Reviews of Asian BL Series

49 Healing Thingyan - A charming Burmese bromance

The BL genre is dominated by Thailand, where dozens of BL series are released every year. Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea produce a smaller quantity of series, which, however, often are of a higher quality. Some remarkable series have come from the Philippines and Vietnam, but recently BL series have been released in countries like India, Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar, but they have remained below the radar of many BL fans.

One of the most popular BL series, "Addicted", marked the end of the Chinese BL industry due to censorship, and Burmese censorship is as strict as China's, which makes it very hard for Burmese productions to get the green light from the authorities.

It is the more surprising that some beautiful BL-themed short films and series have been produced in Myanmar, with Trust Entertainment paving the way to international recognition with their short films "Bus Stop" (see my review no. 26) and "The Star" and the series "The Star Season 2" (my review no. 40) and "Bagan Beginning" (my review no. 48). "Healing Thingyan" is the first series from Sky Production, and it has as much charm as Trust Entertainment's works.

I'll call "Healing Thingyan" a "bromance" rather than a "BL series", because some of the typical elements such as kisses, not to mention sex, but also some of the annoying BL tropes like trip-stare-accidental kiss etc. are missing. The question, however, is, whether they are also missed, and some BL fans may actually miss them. I don't, because like in the fantastic Chinese series "Stay With Me", it is the way the story is told, and the way the leads act that reveals the boys' love to the viewer without kisses and intimate touches.

The plot of "Healing Thingyan" isn't exactly unique – it's a friends-to-enemies-to-lovers story like it has been told in many previous series. I won't go into detail here because I don't want to spoil too much for those readers who haven't watched the series yet.

Just so much: Tara a.k.a. A-Ta (Pyi Niein Han) has been in love with his childhood friend Nway Thit (Rian) for a long time, but Nway Thit has a crush on Ngu Wa (Lin La Pyae Htet). At Thingyan 2018, Nway Thit is about to confess to her, but Tara interferes, and not for the first time. Nway Thit is angry at his friend and refuses to leave his room to celebrate Thingyan, and it takes until Thingyan 2019 that the boys reconcile.

There are various elements that make this miniseries worth watching.

First and foremost, it's the actors who aren't only very handsome, but play their parts so naturally that it's easy to relate with their characters. Rian and Pye Niein Han are able to credibly convey their feelings of love and affection of each other in gestures and looks so that it's a pleasure to watch them. And – as Tara says towards the end of the show – the boys look very handsome in Burmese dress.

All the support actors and actresses need to be mentioned, too. Nway Thit's mum is a good actress, the boys' friends appear to have had a lot of fun participating in this project, and the same can be said of the kids who behave as kids behave during the water festival.

Then there is the setting – there is Nway Thit's house which isn't a palace like in many Thai series, but not a shanty either, there is the Pandal (water station) near his house, and finally a park in the same area. In many scenes, it's the everyday life of average Burmese people that is being shown, which again makes it easier for the viewer to relate than those Thai porcelain-faced boys driving home to their palaces in the most expensive BMWs.

The celebration of the Thingyan festival sets the frame of the story. Thingyan is the Burmese New Year festival which lasts for four days, and like the Thai Songkran festival, it includes people pouring water on each other to wash away the dirt of the old year. Like the traditional clothes in the final scene, the decorations and the pouring of water give a beautiful insight into Burmese tradition.

Finally, the OST needs to be mentioned. The background music is sensitive and contributes to the pleasant atmosphere of the whole series, and the original OST song "Enough", composed by Min Zaw Htet Vocal and sung by Ye Min Htet is catchy and just as sentimental as matches the story.

Directing, editing, cinematography and sound are good – much better than in some other low budget productions. Continuity is a little bumpy here and there, which may be due to the cutting of scenes to please censors.

To sum up - "Healing Thingyan" is a charming Burmese bromance, and it's absolutely recommendable to spend 45 minutes to watch it. I'd like to thank the filmmakers that they care about international fans by adding subtitles in several languages, and I hope we'll see more from Sky Production, and wish them to cope with the hard conditions of the Burmese film industry.

Country: Myanmar (2024)

Runtime: 45 mins. in 3 episodes and one special episode

Director: Thiha Thit

Cast: Rian, Pyi Niein Han, Lin La Pyae Htet et al.