Reviews of Asian BL Series

46 The Memories - A touching true-to-life gay series from Cambodia

There have been some Cambodian BL productions, but most of them have remained below the radar of international BL fans, which is a pity, because they have a different colour than Thai, Taiwanese, Japanese and Korean series. They are less highly polished and more true-to-life, and thus touch viewers' hearts and minds in a different, maybe deeper way.

I don't know whether "The Memories" can even be called a BL series, as most of the tiring tropes of conventional BL series aren't there. I'd rather call it a gay series, and as the lives of gay and LGBT people in general aren't a bed of roses in many societies, this series doesn't have the happy ending that we all would wish the protagonists to have, because happiness is what we wish LGBT people to experience in their lives.

The series tells the story of Phano (Bankk/Ly Kymchhai), a Pnom Penh student, who thinks that he is in a relationship with Toy (Phom Chounat), but Toy cheats on him with Yuri (Serey Monineath). As Phano, Toy, and Yuri meet by coincidence, Phano is upset, and Toy breaks up with him. Later, Phano's best friend Cake (Zouy Zouy/Phern Chanbopha) tells him that an assignment they had done together wasn't accepted, which is the "cherry on top" of a bad day. Phano goes to a café where he falls asleep, and an employee called Prince (Sorn Rotana) comforts him with a cup of hot milk.

After their first encounter, Phano falls for Prince and misinterprets his kindness as a love interest, which is reinforced when Prince later protects him from three bullies who insult Phano for being gay. The same bullies attack Phano and his friends later, and again it is Prince who rescues him. Phano invites Prince to a meal in a restaurant, and Prince accepts the invitation although he doesn't seem happy about it, which Phano doesn't notice. In the restaurant, they meet Toy and his girlfriend, and Toy insults Phano again.

Phano surprises Prince with a birthday cake, and again he doesn't notice that Prince isn't as happy about it as a boy with a love interest would be. One night, as Prince goes home alone after sending Phano off to his flat, Prince is attacked by the bullies, and Phano hurries to his side. When the bullies have run away, Phano invites Prince to sleep in his flat for safety reasons, which Prince accepts, but although the two boys sleep in the same bed, nothing happens.

The next day, Prince has disappeared, and it takes some time before Phano gets a hint that he is in his home province of Siem Reap. Phano travels there, and after a long search he meets Prince in a café, but Prince is there with his girlfriend. Phano returns to Phnom Penh and is comforted by Cake and his friends.

There's a lot of crying in this series, and the viewer has sympathy for Phano, although it is to some extent his fault that he doesn't notice that his love for Prince is unrequited, so that the sad ending of the story is completely natural and understandable.

It is due to Bankk/Ly Kymchai's (the subs and the credits below the videos give different names for some of the actors/actresses) sensitive and touching acting, that the viewer sympathizes with Phano although he himself is to blame for some things that happen to him. Bankk/Ly Kymchai is definitely the star of this show.

Likewise, Phom Chounat displays the cheater and bad guy convincingly enough for the viewers to hate Toy, and thanks to Sorn Rotana's performance we know from the beginning that Prince doesn't have the same feelings as Phano. It speaks for the acting skills of the main leads that in some scenes we don't hear what they say, but we know what they feel and say just by watching them act.

The writing of the series makes it easy for LGBT people to identify with some of the characters, because we all have experienced ourselves, or we know a friend who has experienced, the bullying, the cheating, and the unrequited love that Phano has to go through.

Like most low budget productions, this series has some flaws, and as usual it's the sound that isn't perfect. In some scenes, the background music is so loud that the dialogues are hardly heard, which thanks to the subtitles is no real problem, though. The directing (Keo Sokchetra) is good, and the cinematography and the coloring in many scenes mirrors Phano's feelings. There are some minor issues of the editing, but all in all, the production quality of this series is acceptable.

After watching these four episodes, I hope we'll see more from OxygenZ Station, the production company, because they have a message, and they have found a good way to convey it. I would like to see more from this talented cast, and although I appreciate the slice-of-life approach of this series, I wish there was a season 2 with a little more happiness for lovely Phano.

Country: Cambodia

Runtime: ca. 132 mins. in 4 episodes

Director: Keo Sokchetra

Cast: Bankk/Ly Kymchhay, Sorn Rotana, Zouy Zouy/Phern Chanbopha, Phom Chounat et al.