Location BL Summary
บ้านติดกัน
Thailand
2020
Around 1 hour and 5 minutes
Romance
Cute and sweet
86films
Yes, Location has a BL romance.
Plot
Sun is a high school student who recently moved into a new house with his family. He meets Earth, his next-door neighbour, a teenager who loves to play the guitar. At first, Earth is cold and aloof, limited in his interactions with the new neighbour. Over time, Sun's bubbly enthusiasm rubs off on him and the two of them become friends.
Sun and Earth start spending lots of time together. Since their houses are closely situated, they can open their bedroom windows and still talk to each other. Every night, Earth loves playing songs on the guitar, while Sun listens to the music nearby. Although Earth aspires to become a musician, his father is strict about school and always pushes him towards studying instead.
Sun is introduced to Mog, Earth's friend from high school. Just like Sun, Mog has a friendly and cheerful disposition. The two of them get along splendidly from the moment they meet. Mog accompanies Sun and Earth constantly, never leaving them alone. When Mog grows closer to Sun, Earth starts to feel jealous towards their intimacy.
Movie Trailer
Location BL Characters
Cast
Sun Kongprab Phakkhaphon Sisa (ภัคพล สีสา) Kongprab Instagram
Sun is a high school student who recently moved into a new house with his family. Thanks to his bright and bubbly personality, Sun initiates a friendship with his next-door neighbour Earth. He is a year younger than Earth and turns to his older friend for tutoring help, especially math.
Earth Pond Suriyakun Pormmasen (สุริยกุล พรหมเสน) Pond Instagram
Earth is a high school student who lives next door to Sun. With a quiet personality, Earth doesn't speak much to Sun until they get to know each other better. Earth loves music and playing the guitar, although his father wants him to study more instead. He is a high school senior and a year older than Sun.
Supporting Cast
Mog
Earth's friend
Earth's dad
Earth's father
Location BL Review
Review
Movie Review Score: 7.3
A short and simple movie, Location features a down-to-earth love story between two ordinary teenagers. Their relationship is very cute and adorable, likely to evoke a warm smile on your face with the endearing scenes. There's an age-appropriate wholesomeness to the story, suitable for a younger audience around the same age as the teenage characters. Nonetheless, it's a broad film that can appeal to any demographic, as long as you enjoy sweet BL romances.
At only an hour long, Location doesn't have a complex plot, focusing on a straightforward storyline that develops at a comfortable pace. It has an upbeat and uplifting tone, designed to make you feel hopeful about love. There's some light tension along the way, but nothing that will cause you too much stress. For the most part, the disputes are subdued quickly and won't disrupt the gentle flow of the narrative.
Admittedly, Location runs into some limitations at times. The characters lack sophistication, not expanding much beyond their original archetypes. Many conflicts are also resolved in a laughably shallow way, almost leaving me dumbfounded because I was expecting more astuteness. Midway through the movie, Earth and Sun have a silly misunderstanding that blows out of proportion. Earth's tension with his dad also feels kind of clunky. Any time Location tries to introduce drama, its lacklustre attempts stand out as the weakest parts of the movie.
I like Sun's character more than his love interest Earth. Part of the reason comes down to their personalities, since Sun seems bright and bubbly, whereas Earth comes across as sullen and moody. I also think the actor playing Sun (Kongprab) does a better job, and his natural enthusiasm exudes visibly on screen. Nonetheless, both young actors offer decent performances, sharing a pretty comfortable rapport with each other. I have no trouble believing their characters are falling in love.
Location is a light and soft movie with a gentle touch. It doesn't strive to be a heavy-hitting drama or heart-wrenching romance that moves your emotions powerfully. Instead, it's just a casual love story with a small and narrow scope. As such, the film doesn't make the biggest impact in the BL genre, which has seen more exciting and more innovative stories over the years. Despite its lack of ambition, that doesn't diminish the overall quality of the movie. Location is a perfectly adequate BL romance that feels pleasant and enjoyable to watch.
Story
Simple story
Location has a simple boy-meets-boy love story that it executes fairly well. First, Sun and Earth meet each other. Then, they become friends. Over time, they develop an attraction. Afterwards, they go through some drama. Finally, they overcome the conflicts and end up happily ever after.
It's a very linear storyline that doesn't present any surprises, but it works for what it is. If you're prepared for a short and sweet movie about two teenagers who fall in love, then Location will meet your expectations.
Romance
Cute romance
The romance between Sun and Earth is very cute. Every stage of their relationship feels wholesome, from how they become friends to how they fall in love. Their attraction feels believable as well. I can understand the natural transition between neighbours and acquaintances to friends and lovers. The love story develops at a comfortable pace and I enjoyed the journey.
Their kissing scenes are a little awkward though. It felt uncomfortable watching these actors press their faces against each other really hard lol. Every time the characters kiss, they take me out of immersion due to immense second-hand discomfort. 😟
Acting
Decent acting
The two young actors give a decent performance in the movie. I believe Sun's actor (Kongprab) is the stronger of the two, exuding more charisma in his scenes. He also puts forward a convincing display during the emotional moments.
In addition, the two actors share a pretty comfortable rapport with each other. Other than the awkward kissing, the rest of their interactions were smooth and natural. Their chemistry helps to make this simple, straightforward romance feel more vibrant and colourful.
Ending
Happy ending
Location has a happy ending where Sun and Earth are still boyfriends a year into the future. Even though Earth is graduating from high school, he decides to go to university locally and not stray too far away from home. As a result, he can make frequent visits to Sun and maintain their healthy relationship. It also seems like Earth is on better terms with his father, who bought him a fancy new car as a graduation gift.
During one of the final scenes in the Location movie, we see Sun and Earth both shirtless in the bedroom. I'm guessing the implication is that they were physically intimate with each other? Location has a weird logic where they equate shirtless characters with gay sex (lol), so I think that's what the movie's ending might be hinting at.
Analysis
Best Character
Sun
Not that there's a vast selection of characters to choose from, but Sun is my favourite character from the Location movie. He's a cheerful and friendly guy with a perpetually upbeat personality. His character exudes warmth, enthusiasm, and optimism. The actor also feels comfortable in his role and gives a natural performance.
As for the other main character, Earth is okay as well. I find him moody and a bit emotionally immature, ironic considering he's the older one in their relationship. There's supposed to be a yin and yang to the two main characters' personalities, but Sun is so likable that Earth seems worse in contrast. However, his personality flaws make him more distinctive with a bit of edge, so I'm okay dealing with a less likable character.
Skin & Nudity
Shirtless scenes
Sun, Earth, and Mog all have shirtless scenes during the movie. In fact, the shirtlessness actually becomes a plot point and a source of conflict between the characters. When Earth visits his boyfriend's home, he encounters Sun and Mog, shirtless together in the bathroom. Right away, he jumps to the wrong conclusion and assumes they just had sex. (My reaction: WHAT!?!? 🤨) There's some prolonged drama afterwards because Earth refuses to listen to Sun's explanation.
Finally, Mog corners his best friend and tells him the truth about what happened. It turns out Mog spilled some beverage on his shirt and went to the bathroom to get cleaned up. However, he doesn't know that the faucet is broken and causes a big slippery mess. Sun gets wet in the process of trying to turn off the tap, so he removes his shirt as well. Of course, Earth walks in at the exact moment where both Sun and Mog had their shirts stripped. Fortunately, the misunderstanding gets cleared up, so Sun and Earth get back together again.
Triggers
Family pressure
Earth faces a lot of pressure from his father to excel academically. Even though he's obviously passionate about music, his dad wants him to spend less time on the guitar and more time poring over textbooks instead. In his defence, I don't think the dad is THAT terrible. He nags a lot about schoolwork, but treats his son okay otherwise.
After the dad pressures him about schoolwork yet another time, Earth finally erupts and yells at his dad. It leads to him running away from home overnight, causing his parents to panic and worry. As a runaway teen, Earth doesn't really have anywhere to go though. Sun eventually tracks him down and convinces his boyfriend to make amends. After his son returns home, the dad instantly folds like a deck of cards and gives his son the ultimate freedom to do whatever he wants.
Highlights
Sweet romance
The best part about the Location movie is the sweet romance between Sun and Earth. A lot of BL stories feature relationships that go through emotional turmoil, which I do find captivating. However, it's also a refreshing change of pace to enjoy a simpler and lighter love story like the Location movie. There's minimal stress and the conflicts get resolved resolutely.
In the same way people enjoy Hallmark movies, you sometimes just want a sweet and sentimental story to boost your spirits. Location is that kind of movie, like chicken soup for the soul. I felt happier after finishing the film, which is a trademark of successful BL, in my opinion.
Improvements
More ambition
Location could've been more ambitious with its storytelling. Granted, the short one-hour length severely limits its potential. Nonetheless, the movie is too small in scope and doesn't leave a big impression in the BL genre. If the story pushed its plots further, delved deeper into the emotions, and expanded upon the characterizations, there would be a more memorable product as a result.
I would also fine-tune some of the writing. On the top of my head, I could think of a few scenes where changes or improvements would be welcomed:
- After Sun and Earth kiss for the first time, the movie doesn't have a proper follow-up after this big milestone in their relationship. We're left guessing and speculating about the nature of their relationship.
- The love triangle drama feels too silly. It's unreasonable of Earth to throw this big tantrum after seeing Sun and Mog shirtless in the bathroom. Did he think they were having wild wet sex? Their misunderstanding feels like drama for the sake of drama.
- The conflict between Earth and his dad wasn't resolved elegantly. As the movie ends, the father completely changes his tune about school without any in-depth discussions with his son. It sends a wrong message, almost encouraging teenagers to run away from home and their parents will give in to their demands.
Location BL Movie
Location BL Information
Links
- Letterboxd Location Letterboxd
- MyDramaList Location MyDramaList
- YouTube Location YouTube
86Films
86Films is a Thai BL studio that made the film Location (2020). The studio originally promoted another project called The Sweet Robot, but it didn't appear to be made.