Directed by Stanley Kwan • 2001 • Hong Kong, China
Starring Liu Ye, Hu Jun, Huatong Li
Filmed in secret in Beijing, this tender gay romance by Stanley Kwan combines the timeless conventions of classic melodrama with a radically frank depiction of queer intimacy as it traces, over the course of years, the relationship between a wealthy businessman (Hu Jun) and a young architecture student (Liu Ye) as they come together, fall apart over the former’s fear of commitment, and gradually realize that they are fated to be together. Kwan’s expressive visuals and the sensitive lead performances yield a daring, deeply affecting love story that doubles as a haunting reflection on life in post-Mao China in the wake of the Tiananmen Square massacre.
Up Next in 21st Century Cinema
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Vámonos
Directed by Marvin Lemus • 2015 • United States
Starring Vico Ortiz, Jessica Camacho, Natalia Cordova-BuckleyVico Ortiz (OUR FLAG MEANS DEATH) and Jessica Camacho (ALL RISE, THE FLASH, WATCHMEN) costar in this beautiful story about what it looks like to show up as an ally for our gender-nonconf...
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A Wild Patience Has Taken Me Here
Directed by Érica Sarmet • 2021 • Brazil
Starring Zélia Duncan, Bruna Linzmeyer, Lorre MottaThis formally innovative, euphorically sexy short travels through the queer Brazil of past, present, and future as it traces an encounter between an older butch biker and a band of young polyamorous lesb...
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No Ordinary Man
Directed by Aisling Chin-Yee and Chase Joynt • 2020 • Canada
Starring Billy Tipton, Susan Stryker, Kate BornsteinAmerican jazz musician Billy Tipton developed a reputable touring and recording career in the mid-twentieth century, along with his band the Billy Tipton Trio. After his death in the...
