#offhandedly sinophobic

[rongzhi]

Any good Chinese LGBT drama/ movie recommendations? And where to watch it?

Hmmm I thought I would have a lengthy list of recommendations but limited to just Chinese-language films/dramas, and ones that I would actually recommend, I realise that my list is a lot shorter 😅.

These are pretty much all going to be gay (mlm). Sorry for the lack of diversity 😔. Summaries are taken from Letterboxd for the most part.

Film Recs

(in chronological order)

霸王别姬 || Farewell My Concubine (1993) - China (mainland), Hong Kong - dir. Chen Kaige

Personal rating: 4/5 || [HQ link, EN subs]

Abandoned by his prostitute mother in 1920, Douzi was raised by a theater troupe. There he meets Shitou and over the following years the two develop an act entitled “Farewell My Concubine” that brings them fame and fortune. When Shitou marries Juxian, Douzi becomes jealous, the beginnings of the acting duo’s explosive breakup and tragic fall take root.

东宫西宫 || East Palace, West Palace (1996) - China (mainland) - dir. Zhang Yuan

Personal rating: 4/5

A heterosexual Beijing policeman and a young homosexual challenge each other’s sexuality.

春光乍洩 || Happy Together (1997) - Hong Kong - dir. Wong Kar-wai

Personal rating: 4/5 || [link, EN subs]

A couple take a trip to Argentina in search of a new beginning, but instead find themselves drifting ever further apart.

自梳 || Intimates (1997) - Hong Kong - dir. Jacob Cheung

Personal rating: 4/5 || [link, ZH subs]

Set in Hong Kong and China in the early 1900s, an older Wan and Wai travel through China in search of Foon, Wan's true love. Wai, whose on-and-off status with her boyfriend leads her into a struggle with self-identity, slowly learns about the life of the aging Wan. Through flashbacks, we learn about Wan in her early days and Foon, who move in and out of each other's lives.

美少年之恋 || Bishonen (1998) - Hong Kong - dir. Yonfan

Personal rating: 3/5 ~ 3.5/5 (I flipflop on this lol)

Jet is a gay hustler who one night spots a young man walking with a woman, and falls for him instantly. He does some research, and discovers that the man is called Sam, and is an apparently straight policeman.

蓝宇 || Lan Yu (2001) - China (mainland) - dir. Stanley Kwan

Personal rating: 5/5 || [HQ Link EN subs] [HQ link, ZH subs] - Bear in mind these are both the cut version of the movie. There are about 4 scenes cut from this version, which is unfortunately the most easily found.

A love story between a country boy in Beijing to study and a wealthy businessman set against the backdrop of the 1989 Tiananmen Square incident.

春风沉醉的夜晚 || Spring Fever (2009) - China (mainland) - dir. Lou Ye

Personal rating: 3/5

Hired to spy on a philandering husband, Luo Haitao soon becomes entangled in a clandestine affair with the other man. Along with Luo’s girlfriend, they succumb to the delirium of drunken nights, but how long can their tryst last?

谁先爱上他的 || Dear Ex (2018) - Taiwan - dir. Mag Hsu, Chih-yen Hsu

Personal rating: 4/5 || [HD link, EN sub]

When Sanlian’s ex-husband passes away, she discovers he has altered his insurance policy, cutting out their son in favor of a stranger named Jay.

叔・叔 || Twilight’s Kiss (2019) - Hong Kong - dir. Ray Leung

Personal rating: 3.5/5 || [HD link, EN subs]

One day Pak, a taxi driver who refuses to retire, meets Hoi, a retired single father, in a park. Although both are secretly gay, they are proud of the families they have created through hard work and determination. Yet in that brief initial encounter, something is unleashed in them which had been suppressed for so many years. As both men recount and recall their personal histories, they also contemplate a possible future together.

刻在你心底的名字 || Your Name Engraved Herein (2020) - Taiwan - dir. Liu Kuang-hui

Personal rating: 3.5/5

In 1987, as martial law ends in Taiwan, Jia-han and Birdy fall in love amid family pressure, homophobia and social stigma.

Extra mentions (haven't watched these ones yet but they have decent reviews):

夜奔 || Fleeing by Night (2000) - China (mainland)

Saving Face (2004) - U.S.A

盛夏光年 || Eternal Summer (2006) - Taiwan

Drama Recs

Most of the LGBT dramas I've watched are trash or censored, sorry to say, and I tend to watch movies over dramas, so what's left for me to recommend is just from the HIStory (Linked: wiki with summaries) Taiwanese webdrama anthology:

HIStory1: My Hero (PR: 3/5)

HIStory1: Obsession (PR: 3/5)

History2: Crossing the Line (PR: 3.5/5)

History3: Trapped (PR: 3.5/5)

#text #answered ask #movie recs #long post #all the movies i recced are dramas basically #there are a few movies out there (that i've seen) that are more lighthearted but also.... not good lol #personally i don't think a movie has to be 'good' but this is a rec list so... #unrelated but i ended up rewatching farewell my concubine for the first time in a while yesterday and one of the top letterboxd reviews #is a terrible take lmao #shoutout to sally on letterboxd you uncultured swine lol #but that's what happens to most chinese movies on letterboxd -u-' #either barely anyone has logged it #or it's popular to the point of there being a bunch of white film bros writing reviews where they manage to add something #offhandedly sinophobic #or otherwise add how they think the director became a sellout later uwu but THIS film is pure bc blah blah (yes this is about zhang yimou) #(white film bros - speaking broadly) #anyway. lol. #my letterboxd rant no one asked for. #i just think we should be allowed to downvote reviews on there that's all

[necromancer-mango]

been feeling some kind of way since attending one of the local conventions around here, there was a lot more anime stuff than before which was neat and some of the panels were interesting but attending them seeing all white panelists talking about nuanced subject matters sure is huh.

#also saw a booth where some white ppl were selling asian snacks to ppl #and u could get an entire roll cake at a local bakery or supermarket and smuggle it in with ur friends and it would probably be cheaper #but also like idk #they were panels about sexuality and gender which was cool to see but hearing ppl #with like a very eh grasp on imperialism and geopolitics talk about japan was ehhhh #idk idk i just felt really weird while looking around #theres probably a lot you could talk about b/c lot of these ppl were commenting on asian media becoming more popular in the states but #its a lot of white ppl talking abt this while calling korean and chinese animation anime while offhandedly mentioning the rest of asia #and its like on one hand yes this is very much a thing a lot of it is the utilization of soft power to export a certain image #and then on top of it when they talk about chinese media becoming more popular ppl are still very sinophobic??? #not to mention its a lot of pale thin able-bodied han chinese ppl and white ppl miss a lot of the racism #directed at central/western/south/southeast asians within said media #b/c they dont know what it looks like and they have a very general grasp of our identities #hmhmgmgmg