Lan Yu (蓝宇)
Lan Yu is a chinese gay film by Stanley Kwan (Jin Peng) set against the backdrop of China during the period of Tiananmen Square Incident.
It was filmed in a time when the Chinese was still very conservative about homosexuals and the topic is almost a taboo in China.....
The film was very bold in using explicit gay love scenes and other areas..... I think out of the many gay films I have watched, it is the closest any chinese film can get to gay pornography......
The male anatomy is usually protected from the silver screen even in European films where the Westerners are known for their liberal ideas. But in Lan Yu, it is being shown freely in the first few minutes of the film.....
Was actually quite disturbed by the gay love scenes for the night after I watched the show.... Because really very bold.....
I think it is a milestone for Chinese Cinema...... No wonder it caused a ruckus when it was being released back in the late 90s (or was it early millenium?)
Despite all the controversy that surrounds this film, I was surprised to discover that Ang Lee was not the first chinese director to handle the homosexual topic with great sensitivity with his now famous 'Brokeback Mountain'
Stanley Kwan did use the same amount of sensitivity in exploring the love between 2 men during a conservative time in a conservative place such as China.
So he must be applauded...... But I think I am too late.... Lan Yu has 10 Golden Horse Nominations, 5 wins including best director, best actor, best editing, best adapted screenplay, most popular film. It was also selected for Cannes Film Festival, the sacred ground for all successful indie films/arthouse fare/ great blockbusters
The actors were great as well.... Almost made me believe that they were really gay..... I wondered if how much vomitting they did after the bed scenes.... Haha
After a few years of separating and reuniting, after overcoming lots of obstacles, the main characters finally realised they were meant for each other..... But Lan Yu died due to a construction site accident.
I burst into tears when Lan Yu died...... Literally......
You could draw close parallels between Lan Yu and Brokeback Mountain.... They are really similar
One line from the screenplay impressed upon me very much:
两个人, 要是太熟了, 倒不好意思再玩下去了. 也就是说, 到该散的时候.
孔明兵法（二出祁山：孔明粮草不足，后虽取得粮草，却要撤军）
孔明曰：粮草虽足，但打持久战未必无患。倒不如出其不意撤兵，可免损兵折将。
Sometimes withdrawing might not help you achieve your goals, but it can prevent more hurt (有时候撤退不能帮你达成目标，但能免去更多的伤害)
When I know I have to withdraw, I will do it, even if I got 十万个不舍
明年，如果需要我撤兵，不管是否出其不意，我一定撤。
这对大家都好，你懂我的意思吗？
It was filmed in a time when the Chinese was still very conservative about homosexuals and the topic is almost a taboo in China.....
The film was very bold in using explicit gay love scenes and other areas..... I think out of the many gay films I have watched, it is the closest any chinese film can get to gay pornography......
The male anatomy is usually protected from the silver screen even in European films where the Westerners are known for their liberal ideas. But in Lan Yu, it is being shown freely in the first few minutes of the film.....
Was actually quite disturbed by the gay love scenes for the night after I watched the show.... Because really very bold.....
I think it is a milestone for Chinese Cinema...... No wonder it caused a ruckus when it was being released back in the late 90s (or was it early millenium?)
Despite all the controversy that surrounds this film, I was surprised to discover that Ang Lee was not the first chinese director to handle the homosexual topic with great sensitivity with his now famous 'Brokeback Mountain'
Stanley Kwan did use the same amount of sensitivity in exploring the love between 2 men during a conservative time in a conservative place such as China.
So he must be applauded...... But I think I am too late.... Lan Yu has 10 Golden Horse Nominations, 5 wins including best director, best actor, best editing, best adapted screenplay, most popular film. It was also selected for Cannes Film Festival, the sacred ground for all successful indie films/arthouse fare/ great blockbusters
The actors were great as well.... Almost made me believe that they were really gay..... I wondered if how much vomitting they did after the bed scenes.... Haha
After a few years of separating and reuniting, after overcoming lots of obstacles, the main characters finally realised they were meant for each other..... But Lan Yu died due to a construction site accident.
I burst into tears when Lan Yu died...... Literally......
You could draw close parallels between Lan Yu and Brokeback Mountain.... They are really similar
One line from the screenplay impressed upon me very much:
两个人, 要是太熟了, 倒不好意思再玩下去了. 也就是说, 到该散的时候.
孔明兵法（二出祁山：孔明粮草不足，后虽取得粮草，却要撤军）
孔明曰：粮草虽足，但打持久战未必无患。倒不如出其不意撤兵，可免损兵折将。
Sometimes withdrawing might not help you achieve your goals, but it can prevent more hurt (有时候撤退不能帮你达成目标，但能免去更多的伤害)
When I know I have to withdraw, I will do it, even if I got 十万个不舍
明年，如果需要我撤兵，不管是否出其不意，我一定撤。
这对大家都好，你懂我的意思吗？
Labels: Movie Review
posted by Kian Tong at 5:52 PM
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