A Queer Story
Reviewed by YTSL
Amidst the criticism that has been leveled
against Hong Kong movies in terms of many of them having homophobic strains,
I find myself thinking of there actually being quite a few -- including
“Naked Killer”, “Gigolo and Whore II”, “Swordsman II”, “Swordsman III:
The East is Red”, “Green Snake”, “He’s a Woman, She’s a Man” and “Who’s
the Woman, Who’s the Man?” -- that contain scenes which require their viewers
to not be put off by watching people in scenes and situations that could
be said to be gay friendly at one or another level. All this in addition
to a heralded trio of dramas -- with top notch leads and helmed by respected
auteurs -- in which homosexual characters are very much the main focus
of the productions: I.e., Wong Kar Wai’s “Happy Together” (starring
Leslie Cheung and Tony Leung Chiu Wai), Jacob Cheung’s “Intimates” (which
boasts luminous performances by Carina Lau and Charlie Yeung), and Stanley
Kwan’s “Hold You Tight” (memorable for Eric Tsang’s sensitive portrayal
of a gay man as well as being Chingmy Yau’s last film).
The Shu Kei directed and co-scripted (with Abe
Kwong) A QUEER STORY is one more quality offering with a well regarded
cast -- who include the guest appearance making Anita Yuen (as Yuk Sheung),
Waise Lee (in a fleeting car driving role), Alfred Cheung (as Carl), Hsu
Chi (playing a lesbian hairstylist), Kristy Yeung (as the girlfriend of
someone whose mother left his father for a(nother) woman) and Francis Ng
(who sensitively portrays a man whose love gets struck down by AIDs) --
and an esteemed director which depicts homosexual individuals in ways that
thoroughly emphasize their being humans who love, have relationships and
live in ways that often are far more conventional than many (homophobic)
heterosexuals think is the case. As this 1997 effort’s Chinese title
-- which translates into English as “Gay Man at Forty” -- underscores,
being gay is but one (though admittedly also major) aspect of being for
the film’s headlined personality.
Indeed, for much of this tonally under-stated
work, Law Kar Sing (who veteran singer-actor George Lam empathetically
portrays) looks to be having the kind of crisis that comes as much from
his hitting the big 4-0 as being a homosexual man who hadn’t “come out”
to many people in his life (including his father as well as boss and clients).
The older age and more conservative general attitudes of the middle-aged
man nicknamed “Moustachio” by his younger and far less uptight plus closeted
lover is particularly noticeable when he’s in the company of twenty-something
year old Sonny (Jordan Chan endows the other half of A QUEER STORY’s main
pairing with a coquettish quality as well as characteristic liveliness).
The duo’s generation gap and disparate perspectives on many aspects of
life is also detectable by way of: The older man being a filial son
as well as someone who continues to make time and effort to stay connected
with his lesbian 10th Aunt (played by Meg Lam) and remind her college-age
son that she is still his mother (even after having separated from his
father); but the younger man never being seen in the company of relatives.
As can be imagined, these kind of differences
play their part in leading Kar Sing and Sonny to sometimes having the sort
of spats that are part of the territory when opposites find that they can
repulse as well as attract. It doesn’t seem to help their relationship
all that much either that marriage counselor Kar Sing and hairstylist Sonny
have friendship circles that hardly overlap (The older man’s best friends
appear to be a gay professor and his celebrity photographer lover whereas
the younger man prefers to spend his time away from his partner in the
company of his hair salon colleagues or clients).
Matters come to a particular head though with
the (temporary) return from Canada -- where her family had migrated --
of the woman who Kar Sing’s father -- along with what seems like the rest
of their home village -- had expected him to ask to marry. I’m not
entirely convinced of the truth of the suggestion made in A QUEER STORY
that: “Behind every gay man is a woman waiting for him”. Still,
this is definitely the case with regards to Kar Sing and Lai Chuen (who
Christine Ng portrays as best as she can despite looking way too young
to have been an age mate of the man her character obviously does care quite
a bit for). How “Moustachio” handles this situation and “reality”
in general makes up an important as well as substantial part of a well
crafted film which this (re)viewer found to be sensitive and very watchable
(and confirms my sense, after having checked out his “Hu-Du-Men”, of being
partial to the directorial offerings of the talented individual who also
is a professional film critic and book store owner in addition to being
the associate producer of “Ashes of Time”).
My rating for this film: 7.5