Imagine 'Hotel del Luna' (2019), by South Korean Oh Choong Hwanm without ghosts walking through the rooms, 'Meet Me Outside' (2020), by Filipino JP Habac, without dating apps, or 'Hit Bite Love' 2023, by Thai Yuan Tin Tun Danop, with two lovers enjoying the pleasures and dangers of BDSM (something that breaks the tone of the series towards the end), and you will get 'The Renovation'.
If this setup sounds generic, that's because it is. However, the Thai miniseries of the romantic genre by Nob Sathanapong Limwongtong, director of numerous BL series, such as 'La Cuisine' (2022), 'Ai Long Nhai' (2022), 'Gen Y' (2021) and 'Gen Y Season 2' (2022), among others, manages to find some new angles and emotionally effective ways to examine those turbulent feelings that arise when two people fall in love.
There are many much more urgent and exciting Asian BL miniseries with similar plots, but 'The Renovation' more or less falls into the above-average range of this crowded genre due in large part to the authentic and nuanced performances of its young actors.
Scripted by Wittavat Sungsakijha, the short drama of two episodes lasting one hour each, revolves around Manu (Kunavut Jirattikorn), a young architect unlucky in love who seeks to heal his heart, and P (Peter Paratthakorn Duangsawang), a nerd who recently graduated abroad, who dreams of being a writer and is looking for both a plot for his first novel and true love.
Their lives intersect when P arrives at a hotel complex under renovation owned by Manu, located on Hua Hin beach, one of the most famous tourist destinations among Thais thanks to its proximity to Bangkok, with a reservation confirmation and previously paid stay via social networks, waiting to find inspiration for his first novel.
While Manu assures that there could have been an error in the reservation system and that, as a solution, he could disburse his money through the same payment mechanism, but it could take around fifteen days, P will claim that he likes the atmosphere of the hotel, even being under renovation, so it doesn't bother you to stay in those conditions.
Without staff to attend to him, P will demand that Manu himself, as the owner of the resort, be the one who receives and cares for him during the days of his stay.
And although that is a perfect and quiet place to vacation or wait for the muses, it will also be a place for a palpable romantic tension to arise between Manu and P, and they develop an emotional evolution quickly, making it possible for one to find that person in the other. May it heal your heart, and the other that first true love that you were waiting for, and maybe, maybe, the inspiration for your novel.
I like the quotes of song lyrics, poems and phrases from musicians, poets and businessmen, such as Bob Marley, Ralph Ransom and Sam Walton, visible on the walls of the hotel.
I like how Manu begins to laugh and gains affability after the night in which he drinks with P and then takes him, when he is in a state of intoxication, to the guest room, gives him a dry bath and, with great modesty, He changes his clothes so that he can sleep peacefully. His distant and cold personality gradually transforms once he comes into contact with P and they begin to get closer.
Peter recreates P's open, frank and expressive personality with great success. The young actor is a pleasure to watch for his portrayal of the flirtatious visitor, eager to realize his dreams as a writer and find love.
Some other scenes establish flirtation and obvious sexual tension between the two: invitations to eat the food prepared by one of them in the absence of service personnel, that one visits the other in his room, worried, to make sure he is well, that Manu offers P a strong black coffee for a hangover, the way in which one takes care of the other, the games in the pool or those in which one paints the other's body, their dates for ice cream, on the edge of the pool or among lit candles at the Moonlight to eat squid…
Where did these two debut actors come from who, with their presence, fill the screen and demonstrate a chemistry that goes beyond the physical realm, being emotional, psychological and fully satisfying. I would like to see them in other projects with a better budget and script, in more complex characters.
Simple and direct, the romantic comedy emits refreshing and relaxing vibes, about two boys who, due to the circumstances described above, live together in a beach resort one summer and little by little open to love.
Filmed at the Paskani Hun Hin Resort, the beautiful photography by Nattapong Pakdeesri ('Gen Y 2, 2022), also shows the beach town that is 3 hours from Bangkok (200 km), and the 3 kilometers of little beach busy Hua Hin, a place famous for being a family-friendly and friendly destination, also thanks to its relationship with the Thai monarchy, since several kings have frequented this beach city usual.
The interest is not in the narrative arc as presented, but in the understanding of what they think and feel: the resort owner who heals the wounds of a recent breakup and feels confused, uncomfortable, in the presence of P, and the visitor who raises suspicions as a person interested in discovering the secrets of the hotel and its owner.
I'm looking forward to the second and final episode.