Country Boy 2 (2022)

Another Wayufilm masterpiece The history of BL series is a history of iconic BL couples – from Off and Gun over Max and Tul, Boun and Prem, Elijah and Kokoy, Ian and Paolo to Ohm and Nanon, names that make BL fans send their ships sailing. For me, Mon and Oak belong in the same category, although they are so different from all the others. They have been playing together in short films and series for more than three years, growing up together as actors and personalities, carefully guided by Director Nicchi. Their movies like ”Key Love”, ”My Friendship”, and of course ”Country Boy” are among the best the genre has to offer. Even a music video (”Just Like That”) proves how talented these two actors are, and that they are a perfect match. I was sad when Oak announced the end of his acting career in a tearful video. Fortunately, fans kept asking director Nicchi to produce a sequel to ”Country Boy”, and luckily two fans, John Piccone and Solipsism5 offered to finance ”Country Boy 2”. Many other fans donated smaller amounts of money, too, and Nicchi succeeded in persuading Oak to return to the screen, which made this movie possible. The plot is simple. Keptawan, the Country Boy (Oak Puwanart) leaves his homestay, which is his comfort zone, and goes to Chiang Mai for a month as a trainee in his uncle's café. He has problems to adapt to working in the café and to life in the city, he is bullied by his uncle when he keeps making mistakes, and he feels lonely because Nubdao (Mon Hatsawatchon) doesn't have time for him because he is preparing for his final exams. It takes four weeks until the two boys, who shyly hugged when Nubdao and his friends went to stay at Keptawan's homestay for some days in ”Country Boy”, finally spend a day together, and this time it is Keptawan who helps Nubdao overcome his crisis with the simple truths that a country boy knows. When Keptawan returns home, Nubdao is already waiting for him. The boys confess their love to each other, and their shy kiss (or should I say peck?) feels more emotional than many kisses at the end of 13 episodes of high end series. A word about the actors. Mon is very experienced in the meantime, and it shows in this movie. Oak feels a little OTT sometimes, but he plays the simple, clumsy, yet somehow wise boy from the countryside very authentically. There are only a few supporting characters: Keptawan's mum, who doesn't come across as grumpy as in the prequel, her brother, the owner of the café, the ”villain” of the movie, and Ju, whose name, which sounds similar to the Thai word for 'dick', is a running gag, are all very natural and contribute to the authenticity of the movie. I was a little skeptical when it was announced that a major part of the movie would be set in the city, because the landscape around Keptawan's homestay was a beautiful setting for the first episode. But we do get the rural setting again, and the places in Chiang Mai (the café, Nubdao's room, some street scenes) are well selected. Cinematography, sound and OST are very good for a low budget production. I admit I am not objective when I write about a Wayufilm production, and especially a movie starring Oak and Mon. I love those boys, and I appreciate Director Nicchi's work very much, so all in all I can only say that in my opinion, this is another masterpiece that takes you on an emotional journey.