Skip to main content

A Queer Story (Cantonese)

This film was surprisingly a very pleasant watch. I wasn't sure what to expect. Even though at time the film felt a bit stretched, but wonderful performances by its two lead actors made sure as an audience you are never bored. The story is a little all over the place and too many issues have been tried to be dealt with, instead it would have been better to continue to focus on the core couple.

Law, a 40-ish man, and a counsellor is in stable relationship for 8 years with his younger boyfriend Sonny. But due to a very unhappy incident in his childhood, he has deep buried the secret of his sexuality and no one except his boyfriend knows. On the contrast, Sonny is happy and proud to be who he is and is deeply in love with Law. Law has a childhood sweetheart and they are very close but he is even afraid to tell her the truth. His father's pressure to get married is always looming over him. When one of his clients force to go with her to mainland, he is approached by a hustler and Law gives in to the urge. Meanwhile, Sonny, who is a hairdresser, who likes attention by his client goes out with them on dates but never hooks up and always tells Law the truth. as more characters are added, we meet Law's aunt who is now lesbian. The only people who know about law are 2 of his close friends who are a gay couple , who incidentally have to face the wrath of family when one of them dies because of AIDS. In between all this, Law's childhood sweetheart, who has always believed that they were a couple, wants more of a commitment from him but deep down secretly she knows that he is probably gay. When Sonny finds out about Law's cheating with a hustler, he is heart broken and he leaves home. Law is sad too but he gives in to his father's demands and proposes to his girlfriend for marriage but on the wedding day she makes him realize how important it is to love and be true to it and reminds him that he loves only Sonny. The lovers ultimately reunite and Law also comes out to his parents.

Some of the emotional scenes in the movie are handled very intelligently and with also some comic relief. The two scenes when Sonny meets Law's girlfriend are both funny. Similarly when she make s a graceful exit on the wedding day, it speaks volumes of her love for Law but also not forcing herself on him. There are a lot of characters jammed in a single film and the film feels dragged at some points. Acting and direction is superb throughout. The star is undoubtedly Sonny, who is clearly madly in love with law and possessive about him but at the same time is also very confident about his own sexuality and doesn't hide it at all. He lovingly called Law as Moustachio because he has a think for men with hair. Law plays the role of a man torn between family, traditions and being his true self very well and you can empathize with him. Personally I don't understand why he would randomly propose to a girl just because he has been caught of cheating.

The film probably was way ahead of its time in 1997 when it was released and it still relevant. Be patient, and this film could make you feel good. (6.5/10)

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Shortest Distance is Round 3: Fallen Flowers

Continuing with the weird trilogy of "The Shortest Distance", I am so glad that finally I am done with part 3 and won't have to deal with this again in future. Thankfully, as of now the makers have not announced any further parts; which will save all of us on this earth from the embarrassment of watching this in near future. After the first 10 minutes are used in sort of recapping bits of first two parts, the story moves forward. Haruto is now starting to have feelings for Ruka, the mysterious pole dancer from second part. In a fit of rage, Ruka ends up killing the goat man and to save him and Haruto, Shibahara asks them to go underground. Meanwhile Shibahara continues the search for Seiya (the guy who had cut off Haruto's penis). It turns out Seiya is now also taking care of the original club owner from part 1. Both of them were released after they had informed Shibahara of Aoyama's secret location. Shibahara tortures Seiya's boyfriend leading to Seiya killin

One Summer Night (Korean)

I really wanted to like this film but for non native speakers, these movie leaves a lot to be understood and the way scenes were unfolding in front of me, I wasn't sure many times what was really going on. The story had potential button getting any back story on any of the characters limited my ability to empathize with any of these actors. Film starts with two North Korea military guys Yong Joon and Jae Sung having sex and they are caught red handed and they run. Three years later we see Yong Joon in Seoul leading a very mundane and poor life. He has a boyfriend Tae-Kyu, who is a weird guy. He is carefree, doesn't do any work and is completely emotional and financially dependent on Young Joon. In fact, even Yong Joon will go to any lengths to protect him , fend for him and taking care of him to the extent of even taking up prostitution. Suddenly one day Jae Sung appears in their life again. His motivation is not clear but it is obvious he wants Yong Joon back in his life, who

Ultimate masturbation: Shigoki no yama (Japanese) [The Ultimate Masturbation]

I would never know what was the point behind making this film. Was it supposed to be a comedy, cos it wasn't. It wasn't even porn. It was just a silly attempt at making something absolutely senseless and ridiculous. The story, as well as direction is equally shoddy. You could laugh for having seen something so bad, but I wouldn't call that comedy. An old man runs a camp about gay masturbation. The explanation given is that gays masturbate for pleasure unlike straight men, for whom the act is seen as shame or because they can't find a woman. One day a straight man shows up and wants to join the camp for his thesis. After discussion, he is allowed in. Rules include that you can masturbate together, you can masturbate one another, but there is no fellatio or anal sex. Some students of course breaks rule. The teacher then talks about 2 forms of masturbation which gives ultimate pleasure. He shows one without touching and then refuses to talk of the other. Somehow suddenly,