Suk suk

The senior romance, especially the queer ones, is such a rarity. Therefore, the love story between two discreet grandfathers in Twilight's Kiss is worthy of celebration. The melancholic story might be too subdued for its own good since the emotion was a little restrained in giving a more poignant impact, yet it still feels authentic, heartfelt, and moving nonetheless.

"Pak, a taxi driver already passes the age of retirement, a habitué of a local tearoom, chances upon Hoi, a divorcé and Catholic convert, both have adult children and grandchildren. After consummating their carnal knowledge, they gradually develop feelings for each other, but as a married man, Pak is the one who has a tougher decision to make, whereas for Hoi, audience is explicitly intimated that his son Wan (Lo) has been knowing his secret all the time. While both meditating on a possible future living together as a same-sex couple, that giant leap takes much more than a steely determination and their unalloyed, mutual affection."

read the full review on my blog: cinema omnivore, thanks

Two men in Hong Kong meet at a cruising park and form a relationship. They are of retirement age, but both are closeted and living with family - one with his wife, the other with his son, daughter-in-law, and granddaughter. So their chances at physical intimacy usually rests in places like bathhouses.

A substantial sub-plot is the attempt by young lobbyists, who are trying to create a gay seniors' home, to find members of a gay seniors' group to testify. Generally closeted, it is hard for them to step into the limelight.

This is a decent portrait about gay life in Hong Kong for the elderly. It is fairly calm and understated, leaving me to wish for a bit more drama.

This is a nice quiet story. It has all the elements to be an indie "darling". It's well done but I think it would have been far superior if we had focused more on Hoi than in Pak. We've seen Pak's story so many times and there is nothing really new there. You could say the same about Hoi but he at least has some nuances and much more heart. He's not only looking for love but giving it all around, to his grandchild and more importantly to his friends.

This last part is what really made the movie stand out. The stories of these various gay Chinese men and their struggle for a retirement home is far more interesting than the love story and I really wish we had seen more of it. A sequel perhaps?

Based on Kinsey's research, gay is about 10% of the population and to do a film on a subject that is a subgroup of that 10% is a bold move backed by strong conviction. Moonlight is one. It is about fending off discrimination of a minority within a minority with a story about being black and gay at the same time. Suk Suk is equally bold if not more so. It is our latest entry in this less than 10% arena. It is about the silver group of elderlies who lived their prime in a less accepting time and are now facing love, commitments and what is in front of them. In terms of approach, Moonlight is vibrant and sassy with dramatic peaks and valleys, Suk Suk on the other hand is calm and without too much of any surprising life's ripples. For that I must give it even more credit for being genuine and not creating unnecessary high drama out of the subject because over-milking would have been a cheap and easy way out. As a film, Suk Suk takes time to examine every blade of grass in the unremarkably plain of day to day living, and in doing so, the film becomes quite remarkable. The performances by Mr. Ben Yuen and Mr. Tai Bo is simply world class in their subtleties and realism. There are other well fitted artistic decisions in the project that sing in harmony with each other and for all the above reasons, it is a film I highly recommend.