This is the second series from Vietnamese production company Moi Studio, and their first series, “My Sweet Brother-in-Law“, which was praised by viewers and critics alike, set the bar quite high. “Hot Brother Next Door“ (Hà Nội, Anh yêu "Anh". lit. ""Hanoi, I Love You), however, does not disappoint at all – it is high quality despite limited budget.
Cong and Phuc lived in the same house in their childhood, but they lost their close connection when Phuc’s family moved from Hanoi to Saigon. After the death of Cong’s mother, the violent father leaves Cong and his younger sister Han, who suffers from a heart disease. Cong takes care of Han, and therefore doesn’t graduate from middle school to earn money for Han’s treatment and education. As ordinary jobs aren’t paid well enough, he works as a debt collector.
The story starts when Phuc (Truong Cao Khoa) returns to Hanoi, where his girlfriend Tam (Luong Ngoc Diu) works at a real estate company, to open a pub. On his surprise return he catches Tam in the act with another guy and breaks up with her. He then visits his childhood friends Cong (Vo Van Thanh) and Han (Vu Minh Ngan). Whereas Han welcomes him with open arms, Cong is grumpy. He hasn’t forgotten that his parents used to scold him for not being as smart as Phuc. As this is a BL series, it doesn’t take long until Cong falls for Phuc, who reluctantly opens up to him and to himself being bisexual.
Phuc’s pub, however, faces serious problems as the place is designated to be demolished to make place for new buildings. Cong is offered 10,000 USD to sabotage the pub with his friends An (Pham Quang Anh) and Ha (Mai Thanh Xuan), but he refuses to harm Phuc’s pub and protects his friend’s business. He cannot prevent the pub from being sabotaged by other members of his boss’ gang of debt collectors so badly that it is about to go bankrupt.
In the end it turns out to be Phuc’s ex-girlfriend Tam, who is behind the attacks on the pub. Phuc and Cong are beaten up by Tam’s thugs, and while Cong is recovering in hospital for four weeks, Phuc decides to return to Saigon after he has lost everything. When Cong learns about Phuc’s decision, he is devastated and even refuses to say goodbye to him in person. After Han reprimands him, he goes to look for Phuc. The two young men move in together, and there are happy endings for Han, Ha and An, too.
The series has convinced me in every respect. The writing is good – the persons are characterized in depth, the dialogues are natural, and the whole story is true-to-life on all levels. The characters appear to be real persons who are facing problems each and every of us may face. The plot is set in an environment of ordinary people, unlike in Thai or Chinese series where the protagonists are either little princes or extremely rich, or both. Therefore the whole story is relatable.
The writers Nguyen Van Hoan and Vu Hang and director Vi Ha My succeed in bringing the Vietnamese title (“Hanoi, I Love You“) to life with lots of street scenes and hints at the rivalry between Hanoi and Saigon, e.g. by comparing the respective cuisines.
The director also succeeds in encouraging the actors to perform at the best of their skills. And this is another difference from some Thai BL series – the actors all know how to act.
Let me start with Truong Cao Khoa, who already caught my attention in the fantastic short film “The Sound of Nostalgia“ alongside the wonderful Mai Vu Luan. He is handsome and talented, and his acting is on point in every single scene.
Vu Minh Gan personifies Cong’s physically fragile, but mentally strong little sister Han very well. Mai Thanh Xuan is wonderful as Cong’s adventurous follower and friend, as a rebellious daughter, but finally also as a loving and caring friend of Han.
Pham Quang Anh plays Cong’s stoic friend An with a motionless expression, but his subtle glances reveal his deep (yet unrequited) love of Cong. Seeing him smile for once towards the end of the series was all the more moving. His acting is minimalistic, but all the more effective.
Luong Ngoc Diu displays Phuc’s evil ex Tam so convincingly that – according to comments on youtube - everybody hated the character she played – that is exactly what the evil antagonist should come across like.
And then there is Vo Van Thanh. His role of the saint who helps and protects everybody around him, but whose shining armour does bear some stains because of his violent job as a debt collector, is the center of the whole series. This is a huge task for a young actor, but Van Thanh is able to carry this burden brilliantly. Without belittling the other actors, he clearly steals the show for me, albeit with his natural partner, Cao Khoa.
Cao Khoa and Van Thanh have an incredible chemistry, and their kiss at the end to the series proves that they get along really well – what a difference from the “dead fish kisses“ that are supposed to be the climax of some Thai and Korean BL series!
To be honest, I felt empty when I had watched the final episode. I spent about 30 hours watching this wonderful cast very closely, as it took about as long to make the German subs. I have subbed many series and movies, and thus “spent“ a lot of time with many casts, but none of them have touched my heart as much as this bunch of young people.
There is nothing to complain about the technical aspects either. The cinematography is well above average of low budget productions, the editing is flawless, and many shots indicate what the Vietnamese title means. Writers and directors obviously love their hometown, and it will remain their secret why they chose the somewhat meaningless English title. The soundtrack is absolutely appropriate in all the scenes, perfectly underlining the atmosphere, and the opening song is especially beautiful.
Reading what I have just written makes me feel I’ve been carried away a little, so please forgive me if I sound too enthusiastic, but I really love this series and I could feel all the love, the dedication, and the efforts to create something beautiful put into it by cast and crew. The series is another example of the high quality of Vietnamese BL productions.
Country: Vietnam
Episodes: 10 à 15 – 25 mins.
Director: Vi Ha My
Cast: Truong Cao Khoa, Vo Van Thanh, Luong Ngoc Diu, Vu Minh Ngan, Pham Quang Anh, Mai Thanh Xuan et al.
