Trylove

Trylove
  • 5.0 (21)
  • Film Reviews
  • Updated Weekly

Go see a movie. (Not officially affiliated with or endorsed by the Trylon Cinema or Take-Up Productions, but they seem to like us well enough.) https://bsky.app/profile/trylovepodca.st

  1. 6d ago

    Episode 402: JE TU IL ELLE (1974)

    “Foolhardy.” That’s how director Chantal Akerman described her 1974 film JE TU IL ELLE, which she also wrote and starred in. Her partially autobiographical character drifts at an emotional distance from herself, rearranging her room and binge eating and drafting letters to lost love, for the first 30 minutes. On paper, it sounds pretty flat. Those extended scenes of mundanity are punctuated by listless narration and a couple precious human interactions. Her hookup with a random trucker and her return to a former lover give the story structure, but they also give us a window into the young woman’s emotional state that her own voiceover narration tends to elide. For a couple of us, JE TU IL ELLE (“I, YOU, HE, SHE”) is the first time we’ve discussed Akerman. It’s as exploratory and halting and caveat-ridden as you’d imagine, but honestly, on this episode of Trylove, these four straight white guys talk not completely stupidly about this groundbreaking work of queer feminist filmmaking. References: “Impulsive Desires and Getting Personal” by Lucille Hanson for Perisphere, the Trylon blog: https://www.perisphere.org/2026/09/20/impulsive-desires-and-getting-personal/ “Down, Out, & Paradise: Chantal Akerman’s Tricky Triptych Je Tu Il Elle ” by Chris Polley for Perisphere, the Trylon blog: https://www.perisphere.org/2026/09/20/down-out-paradise-chantal-akermans-tricky-triptych-je-tu-il-elle/ “Je tu il elle” by Tamara Tracz for Senses of Cinema (May 2013): https://www.sensesofcinema.com/2013/cteq/je-tu-il-elle/ “Chantal Akerman: The Pajama Interview” by Nicole Brenez for Lola Journal (2011): http://www.lolajournal.com/2/pajama.html Check the calendar, preview upcoming series, and buy tickets at https://www.trylon.org/ Contribute to Perisphere, the Trylon blog, at https://www.perisphere.org/perisphere-blog-post-guidelines/ Follow us on Twitter at @trylovepodcast, Bluesky at @trylovepodca.st, and email us at trylovepodcast@gmail.com to get in touch! #TakingTheScenicRoute #DCP Show art by Emily Csuy. Theme: "Raindrops" by Huma-Huma/"No Smoking" PSA by John Waters. Outro music: "Nous n'irons plus au bois" as heard in JE TU IL ELLE. Timestamps 0:00 - Episode 402: JE TU IL ELLE (1974) 2:38 - Whadja Watch This Week? 22:44 - The Patented Aaron Grossman Summary 25:24 - Chantal Akerman and the first act of the movie 35:10 - The “superstructure” and how the acts fit together 44:57 - Mundanity and distortions of modern home life 55:05 - Virginia Woolf and distance from yourself 1:01:12 - Is it worth asking “why” things happen in this movie? 1:08:58 - The final act sex scene 1:24:15 - The Junk Drawer 1:28:19 - Cody’s Noteys: Co Dy’s No Teys  (collaborative competitive games)

  2. Sep 22

    Episode 401: THE LONG DAY CLOSES (1992) with Abbie Phelps

    The wistful, self-aware reflections highlighted in movies like THE LONG DAY CLOSES earned Terence Davies the unique moniker of ‘cinematic poet’. He grew up Catholic, discovered his queerness young, and came of age during British postwar austerity, but it’s not so much about his upbringing as it is about his recollection of his upbringing. It makes sense when you watch it. Abbie Phelps designed the delightful poster that promoted a short Terence Davies series at the Trylon, and she also happens to love this movie, so we’ve welcomed her back to the show to dig into what makes it special, what ‘cinematic poetry’ actually means, the power of music in communicating memory, and what people misunderstand about THE LONG DAY CLOSES! Find Abbie… On Bluesky at https://bsky.app/abbiememorydoll.bsky.social On Letterboxd at https://letterboxd.com/goodhunterabbie/ On Trylove episodes about DRIVE ANGRY (2011), WAR OF THE WORLDS (2005), THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT (1999), TOUCH OF EVIL (1958), THE TRAIN (1964), MOULIN ROUGE! (2001), PHANTOM THREAD (2017), STAR WARS (1977) (with Natalie Marlin), THE INSIDER (1999) References: Buy the poster Abbie designed for “Terence Davies, Cinema’s Greatest Poet” at the Trylon (Sept. 2026): https://ko-fi.com/s/a9b4005fd4 “Mark Kermode on… the revered British director Terence Davies: ‘He had to fight to get every film made’” (Nov. 2023) https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/nov/04/mark-kermode-on-the-revered-british-director-terence-davies-he-had-to-fight-to-get-every-film-made-distant-voices-still-lives-benediction-the-long-day-closes “Coming of Age in Pittsburgh: To Fashion a Text” by Annie Dillard (The Wilson Quarterly Volume 12, Issue 1 Winter 1988) https://wilsonquarterly-legacy-attachments.s3.amazonaws.com/full-issues/new-year-1.pdf “Hopes For Paradise: Terrence Davies and The Long Day Closes” by Rich Woodall for The Quietus (May 2022): https://thequietus.com/culture/film/film-terrence-davies-long-day-closes-30-anniversary/ Check the calendar, preview upcoming series, and buy tickets at https://www.trylon.org/ Contribute to Perisphere, the Trylon blog, at https://www.perisphere.org/perisphere-blog-post-guidelines/ Follow us on Twitter at @trylovepodcast, Bluesky at @trylovepodca.st, and email us at trylovepodcast@gmail.com to get in touch! #TerenceDaviesCinemasGreatestPoet #DCP Show art by Emily Csuy. Theme: "Raindrops" by Huma-Huma/"No Smoking" PSA by John Waters. Outro music: "Tammy" written by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans, orchestrated by Joseph Gershenson, and sung by Debbie Reynolds as heard on the THE LONG DAY CLOSES soundtrack. Timestamps 0:00 - Episode 401: THE LONG DAY CLOSES (1992) with Abbie Phelps 2:26 - A question about Halloween 5:34 - Whadja Watch This Week? 28:05 - The Patented Aaron Grossman Summary (under exclusive license from AG Enterprises, Ltd.) 29:28 - Abbie’s poster for the Trylon’s Terence Davies series 33:29 - Terence Davies, an all-too-brief and all-too-shallow overview 36:17 - What ‘cinematic poetry’ and ‘pure cinema’ mean in relation to Terence Davies 39:44 - A journey through time, space, and memory 46:40 - The memories you find yourself drifting to 51:50 - What most people get wrong about THE LONG DAY CLOSES 58:48 - How Davies layers recollection and reflection on screen 1:03:06 - The “vivid” decay of memory 1:12:18 - Davies’s use of music in this part of his oeuvre 1:22:07 - A phantom of World War II 1:30:19 - The “Tammy” scene 1:35:09 - The Junk Drawer 1:43:52 - Cody’s Noteys: A Noteys Sampler Platter (multiple themes/types of Q\&A trivia)

  3. Sep 15

    Episode 400: THE 400th EPISODE (2026)

    Seven years, eight months, and eight days ago, we published the first episode of Trylove. It was about François Truffaut’s THE 400 BLOWS (1959), the critic-turned-director’s debut film and a monument of the French New Wave. We joked about doing it again for episode 400 of the show. Well, References: Trylove Episode 1: THE 400 BLOWS (1959) Check the calendar, preview upcoming series, and buy tickets at https://www.trylon.org/ Contribute to Perisphere, the Trylon blog, at https://www.perisphere.org/perisphere-blog-post-guidelines/ Follow us on Twitter at @trylovepodcast, Bluesky at @trylovepodca.st, and email us at trylovepodcast@gmail.com to get in touch! Show art by Emily Csuy. Theme: "Raindrops" by Huma-Huma/"No Smoking" PSA by John Waters. Outro music: “Les 400 Coups (Version Instrumentale)” by Jean Constantin from the THE 400 BLOWS soundtrack. Timestamps 0:00 - Episode 400: THE 400th EPISODE (2026) 2:01 - Whadja Watch This Week? 21:29 - Favorite memories from 400 episodes 45:11 - The Patented Aaron Grossman Summary 48:07 - Motion City Soundtrack and the Trylove lore behind THE 400 BLOWS 59:34 - The assumptions you make about Antoine in the absence of explanation 1:10:49 - Why Jason doesn’t like THE 400 BLOWS 1:20:08 - René, the other kids, the parents, and the world around Antoine 1:39:07 - Reconciling Antoine with Truffaut 1:49:41 - Antoine's struggle against systems of power 1:54:58 - What Truffaut turned Antoine into in later movies 2:13:47 - To All the Loves We’ve Tried Before: 1959 2:15:34 - Cody’s Noteys: Gratin Tomatoes (darts rules but with RottenTomatoes scores)

  4. Sep 13

    Episode 204: IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT (1934) with Seth Zarate (Republish)

    This episode was originally published in December 2022. It was republished September 13, 2026, to coincide with its run at the Trylon as part of the "Taking the Scenic Route" series. Returning guest Seth Zarate grabs his trumpet to blow down the Walls of Jericho! It’s the movie that came up with the thing where a lady hitchhikes by showing a bit of her bare leg instead of pointing out her thumb! IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT is also a funny early romantic comedy that, in lieu of a balance between “rom” and “com,” often leans into its uncomfortable scenarios without giving the audience a clear indication of how they’re supposed to feel about its antics. Find Seth… On Bluesky at snzarate.bsky.social On Letterboxd at @snzarate On Trylove episodes about THE FIFTH ELEMENT (1997), 12 MONKEYS (1995), TO LIVE AND DIE IN L.A. (1985), A GOOFY MOVIE (1995) Table Read, TIME BANDITS (1981), THE FACULTY (1998), THE SACRIFICE (1986), RUMBLE IN THE BRONX (1995), Horrorthon V: Son of Horrorthon (2021), BATMAN RETURNS (1992), TOKYO GODFATHERS (2003), THE CONVERSATION (1974), IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT (1934), LOOPER (2012), ASTEROID CITY/DIAL OF DESTINY/DEAD RECKONING/BARBIE/OPPENHEIMER (2023), THE CARS THAT ATE PARIS (1974), RETURN OF THE JEDI (1983), NAUSICAÄ OF THE VALLEY OF THE WIND (1984) References: Watch IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT on the Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/it-happened-one-night-1934_202108 #TakingTheScenicRoute #DCP #35mm Follow us on Twitter at @trylovepodcast, Bluesky at @trylovepodca.st, and email us at trylovepodcast@gmail.com to get in touch! Show art by Emily Csuy. Theme: "Raindrops" by Huma-Huma/"No Smoking" PSA by John Waters. Outro music: “The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze” from IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT. Timestamps 0:00 - Episode 204: IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT (1934) with Seth Zarate 5:22 - The Patented Aaron Grossman Summary 10:37 - Blueprints for the “rom” and the “com” 20:13 - The third act 23:48 - The trope characters 37:38 - The Hays Code 50:47 - Shapeley, little freaks, and The Guys of this movie 53:27 - The Junk Drawer

  5. Sep 8

    Episode 399: PSYCHO III (1986) with Kelly Krantz

    Sequels tend to suck, but not this one! PSYCHO series star Anthony Perkins had the reins of the third entry, and BOY did he use ‘em. While PSYCHO III does little to upset the apple cart of the series — Norman Bates is dodging suspicion for another murder, another precocious blonde rents a room at the Bates Motel — it’s got a certain gaudy, beautiful ‘80s sleaze that opens a couple interesting pathways for our intrepid Oedipus. And who better to discuss all that than Kelly Krantz, noted Perkins stan and sleaze fanatic? Give to these causes in need during ICE’s occupation of Minnesota: https://mn50501.org/donate Support Minnesotans defending their communities from ICE: https://www.standwithminnesota.com/ @sanctuarysupplydepot: Mutual aid group in Mpls getting basic necessities to our houseless neighbors https://linktr.ee/sanctuarysupplydepot @mplsmutualaid: Clearinghouse of mutual aid for our neighbors: https://linktr.ee/mplsmutualaid ISAIAH, an interfaith group fighting for racial and economic justice in MN: https://secure.everyaction.com/G8TCnxFlE0qd9zlUEYjjeg2 Show love to North Minneapolis families in crisis: https://www.gofundme.com/f/show-love-to-north-minneapolis-families-in-crisis Find Kelly… On Bluesky at @kransekage.bsky.social On Letterboxd at @luckyhoss On Twitter at @kransekage_ On Trylove episodes: WINGS OF DESIRE (1987), ARREBATO (1979), PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE (1974), REVOLVER (1973), THE DOOM GENERATION (1995), THE NIGHT PORTER (1974), REMEMBER MY NAME (1978), PLAY IT AS IT LAYS (1972), OUTLAND (1981), BASIC INSTINCT (1992), THIEF (1981), HEAT (1995) References: Trylove Episode 142: Horrorthon V: Son of Horrorthon with Seth Zarate (in which we discussed PSYCHO II (1983) Check the calendar, preview upcoming series, and buy tickets at https://www.trylon.org/ Contribute to Perisphere, the Trylon blog, at https://www.perisphere.org/perisphere-blog-post-guidelines/ #VolunteerProgramming #DCP Follow us on Twitter at @trylovepodcast, Bluesky at @trylovepodca.st, and email us at trylovepodcast@gmail.com to get in touch! Show art by Emily Csuy. Theme: "Raindrops" by Huma-Huma/"No Smoking" PSA by John Waters. Outro music: “Scream of Love (Movie Version)” by Carter Burwell from the PSYCHO III soundtrack. Timestamps 0:00 - Episode 399: PSYCHO III (1986) with Kelly Krantz  2:04 - Whadja Watch This Week? 27:41 - The Patented Aaron Grossman Summary (under exclusive license from AG Enterprises, Ltd.) 32:31 - PSYCHO III in the context of Anthony Perkins’s fascinating life 39:25 - Anthony Perkins had the directing juice 52:43 - A distinctly mischievous movie 1:00:58 - How the characters color the tone of the movie 1:09:03 - Duke, the devil on Norman’s shoulder 1:13:44 - Carter Burwell’s sleazy score and everyone’s obsession with sex 1:27:19 - The ending 1:31:32 - The Junk Drawer 1:37:42 - Cody’s Noteys: 2 Films, 2 Curious (trivia about directors with two films under their belt)

  6. Sep 1

    Episode 398: EL FANTASMA DEL CONVENTO (1934)

    Alfonso covets Cristina, the wife of his friend Eduardo, and she enjoys the attention. The trio’s sudden stranding at a monastery full of silent monks only hones their illicit affection… And hastens the return of a lustful monk whose sin cursed him to haunt the monastery forever! Unknown numbers of movies were lost in the early years of Mexico’s film industry, especially before the country’s cinematic Golden Age in the 1940s and 1950s. But a growing number of them have been rediscovered, restored, and rereleased by Permanencia Voluntaria — and they include Fernando de Fuentes’s EL FANTASMA DEL CONVENTO (THE PHANTOM OF THE MONASTERY), a subversive Gothic horror from that weird post-revolution, pre-war gap. It’s kind of a thin movie on the face of it, but in this discussion, we pull a lot from it. There’s Mexico’s growing prominence on the world stage, economic favor from the US during World War II, Catholic guilt, and a movie industry reflecting how a nation charted an unknown future. Check it out! Give to these causes in need during ICE’s occupation of Minnesota: https://mn50501.org/donate Support Minnesotans defending their communities from ICE: https://www.standwithminnesota.com/ @sanctuarysupplydepot: Mutual aid group in Mpls getting basic necessities to our houseless neighbors https://linktr.ee/sanctuarysupplydepot @mplsmutualaid: Clearinghouse of mutual aid for our neighbors: https://linktr.ee/mplsmutualaid ISAIAH, an interfaith group fighting for racial and economic justice in MN: https://secure.everyaction.com/G8TCnxFlE0qd9zlUEYjjeg2 Show love to North Minneapolis families in crisis: https://www.gofundme.com/f/show-love-to-north-minneapolis-families-in-crisis References: Watch EL FANTASMA DEL CONVENTO on the Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/el-fantasma-del-convento-1934-spanish Permanencia Voluntaria: https://mxfilmarchive.com/ Archives On Screen: https://archivesonscreen.org/ “Lust Souls: The Phantom of the Monastery” by Salvador Carrasco for Senses of Cinema (August 2025): https://www.sensesofcinema.com/2025/cteq/lust-souls-the-phantom-of-the-monastery/ “Hollywood's Rogue Neighbor: The Argentine Film Industry during the Good Neighbor Policy, 1939-1945” by Tamara L. Falicov https://www.jstor.org/stable/4491220 Check the calendar, preview upcoming series, and buy tickets at https://www.trylon.org/ Contribute to Perisphere, the Trylon blog, at https://www.perisphere.org/perisphere-blog-post-guidelines/ #FantasmasyLuchadoras #DCP Follow us on Twitter at @trylovepodcast, Bluesky at @trylovepodca.st, and email us at trylovepodcast@gmail.com to get in touch! Show art by Emily Csuy. Theme: "Raindrops" by Huma-Huma/"No Smoking" PSA by John Waters. Outro music: “Tierra Mestiza” by Los Folkloristas from the EL NORTE soundtrack. Timestamps 0:00 - Episode 398: EL FANTASMA DEL CONVENTO (1934) 1:43 - Whadja Watch This Week? 17:05 - The Patented Aaron Grossman Summary 20:22 - Some important context on early 20th century Mexican film 24:39 - Gothic fiction and the fantastical elements of Mexican art 41:20 - The pacing and structure (it’s too long) 48:08 - How the monastery starts changing our protagonists 1:06:24 - How it brings you into the story and character dynamics 1:15:57 - The Junk Drawer 1:19:56 - To All the Loves We’ve Tried Before: 1934 1:21:42 - Cody’s Noteys: The Phantom of the Indicator (trivia about Trylove films released through Powerhouse Films’s Indicator label)

  7. Aug 25

    Episode 397: EL NORTE (1983)

    After being forced from their home, two Guatemalan refugees have no choice but to flee north. Lured by the sheen of capitalist excess in the pages of Good Housekeeping, siblings Rosa and Enrique make the dangerous trek across the US/Mexico border, only to find the dream lives they were promised are nearly impossible for people like them to achieve. EL NORTE director Gregory Nava traveled to Minneapolis in August 2026 for special screenings of the 4K remaster at the Trylon. Several screenings included introductions and Q\&A sessions of his breakout film, bringing it back into the spotlight as it finds new relevance amid the punishing immigration crackdown of Operation Metro Surge and other ICE operations across the nation. Give to these causes in need during ICE’s occupation of Minnesota: https://mn50501.org/donate Support Minnesotans defending their communities from ICE: https://www.standwithminnesota.com/ @sanctuarysupplydepot: Mutual aid group in Mpls getting basic necessities to our houseless neighbors https://linktr.ee/sanctuarysupplydepot @mplsmutualaid: Clearinghouse of mutual aid for our neighbors: https://linktr.ee/mplsmutualaid ISAIAH, an interfaith group fighting for racial and economic justice in MN: https://secure.everyaction.com/G8TCnxFlE0qd9zlUEYjjeg2 Show love to North Minneapolis families in crisis: https://www.gofundme.com/f/show-love-to-north-minneapolis-families-in-crisis References: “Journeys North” by Luis Lopez for Perisphere, the Trylon blog: https://www.perisphere.org/2026/08/14/journeys-north/ Check the calendar, preview upcoming series, and buy tickets at https://www.trylon.org/ Contribute to Perisphere, the Trylon blog, at https://www.perisphere.org/perisphere-blog-post-guidelines/ #OtherProgramming #4K Follow us on Twitter at @trylovepodcast, Bluesky at @trylovepodca.st, and email us at trylovepodcast@gmail.com to get in touch! Show art by Emily Csuy. Theme: "Raindrops" by Huma-Huma/"No Smoking" PSA by John Waters. Outro music: “Tierra Mestiza” by Los Folkloristas from the EL NORTE soundtrack. Timestamps 00:00 - Episode 397: EL NORTE (1983) 2:12 - Whadja Watch This Week? 20:42 - The Patented Aaron Grossman Summary 23:31 - Seeing EL NORTE with a Q\&A by director Gregory Nava 29:07 - The editing and visual flow 49:57 - The shift out of the first act and into hell 57:37 - Empathy and persuasion 1:01:21 - How Rosa and Enrique have to change to fit in in Los Angeles 1:11:14 - The ending and what Enrique takes with him into his life in America 1:30:47 - The Junk Drawer 1:43:39 - To All the Loves We’ve Tried Before: 1983 1:45:41 - Cody’s Noteys: El Formate (trivia about the first films released on various film formats)

  8. Aug 18

    Episode 396: THE HOLE (1998)

    There’s a hole in the floor of an apartment in Taipei. It’s an absolute mess for the occupant and his downstairs neighbor. Though they’ve never really met, they discover each other through their awkward circumstance, with each episode inspiring irritation, which turns into hatred, which turns into… Well, you’ll have to see the movie. Tsai Ming-liang wrote and directed THE HOLE as an experiment, bringing his vision of the year 2000 to the screen. Instead of going sci-fi or hard dystopian, it depicts a society where people live so close, and in such harsh conditions, that they can’t even yearn properly. Give to these causes in need during ICE’s occupation of Minnesota: https://mn50501.org/donate Support Minnesotans defending their communities from ICE: https://www.standwithminnesota.com/ @sanctuarysupplydepot: Mutual aid group in Mpls getting basic necessities to our houseless neighbors https://linktr.ee/sanctuarysupplydepot @mplsmutualaid: Clearinghouse of mutual aid for our neighbors: https://linktr.ee/mplsmutualaid ISAIAH, an interfaith group fighting for racial and economic justice in MN: https://secure.everyaction.com/G8TCnxFlE0qd9zlUEYjjeg2 Show love to North Minneapolis families in crisis: https://www.gofundme.com/f/show-love-to-north-minneapolis-families-in-crisis References: “A Sentimental Journey Through the Films of Tsai Ming Liang” by Cole Seidl for Perisphere, the Trylon blog: https://www.perisphere.org/2026/08/07/a-sentimental-journey-through-the-films-of-tsai-ming-liang/ “An interview with Tsai Ming-liang, director of The Hole” by David Walsh for World Socialist Web Site (October 7, 1998): https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/1998/10/tsai-o07.html “‘Haunted’ Taipei residential building to be demolished and replaced｜Taiwan News” by Formosa News (民視英語新聞) (June 4, 2024): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfFoYOrAAo4 Check the calendar, preview upcoming series, and buy tickets at https://www.trylon.org/ Contribute to Perisphere, the Trylon blog, at https://www.perisphere.org/perisphere-blog-post-guidelines/ #OtherProgramming #35mm Follow us on Twitter at @trylovepodcast, Bluesky at @trylovepodca.st, and email us at trylovepodcast@gmail.com to get in touch! Show art by Emily Csuy. Theme: "Raindrops" by Huma-Huma/"No Smoking" PSA by John Waters. Outro music: “Oh! Calypso” performed by Grace Chang from the THE HOLE soundtrack. Timestamps 0:00 - Episode 396: THE HOLE (1998) 2:15 - Whadja Watch This Week? 14:44 - The Patented Aaron Grossman Summary 17:12 - A movie about the 2000s 24:45 - The dramatic, comedic, absurd mood 26:32 - Water, disease, disenfranchisement, and the slow decay of gravity 34:20 - The human need for solitude vs. the human desire for connection 41:16 - The surprising musical numbers 49:45 - The reuse of actors, characters, and settings in Tsai Ming-liang films 54:39 - Why he leg through hole? 57:23 - Xining Public Housing, the actual ‘haunted’ apartment building 1:04:46 - The consummative, but not necessarily victorious, ending 1:12:47 - The Junk Drawer 1:18:09 - To All the Loves We’ve Tried Before: 1998

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5
out of 5
21 Ratings

About

Go see a movie. (Not officially affiliated with or endorsed by the Trylon Cinema or Take-Up Productions, but they seem to like us well enough.) https://bsky.app/profile/trylovepodca.st

Information

  • Creator
    Trylove
  • Years Active
    2019 - 2026
  • Episodes
    404
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © All rights reserved
  • Show Website
    Trylove

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