Light (2021)

BL movie too short for the romance to make sense

This short movie (about 40 minutes) showcases the meeting of a young male prostitute (quite broken due to traumatic past experiences) with an undercover cop. There are a lot of interesting elements to this story but unfortunately the movie is too short to really exploit well enough most of them.

Even if there is believable chemistry between the two male main leads and some hot moments between them, all the traumas and hardships happening to one of them, as well as the inner power imbalance in their relationship make it very difficult for me to see their story as a romance. Given the dramatic undertones and un-healthiness of the bound between the protagonists, it would have make much more sense for me for the film to take another direction for the conclusion.

Regarding the production, I overall appreciated it with its indie vibe perfectly fitting the rampant creepiness of the plot. I also enjoyed the soundtrack with the main song music video featured after the ending and the credit. It has some poetry balancing well with the story.

I would recommend this to people looking for a dark story. It is lacking in terms of storytelling to make the romance believable but it is not a boring watch for sure. The movie depicts a lot of abuses so be mindful of the tags if you have any trigger as it is pretty graphic.

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Troubled individual finds potential heeling in Love

Light a deeply troubled and disapointed individual, abused and raped, turns into hustling for a living, Too often this is a reality, more for the social "underdogs", those spit out by a brutal materialistic world/society than with upper class members. Falling without a net can be deadly. But prostitution, highly criminalized in most societies is one last net to fall in. But as being criminialized a most dangerous one. His name gives a hint for his future!
Shuo, the undercover policeman, is thankfully not described as hetero, his being gay is thankfully to be seen in the beginning ... A reflection of the moved forward into 21st century Taiwanese society? I guess yes. And as a gay man, loving cinema, I am thankful for.
The story shows the difficulties and troubles in such a relation between a white knight, Shuo, and the beaten up (in more than 1 meaning) Light. It is starting dark and sinister. With no hope to escape ... But is Light willing to escape? It seemed not ... And Shuo showed forgiving based on real love.
A heart warming story rising out of the mud and darkness of streetlife in a criminal surounding. Yes it can happen ... especially when no drugs are playing a vital role.
The acting was realistic and good, they showed a good research propr to the filming. The directors work / lead must have been with compassion and the aim for a good story to be told. A mission? I would not say! The film was made professional and showed within 44min what can be shown too in an epic length of 1,5hs to 2hs ...
Worth rewatching, with the possibility to become a LGBTQIA+ film classic ... it should only be know and recognized by a wider audience.

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Did Not Enjoy this

This movie was literally 48 mins long and I just feel that there was so much potential but nothing was really executed.

Strong points:

-- The plot is interesting, engaging and well-conceived. It concerns some heavy topics but is not overwhelmingly depressing. (That said, it does feature a couple of incidents of rape, and people who are sensitive to sexual violence should be warned.)


Weak point:

-- The decision to make this a short movie limited the creators too much. A longer treatment could have given the audience a better understanding

I just feel that they should have been longer and more understanding to this movie.

Overall: The weak plot and shortness of this movie was a major let down.

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Unfinished

The Show Just Felt Unfinished. It Was A Good Idea And The Fact He Was A Cop Was Interesting But There Was So Much Left Unexplained. Like What Case He Was Kicked Off Of. How He Knew The Guy Was Selling Himself. Also How He Magically Became Gay Even Though He Was Disgusted At First. There Was Just So Much Detail Missing. It Kinda Felt Like The Writter Had An Idea And Never Got To Finesh It And Instead Just Released It . It Could've Been Great. It Also Felt Like A Psa That Men Can Be Raped Too Which I Loved The Message But We Didn't Get To See The Guy Arrested Or Anything. Or How The Police Found Out. Like I Said It Was Severely Unfinished.

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