Before I go on reviewing this movie for you, I first have to point out the one thing that stuck out sorely every time I was watching the it-the comments! The majority of comments posted were just unbelievably negative. Some feeling embarrassed and even ashamed of such a production, others writing hateful homophobic remarks and of course you get the usual curses. However, there are the few positive comments posted by people who have been very open-minded to this movie!
Now the review! I have to admit the first 3 episodes/20 minutes didn't do much for me. It was pretty slow and I felt like it was going into a voyeuristic direction all about girl-on-girl action for "male viewing"-but I was wrong! There was more to the storyline and the director/producer didn't hold out on us at all! Thank you! There's no sex scene which I don't really mind considering I was already on my toes on some of their other intimate scenes-it just made me so giddy!!hehe! The acting on Keo Sreyneang (as Roth) and Ny Monica's (as Thida) part were surprisingly very convincing to me-especially in the ending. There is though one thing about this movie that I feel makes it stand out uniquely above all other queer movies I've watched-it was the abuse that was quite apparent in the relationship between the two lovers, Roth and Thida. This was the first time I have ever watched a movie depicting two women in an overwhelming emotional relationship that leads, one of them, to release it in an abusive manner.
A lot of comments that were posted also spoke about how the movie ended. Many felt the ending didn't really give a "nice" conclusion for the queer community and that it was far from the truth in reality. I have to disagree with these particular comments only because I feel it does speak a truth. Okay I'm going to tell you guys what happens in the ending so if you don't want to know it, stop reading now!
The movie ends with Roth being shot and Thida committing suicide. For those of you who don't know, people in the gay community are 4x more likely to commit suicide. This is why I say the movie is closer to the truth than far from it! Plus these girls are living in a culture and community where being queer is frowned upon especially by their families, as you'll see in the movie. It's a tragic story and one that I did cry to. It's a love story but a sad Romeo and Juliet story. 8/10
