foxwell Posted January 9, 2021 Posted January 9, 2021 Interesting movie from Taiwan, It's about the love between two boys, pure love which continued for more than 30 years! Do NOT miss it if you like Asian and Chinese cultures. Storyline from IMDB In 1987, decades of martial law is lifted in Taiwan and two schoolboys, A-han and Birdy, are about to enter an illicit love affair after meeting in the school band led by a Canadian priest named Oliver. While the whole country commemorates the late president, the two boys bask in each other's presence as A-han's affection for Birdy is awakened. However, society is homophobic and the threat of violence and social shaming enacted by adults and their fellow teens causes the two to come into conflict as they edge closer to physically enacting on their passions for each other. Birdy pushes A-han away by pretending to fall in love with a girl and this misunderstanding separates them. In desperation, A-han confessed to Father Oliver about his sexuality, only to be cut off again but love knows no bounds and the boys are meant to be together - Inspired by real events, the film is emblematic of the changes in Taiwan which became the first country in Asia to legalise gay marriage. floridarob and Pete1111 2 Quote
Members Pete1111 Posted January 9, 2021 Members Posted January 9, 2021 The best part of it for me was how the movie is shot. Many very poignant shots. I especially love the very first scene and the very last, and also when they went to Penghu Island. I liked this movie quite a bit! Anyone that knows or imagines how it was back in the 80s, being sweet on another boy. The stigma. Difficult! Probably more so in Taiwan. We could have a thread on that, the crazy shit some of us went through coming out to ourselves and falling for another boy. There is a director version coming with 40 minutes that Netflix cut out. For example, some clips in the trailer aren't included in the Netflix cut. The downside is the English subtitles aren't perfect and some key plot points aren't all that clear unless you chat with someone that is Chinese and knows how their alphabet works. Still, I fill in the gaps knowing what the director intended, what he went through himself, as some of us did too, way back when. The two leads are very good and easy on the eyes. This still is from the movie, and is included in the Netflix cut. Quote
