Suk Suk is a quiet, subtle yet rather poignant Hong Kong drama which tells the story of two men who, while nearing their twilight years, have a secret homosexual relationship. The film, directed by Ray Yeung [director of other LGBTQ movies such as Front Cover (2015) and Cut Sleeve Boys (2006)] manages to get us acquainted with its protagonists and their story, but it also achieves to make a comment on the untold and hidden gay community of Hong Kong.
But first things first. We meet
Pak (
Tai-Bo), a 70-year-old taxi driver who has been married for many years and seems to have a seemingly beautiful yet actually not so functional family.
Pak appears to have it all together but despite his wife's persistence to retire and leave his taxi, he seems reluctant to let go. We soon find out why. He uses his taxi to meet people and that's how he encounters
Hoi one day at the park.
Hoi (
Ben Yuen) is a lonely 65-year-old man. He lives with his son, his daughter-in-law and his granddaughter but he has this muffled sadness in him. His relationship with his son is problematic as the latter does not respect him and thinks he is old and useless;
Hoi may not be what his son thinks, but he surely is a person who has been hiding his whole life and this has started to take a toll on him.
When the two men meet, you immediately realise the chemistry that they share. There might be some awkwardness and self-consciousness, especially in a place far from the -
seemingly- more accepting West, but they appear to have a great time together. They soon end up at a sauna which is actually a front created by the gay community so as to meet far from the judgemental eye of society. As
Pak and
Hoi's relationship grows,
Pak gets to know that he is not alone in this secret and that there are many people who have led this life for many years.
Hoi, actually, is a member of a society for elderly gays who all try to raise money for a gay nursing home.
Suk Suk is a sweet film led by its protagonists' performances that are both exceptional. Especially Ben Yuen's silent struggle and sorrow resonated with me in a way I did not expect. The film does not follow clichés but instead it has a more realistic approach to difficult dead-end choices that people have to make in real life. Nonetheless, it is also amazingly eye-opening and it can be seen as a great cultural lesson from the way it puts us in Hong Kong's everyday life, from open-air bazaars, to restaurants, to chinese weddings. No wonder it won big at the Hong Kong Film Awards, Hong Kong Directors Guild Awards as well as Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards.
0 σχόλια :
Post a Comment