Um Conto de Mil Estrelas (2021)

Best BL

Perfect drama to watch. Best part is portraying true love without any vulgarity. We can feel all emotions along with leads without any words. First romantic drama in which drama leads doesn't said their feelings for each other through words but prove themself. Worth it to binge watching. I will definitely re-watch it.. Such a great story and casting. The story remains very unique from other usual BL. Each character in the drama made justice to thier role. This is my first time to write review so I don't know how to express about but am sure you won't be disappointed by watching this.. Hope this review will help some.. 🙂

Leia Mais

Mature romance + beautiful scenery + rural village life

Completed - 3/10/2022 - 8.25 rating

As my journey to explore more Thai BL dramas continues, I came across this highly rated drama. I was in search of a drama that is not about high school or college students, but a more mature drama. I am glad I came across "A Tale of Thousand Stars". The majority of the drama was spent in a rural village. The beautiful opening theme already sets the mood for me.

Our male lead received a new heart and wanted to fulfill the wishes of his organ donor, and traveled to become a volunteer teacher in a rural village. I would say the story is quite predictable and there aren't any crazy plot twists. We know our male lead, Tian, had to adjust to life without luxuries or even city-life basic necessity such as water and electricity. We know he's going to encounter some challenges with the villagers and that he's going to fall in love, and had to leave the village eventually (or not?). None of this is surprisingly, but that doesn't deter me from enjoying it.

"A Tale of Thousand Stars" is the only BL drama I've watched to date that has the least amount of physical contact or public display of affection between our two leads. This does not mean their romance is not good. In fact, you feel their deeper connection through conversations and actions. The chemistry between Tian and Phupha is sizzling. You can feel the attraction and the hesitancy in crossing the friendzone boundary. For a stern character such as Chief Phupha, he's quite flirty and suggestive with Tian. Yet, he's also so shy when his friends question his feelings for Tian. Tian on the other hand, is supposedly the younger and more outgoing of the two, yet he's the passive one in the relationship in expressing his feelings. Looking back, I do not think they outright confess to each other, but it's without a doubt that they are very in love.

I really enjoy learning about the food, livelihood and traditions of this Thai rural village. I I actually also quite like the house that Tian was staying at. I might not survive without electricity and running water, but I like the wooden house and feel of it. We also see many beautiful scenery of nature - luscious mountains, view from top of the mountain, view from off the cliff, forests and grassland.

The acting of the leads is pretty good, but not amazing. I like Mix's acting more than Earth's, especially with the more emotional scenes. There are times I find Earth's acting a little emotionless, unless he's smiling shyly and then I melt. 😊 But overall, I think Mix did a better job. I can't deny what a handsome fellow Earth is. I criticized "Bad Buddy" for its fanservice of excessive shirtless scenes, and I was glad I didn't feel that way with Earth. On another note, I think Earth was using his real voice singing and I love it. Was he also playing the instrument for real? It seems like it. I really like all the young actors/actresses in this drama. I think the students acted better than many of the adult side characters/villagers. The 'villains' are quite underwhelming.

I do find the pacing of the drama a little inconsistent. I was very interested in the first 5 episodes, but then it seems to slow down a in the middle episodes. I also find the last episode to be a little slow - too many slow motion scenes and flashbacks. I am probably not the only one who wanted to see more cute scenes between the leads, and not just the last couple minutes. I know product placements are needed, but it is quite weird to see the snack mix popped up so often in a rural village.

Leia Mais

Outstanding - an unrivalled model for other series.

This is the best series I have ever seen. The most meaningful, harmonious and beautiful. The audience received a story of love in which nothing was created by force. The characters slowly developed their feelings for each other, no one rushed them, and at the same time the audience had the impression that it all happened naturally and truly.
However, the most important thing is that this series not only presented the fate of the two main characters, but also conveyed important content, values that should guide us in our everyday lives. The story was like learning to live, discovering yourself and finding your purpose in life. Watching each episode, I felt that I was beginning to understand myself. I myself wanted to become a better person and find my own home, a place where I would be truly happy.

This series is an unmatched model for other series. After watching this ATOTS, I have the feeling that others in this genre are just childish, exaggerated and over-sweetened stories for teenagers.

Outstanding series. That's all I can say.

Leia Mais

ABSOLUTELY SUPERB!

I could rattle on about this BL for hours - days - weeks even!!!

I won't bore you with lengthy descriptions of the beautiful scenery, the brilliant acting, the fabulous ORIGINAL storyline, how much I cried, that it had a fabulous ending and that I loved every damned minute of every damned episode.

It's NOT toxic, there's no bullying, it's thought provoking, and has a good message (or two).

It's not hot and steamy - but can you feel the love between them - just the way they look at each other is more than enough to know how they feel about each other.

JUST WATCH IT - YOU WILL LOVE IT!!!

Leia Mais

Beautiful story

First of all, the filming and especially the lighting are gorgeous, it adds so much beauty to all the scenes to see the light perfectly embrace the faces of the characters.
Then, the story is really original and cute, the evolution of the romance is natural and mature. Seing Phuppa who was so reserved slowly opening to Tian was the cutest thing. Plus, the storyline with the vilains is interesting and adds suspense.
I really loved the acting of EarthMix, I can't believe it's Mix's first role because he is delivering all those emotions so well! I'll definitely look more in what he is doing in the future. Also I'm usually not a fan of Earth because I always found he was too plain and didn't express well his character but omg it is totally not the case here: we can perfectly feel the emotions he is conveying.
All the characters were really interesting, their development was well brought and especially the search of Tians' for the meaning of his new life. The side characters were truly lovable and I had a soft spot for Torfun, she is amazing.
In bref, this drama is a must-see so go without hesitation.

Leia Mais

LOVE LOVE LOVE IT!

This is one of my all time fave by now. I don't know what else to say, most of the reviews here already listed everything nice about this show so, Here are some of my favorite thing about this show:

Acting : You would never have guessed that this is Mix's first acting role, his subtle expression and change of emotion are really good. You can really see he's acting just with his eyes, for example the hornbill scene when chief asked "Romantic?" you see his expression changed from happy to shy/awkward just with his eyes. Same with Earth they both complimented and elevated each other here. CHEMISTRY IS TOP-NOTCHED.

Music : OST is really good, you can never get tired of it even with 3 versions of the same song. Other songs used are really chosen well, especially with the incorporation of WIND which makes it feel like they're all connected. I've listened to the shows track on repeat since it ended, every time you hear it it gives you that nostalgic feeling of the show.

Story: The heart transplant plot has definitely been done before but the show took a fresh take on it. Other viewers were afraid that they would fall in love because of Torfun's heart (maybe chief liked Torfun before she died) but they pretty much made it clear that it wasn't the case. The heart transplant was used mostly to progress Tians character development, to make him a better person.

Rewatch Value: I've been rewatching this since it ended since i've been missing the characters. Still gives me all the feels.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Leia Mais

One of the greatest romcoms with a questionable backstory

I was very skeptical about this drama because of it's description concerning hearttransplantees. So skeptical that I really did not want to watch it.

I have mixed feelings about how this drama portrayes heartrransplantees. On the one hand they do a good job showing the rediculus expectations and questionis hearttransplanrees get from the people around them as well as feelings one may have while expecting to die before a heart transplant and the feelings one may have after surviving. On the other hand they portray the process really poorly and unrealisticly. It was so badly done that it made me laugh, allot!

I really didn't like it when they talked about the donerheart beeing with them... which is the sole reason I am giving this a 9 instead of a 10.

The couples dynamics, looks, chemistry and process was flawless. It was existing and had all kinds of twists and turns. Something that makes for a really really really good romcom!

If you neglect the whole heart thing the story is also really good and well done.

So please watch this, if you liked this review and want to learn more from a transplantees point of view then after you watch episodes 1 and 2 I recommend you read my comments on those episodes. I had allot to say... but I don't want to spoil this great drama for you.

Leia Mais

The Best BL GMMTV has produced so far ❤️

An unexpected Masterpiece. At first, you'll think this is just one of those ordinary boys love stories that'll give you that elevated feeling which often time make fans delusional with its appealing leads. Though true. But it is way beyond that. It elevated the standard of what a BL should.

This is well-crafted masterpiece. It keeps getting better as the series progresses and will leave you drenched in tears and amusement on how each scene unravels and the outstanding portrayal of Mix. It was brilliant, it was stellar, it was magnificent. This will probably be the best series produced by GMMTV. And I wouldn't wonder if this sweep awards during awards season and I really can see Backof and Mix getting the Best Director and Best Actor Awards respectively ❤️

I promise, this series won't disappoint. Rather it'll leave you wanting for more. This is really unlike the other BL series GMMTV has made, and in my opinion, A Tale of A Thousand Stars outshone 2gether, Sotus, Dark Blue Kiss and Theory of Love in overall quality. Great job, GMMTV!

Also, Bad Buddy, you have big shoes to fill. Please don't disappoint. ❤️

Leia Mais

Underwhelming imo. And it had nada to do with the lack of 'steamy'scenes because I love slow burns I even watch BROMANCE AND CHINESE BL that have NO KISSING AT ALL FFS XD. Untamed guardian the lost tomb franchise the japanese high and low has better couples than this show again JUST MY OPINION so take it with a grain of salt. I just found it lacking in substance and repetitive. And at least UWMA for all it's faults doesn't lure you in with angsty dark scenes and then puts a lot of cutesy lame scenes in there.

I mean I don't mind watching something more serious and not angsty but don't bait me you know that's terrible. You were making it seem like some edgy life changing experience which this was not.

The story was average, the acting sub par, especially from the main cast again not terrible but underwhelming. All that crying Mix did MADE NO SENSE.

And the whole justification of the heart and why he was doing her bidding made no sense. In UWMA, another soulmate storyline, the past memories is a metaphor for Fluke's anxiety and grief that doesn't make sense like when you have depression or any other mental illness. In this the heart is just a prop they use to get Mix to cry pointlessly. When Fluke picks up Kao's gun in the finale you UNDERSTAND HIS MOTIVATION. and again like I said it was a metaphor for mental illness because at times you feel like you are happy and you're fine and then the next minute you're triggered and holding a gun to your head.

And the end conflict again I don't understand why so many people think it's something SPECIAL FFS XD that conflict and the way it played out is so common in any romance where you don't want to make it too angsty. It was there in 2gether the characters make the other one think they don't care or don't like them cause of their own insecurities. But 2gether doesn't pretend to be anything more than light angst guilty pleasure and that's why I love it.

Which is why this one was boring for me. First half was not bad at all but the way it unfolds s just didn't work for me.

I feel like the one thing good that came out of this bl was Mix and Earth's ship lol that's pretty much it.

I mean if nothing this could have been a simple hurt comfort show but it failed to do that properly even.

What I did like was again the couple their scenes together were pretty good and I dug them as a couple at least in the beginning but then when Earth was all yes you go f yourself cause I'm too much of a coward ugh I get that it was a part of his character development but like I said before I HATE this conflict in any romance where one person just goes away. Just a personal pet peeve so didn't help that they used this BS conflict.

I also liked how Mix's character grew and I feel like it's not a bad idea to say that we should all be able to at least mature enough to do our own chores take our own burden. Instead of leaving it to maids and servants. If you're not disabled then you should do something that challenges you and makes you step out of your comfort zone.

Leia Mais

Something fresh in the world of BL, but not a complete masterpiece imo

This one really took me by surprise by how much I for the most part enjoyed it- especially considering I was pretty uninterested in the premise when I watched the original trailer. (The whole Torfun/heart transplant storyline is too unreal, cliché melodrama for my usual taste in storylines. I still don't really care for it tbh. But I see how it was required as the vehicle to deliver the rich, metro Tian to that rural environment so that his character development could take place).

I had planned to give this one a pass until I saw all the hype the series was getting. By the time Ep.8 came out I ended up binge watching all the available eps in one go. My favourite scenes were all the fun, flirty moments between Chief and Tian that made me laugh. I thought they had lovely chemistry with both the physical and personality traits of both characters playing off each other really well. I was soooo impressed by Mix's acting, he was delightful. And surprisingly I was impressed by Earth too. I've watched the majority of Earth's dramas and have been pretty unimpressed with his acting for the most part (finding him pretty flat/bland in general). But I really think taking him out of the teenager/college student role for once and casting him as a more believable character for his age and appearance really did him wonders. I thought he was a perfect fit for the chief as he was believable in portraying the strength and independence of the character as well conveying the more vulnerable, insecure moments- often just with his eyes.

I think the best part of this series is the fact that it lets BL characters free of the college campus/high school cage, allowing for a more refreshing storyline. Seriously if anything, I hope the popularity of this series pushes more BL series out of that box into seeing that yes we can have fully fledged, interesting stories with BL romance that aren't focused around teenagers. I want to see more series like this, Lovely Writer and Manner of Death where BL stories get to branch out a bit more plot-wise. I found the rural setting pretty, interesting and refreshing. It was also nice to learn more about traditional Thai culture as well as see the commentary being made on class/wealth differences etc.

Now onto some aspects I didn't love. I really enjoyed probably the first 3/4 of the series before I started to get a little bored tbh. I stopped enjoying the storyline as much when the whole "Tian is revealed as having Torfun's heart but lets not reveal the whole story to drag out some miscommunication angst" arc played out. From then on the story got a bit more shakey imo and I thought it could've been handled better (especially ep 10. which I found a real drag to get through if I'm honest).
The thing I ended up absolutely hating the most was how every character takes away Tian's agency by force- yes even Chief. Even though they sell it as being out of love and I see why they did it- I still dislike how they went about it. I hate how his mother forces him to study education in the US and acts like allowing him to study teaching at all is such a divine gift.

I hate how Chief forcibly removes him from the teaching position and tells him he HAS to leave the village even though that is where he wants to be. I understand that the whole point of forcing him to the US for two years was to "prove" that his character truly wanted to live in the village for his own happiness rather than to pay it forward for Torfun... But the fact that everyone forces him to do that when he clearly of his own volition had already decided in his heart that that's where he wanted to be pisses me off. It made that whole last ep just feel like filler to me as you were just wading through the bs waiting for Tian to get back to where he already wanted to be. I just wish they gave Tian's character more respect to decide for himself what was best for him rather than forcing a mandatory time skip for melodrama's sake (I understand this is an adaptation of a novel though- so I'm assuming this is how the story was originally written).

I also kind of wish there was more of a payoff in terms of scenes with Chief and Tian living "happily ever after". Or even showing them a couple of months in the future and how their lives adapted to each other- rather than just the last scene of them flirting on the same crappy single bed in Chief's shitty room lmao. I didn't find the one real kiss scene to be much of a payoff tbh. It was a romantic moment on the top of a mountain I get it, but meh tbh. We waited through 10 episodes of longing glances and endless flirting for one short kiss lol.

Overall I did enjoy this series for the most part, but it was dragging for me by the end. For the first 3/4's I had been ready to add it to my "best of BL" list- but the ending episodes were a little disappointing for me so I lowered my ranking a little. I would recommend this one as one of the more heartfelt, romantic BL dramas out there- but I don't think I'd re-watch it tbh.

TLDR: If you loved I Told Sunset About You- you'll likely LOVE this. But if like me, you were a little less rose-tinted glasses with that one- you might not 100% drink the 10/10 cool-aid with 1000 stars either. Although I would say 1000 stars was a LOT more enjoyable than ITSAY was for me and I'd personally recommend 1000 stars a lot more.

Leia Mais