River Knows Fish Heart (2018)

This is easily one of my favorite BL-themed movies that come from China. It was not rapey, it had some skinship and it did not end abruptly
unlike some other movies or dramas coming from this country.

Story-wise, I liked the simplicity of the plot: two boys who are lost in their own way and finding each other and making good music.
There were quite a few adorable moments between the two, some flirting banter, push-pull-relationship.

Acting-wise, there is nothing to write home about, but the cast were quite decent for relatively new-comers.

Music: It was poignant as it is used to reflect the moods of the characters and their feelings.

Re-watch Value: I would watch it again since it was an easy watch.

Considering that this was an online web movie without the trappings of a big budget production,
I did not go in watching with a huge expectation, and I was pleasantly surprised at how fluid the story was,
maybe except towards the end (which I won't spoil)...that I wish there was more to it.
This made me yearn for a sequel, which is really not a bad thing.

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The classic relationship: one of the members of the couple dominates and the other is dominated

Produced by Lu Po Wen and Li Yun Ming, the director and producer of the three parts of 'Ghost Boyfriend', 'River Knows Fish Heart' revolves around the romance of two high school students Situ Xiao Yu (Chinese name that translates such as "Little Fish"), a rich young man who runs away from home and pursues his dream of being a musician, and An He (literally "River"), a musical genius who is experiencing composer's block.
Written and directed by Lv Bowen, the romantic, musical and youth drama with an LGBT+ theme addresses topics such as campus life, coexistence, coming of age, obsession and the power difference in a relationship in which one of one member of the couple dominates and the other is dominated.
The two enthusiastic music lovers with parental problems, played by Zhen Jia Jian and Meng Yue Chen, respectively, decide to live together after meeting at the school to which Xiao Yu has transferred after leaving his parents' home.
As they organize their lives to participate in the musical competition, a subtle and elusive feeling arises between the two of them. However, the day before the event, Xiao Yu disappears, leaving An He in an embarrassing situation, not knowing how to deal with this situation.
Despite their different personalities, between the athletic Xiao Yu with a cold smile, mysterious eyes and bad boy vibe, and the bright student with a tender, innocent and childish look An He, love arises. When Xiao Yu sees their relationship threatened, he explains his actions as follows: "I'm just a little fish in the river. It's just my human nature to protect my habitat from being invaded."
Needing to move after disagreements with his father, Xiao Yi enters the house and, above all, An He's life. Soon the visitor will leave the living room couch and take up space on the shy teenager's bed, despite the fact that he repeatedly rejects his seductive but dominant roommate.
Using old school kinky and problematic tropes such as dominant boy and dominated boy, 'River Knows Fish Heart' touches on themes of communication, consent and self-acceptance.
The film enters 'Addicted' territory, only this time with the muscular, seme athlete who falls madly in love with the tender, nerdy uke and decides to take charge of his life and protect him even from his mother, who has never heard his son sing or play. the piano or the guitar.
The character of Zheng Jia Jian is not innocent at all: with his 185 centimeters of height, an athletic and slightly bossy body, on the other hand he has plenty of inspiring vibes that find resonance in a contemporary youth who feels identified by making them dream. Furthermore, his dominant traits and the way he penetrates An He's life until he breaks him really makes the viewer want to be in the position of the dominated boy.
Lovers of the genre will enjoy the most daring scene in 'River Knows Fish Heart', in which we can see how Xiao Yu forces his roommate to kiss him in the bathroom, erotically whispering: "I want to possess every inch of your skin." Even more sensual is that the film offers us scenes of hot kisses and tender and very well-done sexual interactions.
An He's cold, reserved, and even hostile demeanor soon transforms into that of someone warm, sensitive, and friendly. He is a tsundere in all the rules. For his part, the seme Xiao Yu is very aggressive; so the dynamic between the two directly enters another territory, dubcon or "dubious consent", since consent on An He's part is not completely absent, but the situation has certain elements that in real life could be interpreted as a rape.
The relationship between An He and Xiao Yu is the classic blouse and pants combination. Or put another way, it exposes the nature of 'yin and yang' style. When the two energies complement and balance each other is when they achieve a harmonious and happy relationship.
In order to bring to life this cliché story of a bad boy who overpowers the innocent high school student, the director summons two idols admired by the younger generation in China: Meng Yue Chen and Zhen Jia Jian.
Both actors were born to play this type of cute young men who make up the ideal couple for fans who enjoy gay romance.
The first is a musician, Dai dance dancer and actor who in the world of acting became known precisely with this film, but has subsequently participated in the dramas 'Capture Love', 'In Your Heart', the documentary ' Capture Love Special', always playing queer characters, and the film 'Yin Yuan', among other works.
'River Knows Fish Heart' is a film in which Men Yue Chen can, in addition to demonstrating his histrionic qualities, expose his skills as a singer and musician: he plays the acoustic guitar and lets us hear his beautiful and well-pitched voice.
After the premiere of 'River Knows Fish Heart', Meng Yue Chen becomes an Internet phenomenon and is considered by the public to be China's new (gay) girlfriend for his tender look, his fair skin and his beautiful features.
The passionate and moving acting skills of Zhen Jia Jian, who among the youth audience of his country has earned the title of being the personification of attractive and sexy, allows us to remember him for playing Cheng Yue in 'Love Is Not Easy to Have' or Xiao Jie in the drama 'French Love', both with LGBT+ themes.
Audiences will find it difficult to forget two other lines said by his character: "I feel like my dream is not important because I found someone more important than my dream," referring to having left behind his passion for music after finding the love of his life in Little An He, or "This river doesn't need that fish, but without it there isn't much fun."
At the same time, the film also marks the debut of Han Jing Cheng in the role of Wang Zheng. The viewer will remember him for being the protagonist of the films 'Ghost Boyfriend 2' and 'Love Is Not Easy to Have', and the drama series 'Capture Lover', all with LGBT+ themes.
Due to the success of the film, after playing Xiao Yi, Zheng Jia Jian then manages to play another homosexual character in 'Love is not Easy to Have', another famous Chinese film, in which these last two actors will join. Along with Han Jing Cheng, Zheng Jia Jian plays another gay couple with a lot of chemistry and visual beauty that steals sighs from Chinese and international audiences.
According to the director, to represent this story much more clearly, he tried to demonstrate the connection between love and dreams by making the protagonists experience the contradictory mentality of their characters, expecting them to carry out the shyness of teenage romance.

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