‘A Tale of a Thousand Stars’ review: An unmissable Boyslove drama

The year 2021 has been challenging for many, especially in the Thai BL world, as the production of projects slows down due to the widespread of COVID-19 in the country. Before the recent outbreak of COVID-19, in January of this year, GMMTV released their highly anticipated drama, A Tale of a Thousand Stars, which is commonly known as 1000stars. 

A Tale of a Thousand Stars follows the story of Tian (Mix Sahaphap Wongratch), a young rich man who receives a heart transplant from a volunteer teacher, Torfun, who dies in a tragic accident. After obtaining Torfun’s journal, Tian learns about her life, secrets, interests, and her promise to Chief Forest officer, Phupha (Earth Pirapat Watthanasetsiri), about counting a thousand stars with him. Tian decides to follow Torfun’s journey to complete her wishes. As Tian and Phupha get closer, Tian starts to fall for him, but as problems escalate in the village, the probability of Tian completing Torfun’s promise becomes uncertain.

Initially set in hill-tribe villages in the northern part of Thailand, A Tale of a Thousand Stars location changed due to concerns from the villagers about the filming location. The production team later decided to create the entire location by scratch. Because of this change, the drama, originally set to air in 2020, released this year.

The primary reason why A Tale of a Thousand Stars is a must-watch for Boyslove fans is because of its unique setting and intriguing storyline. While most Thai BLs center around similar themes like university life, this series is based in Pha Pun Dao, a fictional impoverished village in a rural area. Although the series mostly centers around romance, the storyline also shows Tian’s personal growth from someone who didn’t realize his meaning in this world to someone who finds it.

This personal growth in Tian is best displayed towards the end of the series when he changes his major to education because of his newfound love for teaching. Another theme the story focuses on is giving second chances. When Tian gets his heart transplant from Torfun, he wants to thank her for giving him another chance to live by completing one of her wishes. A similar implementation of this theme is through the villagers giving Tian numerous amounts of second chances after he accidentally places them in various dangerous situations.

Besides having a distinct setting and a captivating storyline, A Tale of a Thousand Stars is an unmissable drama because of its amazing actors. Both lead actors have amazing on-screen chemistry, so much so that their relationship is believable with only one kiss scene. The most impressive performance is by rookie actor Mix Sahaphap Wongratch, who plays Tian. His display of emotions and portrayal of his character is a delight to watch. It’s hard to believe that A Tale of a Thousand Stars is his first drama, but with the success of the series, it won’t be a surprise to see him in other upcoming dramas as the main lead. Likewise, actor Earth Pirapat Watthanasetsiri, who plays Phupha, also gives a promising performance. Unlike Earth’s previous roles, his stiff acting and stern expressions are a perfect fit for a character like Phupha, and it’s hard to imagine any other actor besides him playing the role.

A Tale of a Thousand Stars aired from late January of this year till early April with only ten episodes. Like other Thai BL dramas, there is a possibility of this series having a special episode. However, this is only speculation as there is no news about it from neither the director of the series nor its network. Nonetheless, fans can still watch both actors in their other projects, such as Mix Sahaphap Wongratch’s latest drama, ‘Fish Upon the Sky, and Earth’s upcoming drama, ‘Mama Gogo.’ 

A Tale of a Thousand Stars can be viewed on Youtube.

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