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"A wise man never endangers himself"
Stanley Kwan’s Lan Yu told the story of a decade long up and down love story of two men in Beijing starting in the late 1980s. Based on an internet book by an anonymous author, Lan Yu won Golden Horse awards for Best Leading Actor, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Film Editing, and Audience Choice Award.
Chen Han Dong intercepts a college student, Lan Yu, who was intended as a paid date for someone else. The night ends up being kismet for the two men. The older Han Dong may want to keep everything transactional, but Lan Yu has lost his heart. As always, the road to true love never runs smoothly. Through the years, Han Dong makes decisions based on fear of commitment and a desire for a life that is more normal in appearance, all to protect his heart which always ends up breaking Lan Yu’s.
Kwan resisted using outside influences as impediments to the men’s relationship. Family, co-workers, and friends seemed to have no problem with Han Dong and Lan Yu being together. While the two didn’t flaunt their relationship, neither did they carry it on in the dark. Han Dong’s own insecurities and selfishness caused the crises between them.
The film was beautifully shot and framed. You do have to make note of the small comments and changing seasons to determine when the story has shifted forward in time. Kwan kept the script spare, focusing on the high and low points. I wouldn’t have minded more development of the characters, but the director preferred the relationship lean and mean. Liu Ye and Hu Jun had a lovely chemistry with the characters often doing what couples do---talking, eating, or hanging out with friends and family. There was sex as well, but nothing gratuitous, with the exception of early in the movie casually showing full frontal nudity as the two talked. The ending was disappointingly common for the time.
The older and more financially established Han Dong ended up being the character needing the most growth. He could be maddeningly obtuse and unaware of his own feelings frequently expressing himself with his check book. The film wasn’t perfect and the title character could have used more depth, but overall, I enjoyed Lan Yu. Not all relationships work out perfectly, nor are all lovers perfect, even when destiny calls.
20 April 2025
Trigger warnings: Full frontal nudity (only in an early scene) as well as derrieres
Chen Han Dong intercepts a college student, Lan Yu, who was intended as a paid date for someone else. The night ends up being kismet for the two men. The older Han Dong may want to keep everything transactional, but Lan Yu has lost his heart. As always, the road to true love never runs smoothly. Through the years, Han Dong makes decisions based on fear of commitment and a desire for a life that is more normal in appearance, all to protect his heart which always ends up breaking Lan Yu’s.
Kwan resisted using outside influences as impediments to the men’s relationship. Family, co-workers, and friends seemed to have no problem with Han Dong and Lan Yu being together. While the two didn’t flaunt their relationship, neither did they carry it on in the dark. Han Dong’s own insecurities and selfishness caused the crises between them.
The film was beautifully shot and framed. You do have to make note of the small comments and changing seasons to determine when the story has shifted forward in time. Kwan kept the script spare, focusing on the high and low points. I wouldn’t have minded more development of the characters, but the director preferred the relationship lean and mean. Liu Ye and Hu Jun had a lovely chemistry with the characters often doing what couples do---talking, eating, or hanging out with friends and family. There was sex as well, but nothing gratuitous, with the exception of early in the movie casually showing full frontal nudity as the two talked. The ending was disappointingly common for the time.
The older and more financially established Han Dong ended up being the character needing the most growth. He could be maddeningly obtuse and unaware of his own feelings frequently expressing himself with his check book. The film wasn’t perfect and the title character could have used more depth, but overall, I enjoyed Lan Yu. Not all relationships work out perfectly, nor are all lovers perfect, even when destiny calls.
20 April 2025
Trigger warnings: Full frontal nudity (only in an early scene) as well as derrieres
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