Lan Yu

I really wanted to like this movie. The actors are good looking, honest and real, and the very fact that it is a Chinese film is intriguing. However well intentioned this film was, I believe that it fell quite short of its mark.

The story is of two guys who have a relationship; there is not much new here. Although there are some wonderful uses of interesting camera angles and a decided lack of score, Lan Yu was not able to unify these elements into an effective picture.

Don't get me wrong, however, the film was quite interesting. But when I left I felt cheated; the ending is a huge disappointment, and the entire intermittent narrative voice is really unnecessary. Although well intentioned, this film gyrates between excess sentimentality (Chinese film style,) and touching humor; although some movies can pull these two strains together, this one could not.

Whereas other reviewers have stated a great emotional complexity, I caught no such vibe from either of the main characters. Unfortunately, I really did not care that much about either of them, and was unable to believe that their love was as great as they both proclaimed at various times. Although sweet, this movie was really just fluff lite.

I went to see "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" with a young Chinese man who said to me, as if I didn't know this, "Of course it has a tragic ending. It's Chinese!" That awakening, plus seeing the movie in a Chinese filled theatre, taught me something. I rented "Lan Yu" expecting a Chinese movie. I didn't get one. There were no intense cultural overtones, just references. Mao, Tiannimen Square, Russians, yes. The matriarch's New Year's dinner was the closest thing to Chinese culture. But, of course, Beijing and Hong Kong are cosmopolitan. The plot even makes fun of Lan Yu being thrust into the city from the country.

I put this movie in the category of "Parting Glances," "Steam," and "Love, Valor, Compassion," definitely not "Philadelphia." That's a high compliment for me. I've seen boring, "go for the audience impact" Gay movies. This isn't one, thank goodness. It's a love story with the complexity of approach/avoidance conflict, embraced by friends who are straight, even though the story is about Gay love. And it's about one-sided love, growing love, fearing the loss of love, committment anxiety, and all that, the same as in straight relationships. It has acceptance and tolerance and is totally devoid of sneers from the homophobic thrown in to thicken the plot.

The character development is a little sparse, but actually we learn about them quickly. There's no long wind up. Skillful! The character depth is what grows. Lan Yu grows. His lover doesn't, until it's too late.

The direction and photography were subtly superb. I didn't catch on until far into the film how good the photography was and placement of the characters. The acting was excellent -- or was it their direction?

How interesting that the clearly more submissive character is the stronger one.

Did those who hated this movie notice all of that, or are they jaded? I wouldn't like to be at a play or movie with them.

Wonderful movie. I cried. I laughed. I'm still feeling it. Very few movies do that to me.

LAN YU is another indication that films from China are becoming increasingly more poignant, less dependent on spectacle, and certainly more daring in view of the political milieu. Director Stanley Kwan not only has courage to make this poignant film, he also has the gifts to create an atmospheric, gentle, quiet, and luminously photographed love story. He draws understated performances from his actors, never stooping to caricature, always respectful of the inherent delicacy of his subject matter. Lan Yu is a handsome young gay architecture student who becomes involved with Hangdong, a closeted Beijing businessman. The affair they pursue is subtle yet not without passion, the kind of understated passion that rings true rather than playing for sensationalism. The plot twists and turns - Lan Yu is set aside by Hangdong for a "proper marriage" which leads to divorce and to other losses, bringing Hangdong back to seek his real love - Lan Yu. The change in their relationship speaks loudly for a wider acceptance of same sex love. To reveal the ending would be a disservice to the viewer. Part of the joy of this simple story is the sensitivity of Hangdong's colleagues in responding to the his various dilemmas: there is no "bad guy", no prejudice, no castigation - these friends are committed and make homophobia seem merely a foreign, unimportant word. This film is a model of restraint and intelligent, finely crafted story telling. The actors are uniformly excellent and win our hearts. Highly Recommended!

Basically, this is the story about a well-to-do Beijing businessman with questionable business principles who enjoys the company of young male students whom he treats as his play thing and pays them for their sexual participation.

Lan Yu a somewhat shy architectural student attending a University in Beijing is enticed into the businessman's home where he is subsequently seduced.

In the ensuing months the relationship deepens and they become lovers meeting at every opportunity. The emotions are subtly portrayed by the two actors. We hang on every word spoken and get caught up in their feelings. "We must never become too close", says the businessman. "It is right and proper for a man to have a wife and children". Such are his thoughts....

Secretive though their relationship may be, it is never sordid. They feel so relaxed in each other's company. The tiny rooms and narrow passageways are almost claustrophobic. Note the device of photographing reflections in mirrors so often throughout the film. An interesting technique which is constantly repeated. In a mirror you see a person lying in bed. Beyond the camera you hear a door closing. You know that some one has left the room, though you do not see it. And note the frequent use of close-ups so important in emotional scenes. A hug, a kiss, a sob, a tear....so meaningful...and each emotion tugs at your heart.

Shakespeare said "Parting is such sweet sorrow". Here we have such sorrow, but then the joy of re-uniting, followed alas! by a new tragedy that parts them once more.

The final scene when the businessman stops his car at the building site and then speeds on ever so quickly with the concrete pillars flashing by is a fitting ending in itself. I think the song detracts from the mood and would be better omitted.

I expected something tepid and tormented, like "East Palace West Palace" and instead found a wonderful drama about the China of the 80s and 90s.

A successful businessman sees, at a fancy party, a young man brought to the party by another attendee. He and a co-worker decide to pounce: they take him (Lan Yu) out and treat him royally. The young man winds up staying with the businessman, who gives him money, but is ambivalent about whether he wants to see Lan Yu again. He feels that he can have relationships and remain unattached.

Lan Yu shows up periodically over the course of years, and the businessman gives him larger and larger gifts, including a fancy house in the suburbs. But the businessman meets a woman who translates for him in a deal he's making with Russians. He decides to marry the woman. Lan Yu will not put up with it and refuses to see the businessman.

The businessman's shady deals get him into trouble, and he loses almost everything. Then Lan Yu comes back into the picture and . . . (I'll leave it there).

Besides being a wonderful melodrama, this is also a hot gay film. Full frontal and dorsal nudity, some sex. The men are hairless and sexy, but real. Lots of kissing.

And all the time you're wondering: did they actually film this in China? Do they allow this in China? How did they get away with this....It must have been filmed in Hong Kong. Well, according to the Sundance website, this was filmed in China, and based on a short story that appeared only on the Internet.

It's by far my favorite Chinese movie, and if you're interested in gay life in the new China, this is the one to see.