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Dong gong xi gong (Mandarin) [East Palace, West Palace]

Now This one is hard to classify as a genre. I will put it as an artsy film and maybe exploration of one self done in a very artistic way. Its definitely not a conventional movie.

A Lan is a gay man, rounded up in a park near the Forbidden City by Xiao Shi, a police officer. The plot involves A Lan's night-long interrogation, involving flashbacks of his hard life. A Lan clearly loves the police officer and I think the officer also through him wants to explore himself and identify his true feelings. Through a series of questions, A Lan talks about his childhood, his encounters with various men at the same time trying to tell Xiao Shi how much he loves him. The police officer shouts at him but is also very amused by whatever he was telling. After a while he lets him go but A Lan refuses to go. The officer then asks him to wear women's clothes. But that also does nothing. Xiao Shi is struggling a lot with himself, whether o 'cur' the gay man or to just give in for the love A Lan prophecies for him. They have a passionate kiss but the officer is still confused and he just walks out thinking. A Lan is happy that at least he was kissed by the man he loves very much.

This movie moves slowly and is only really interesting if you buy into this psychological premise. The title refers to the 2 parks which are famous for gay activities. The performances were ok but there were lot of questions as to why did A Lan tel all those stories about men beating him and having sex, whether that was for sympathy, love or excitement. Plus the film was also very slow at times. The pace could have been faster but I guess the intent was to keep it slow and let the viewers digest n every aspect.

Very different movie. Not for everyone. (3.5/10)

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