Lan Yu is a Chinese film about two gay lovers. It's probably one of the more substantial gay films I have seen and totally relevant. The film is directed by Stanley Kwan and starring Liu Ye and Hu Jun. This film is a critical success and is controversial for it's subject matter. It's also the first Chinese film that shows full frontal male nudity. This is an emotional film and shows how a typical one night stand can turn into something entirely different. It really shows the dynamic between an older and a younger man and how their age difference can be a problem.
The film is basically about the relationship of these two men over the course of a few years and the trials that they face together and apart. It's really heartbreaking and heartfelt. The thing that I noticed about this movie is that is has moments. Moments of real beauty. The film as a whole has a dark palette to it and I don't think there's hardly any bright scenes but there are a few shots that I had to pause and look at. One that comes to mind is a shot of the older man standing with a bath towel on in the entrance way to the bathroom. We get a shot from the back of his head as you see steam from the bathroom move past his head and his hair wet from having just got out of the shower. It was such a beautiful shot. Also another thing I noticed about this film was the way the male body was presented. It wasn't in a pornographic way, it was almost poetic. There is a scene at the beginning of the film, when Lan Yu is laying on the bed fully naked and there was no part of me that felt like it was gratuitous. The story was also one that was crafted very well. The film is based on a controversial E-novel that you can't find online anymore. The characters were developed well and even the supporting characters, I felt, had real depth to them.
Now, the one performance that really just blew me away was Liu Ye's performance. As the title character, he did a fantastic job. I can't even describe how great his performance is. It's so natural and so underplayed that you would almost second guess his acting ability. That's the whole genius of it. His subtly is flawless. It's the kind of subtle performance that you hardly ever see anymore. This is a great example of great acting my fellow cinephiles. The only problem I had with this film is that closer to the end of the film, it felt a little rushed. It was almost if they were hurrying up to fit everything in. It's not a big deal though. Just a minor issue.
Other than that, I definitely recommend the film.
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