Wednesday, January 28, 2009

TLA Releasing: SCHOOLBOY CRUSH

SCHOOLBOY CRUSH (fka Boys Love) (dir. Kôtarô Terauchi, Japan, 2006, 90 mins.) TLA Video has just released Kôtarô Terauchi's BOYS LOVE under the title SCHOOLBOY CRUSH. I'm not sure of the reasoning there, as BOYS LOVE seems to have quite a following and changing the title upon release seems odd. Anyway... After viewing SCHOOLBOY CRUSH, which I will admit I was skeptical about at best, if not out right reluctant as yaoi is not really my cup of tea, I was reasonably surprised by the quality of the film making, though the melodrama was typical of the genre. (Oh, I don't mean to be elitist: yaoi is gay anime, for lack of a better explanation.) The cinematography is gorgeous and dreamlike, whether it is in the showers (which there seems to be a LOT of) or out on the rugby pitch. The editing is sharp, particularly during the rugby matches. Costume and hair design are all soap opera gloss, which is really the end result: a glossy, beautiful soap opera.

The setting is a Japanese boys boarding school. In fact, there is not a single female in the production. However, there is still a lot of lovin' going on between the boys, as well as the involvement of one of the teachers. There is a surprising lack of heterosexual influence in the school, as the various triangles are generally accepted. In the center of everyone's affections is a new transfer student, who has been coiffed to nearly Michael Jackson extremes. This was a big disconnect for me, as I neither found him attractive or that appealing. So I never bought into why he should inspire such passion, lust, danger and all that resulting HIGH DRAMA. However, as a viewing exercise, the film is short enough that I could keep myself interested in the visual adaption of the yaoi aesthetic.

The DVD transfer is CRYSTAL clear! In fact, almost too much so during the rugby matches as there was some artifact and strobe present. The sound design is fine, if not fairly unremarkable. There are no significant extras beyond the trailer, a stills gallery and TLA Video trailers. It is available at TLA Video at the reasonable price of $15.99.

Maxxxxx says
re SCHOOLBOY CRUSH: "Is it time for shower?"

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