Country:
China
Director: Stanley Kwan
Cast:
Hu Jan - Handong
Liu Ye - Lan Yu
Filmed
secretly in mainland China, Stanley Kwan translated a cult
gay novel ("Beijing Story") which was published
pseudonymously (credited to a "Beijing Comrade")
to screen. Set against the tumultuous events of China during
the late 1980's, Handong, the worldly, macho successful businessman
son of a government official, meets the young and innocent
architect student, Lan Yu, in a bar, and begins an affair
which begins and ends several times throughout an unspecified
period of time. In the beginning, both approach their relationship
differently: while Lan Yu's feelings are sincere, Handong's
laissez-faire approach causes the other much hurt and anger.
Though love finally blossoms, tragedy inevitably strikes.
The circumstances
surrounding the making of this film is readily apparent in
the rough quality of this film, though this is by no means
an amateurish production. Kwan specialises in films of doomed
love and romance, their melodrama balanced by the writing,
dialogue and the performances of the actors. In "Rouge",
Kwan re-created the decadent world of Shanghai courtesans
and complex sexual rituals, while here, perhaps due to pressure
and convenience, everything is spared down to the essentials:
the storyline and cinematography. I think the film suffers
a little from this: for one thing, we never found out why
Handong's eventual heterosexual marriage ended, nor the circumstances
for the larger crises that occurred in the latter part of
the film (though I suppose this would be apparent to anyone
living in China or Beijing). The relationship between the
two men are not examined in great detail, though Lan Yu's
heartfelt words ache in their grief and pain, while Handong,
for all his extrovert qualities, struggle to articulate his
inner feelings, until it was too late.
Kwan is
one of the very few openly gay filmmakers in Hong Kong, however
I don't believe this film should be viewed in light of that
fact (Kwan has often bemoaned the media's obsession with his
sexuality since coming out). You might think this would be
detrimental but to my surprise, I think I saw a lot more heterosexual
couples (and Asian, to boot) attending this film than the
supposed target gay audience. The film itself doesn't break
any new grounds, but perhaps Kwan was intended to simply depict
a homosexual relationship in a frank way like a heterosexual
relationship would. I would think "Lan Yu" would
stand out for the circumstances surrounding its creation rather
than the material of the film itself. Its theme of love, loss
and romantic doom is universal enough to appeal to all mainstream
audience
if they don't mind the upfront depiction of
gay sex.
Eden Law
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