign influence like Christianity as in this case, as a convenient scapegoat

 

bkkguy

That thought crossed my mind that Christianity was used as some sort of reason for gay behavior or, as you say, a scapegoat.

[bkkguy]

That thought crossed my mind that Christianity was used as some sort of reason for gay behavior or, as you say, a scapegoat.

 

it wasn't a scapegoat for gay behavior, it was a scapegoat for homophobia

 

bkkguy

[Guest shamahan]

 

 

 

 

 

but it gets worse - I lost interest in My Bromance halfway through, it was just so full of stereotyped characters and situations, and yes Love's Coming was obviously targeted at 12 yo girls/ladyboys with just enough plastic doll "cuties" in the cast to attract the DOM

 

 

What a bullshit! This movie literally loved by hundreds of thousands of people. See e.g.http://asianwiki.com/My_Bromance_-_Thai_Movie

The very fact that none of the posters here liked the movie tell you more about residents of this message board than anything else.

[bkkguy]

What a bullshit! This movie literally loved by hundreds of thousands of people. See e.g.http://asianwiki.com/My_Bromance_-_Thai_Movie

 

gosh, hundreds of thousands - well at least 466 rated it on AsianWiki so I suppose it must be a major contender for Best Foreign Film at the next Oscar's

 

The very fact that none of the posters here liked the movie tell you more about residents of this message board than anything else.

 

I think the fact that the best you could manage to say to recommend the movie was "the plot is crap but it will make you cry and the leads are cute" says quite enough about the movie, and if you want to dispute the comments here about such movies being targeted at an immature audience I don't think the "fans" at AsianWiki are helping your cause!

 

bkkguy