Eternal Summer… Eternally Frustrating

Warning: Spoilers ahead. Do not read if you don't like the plot revealed at all. If there are any major spoilers, I will put it as a footnote.

You can call this the chinese version of Brokeback Mountain. Or maybe the directors saw The Journey, and decided that torturing the audience was the way to go. Certainly, if there was an invisible criteria in film festivals and awards to honour a gay film... wait, what am I talking about? 90% of independent films at Film Festivals are gay or gay-themed. And then you get the occasional, tear-jerking documentary/film which gives you the urge to do a Mother Theresa, such as Born Into Brothels. Anyway, as I was saying, if there was an invisible criteria for gay films, it would be that the film has to boost the sales of Kleenex, or it has to make the audience stomp out of the theatre, utterly confused and frustrated. Or both.

The film follows two young men, Shane and Jonathan, from childhood to their continuing friendship in young adulthood. Jonathan, the good boy, is predictably in love with his best friend Shane, the bad boy. Indeed, every time he appears on screen, Jonathan has this sad, lost-puppy-dog look on his face, especially when he is looking at Shane, that just makes you want to either f*** him, or slap him.

Their world is disrupted by Carrie Tu, a young girl at their school. Initially, Carrie is shown to be dating Jonathan, a relationship which ended when Carrie and Jonathan try to sleep together, but he just could not bring himself to do it. Carrie realises Shane is in love with Jonathan, and pledges to keep his secret. And she turns into the most wonderful ex-girlfriend, hooking up with Shane for the most unfathomable reasons within the next 15 minutes of the show.

The rest of the show is taken up by subdued drama due to the linkages between the three hearts, unspoken love and tensions. It is extremely frustrating, accentuated by the slow pace of the movie, and the sometimes non-sequential writing. Shane spends half his time saying 'Oei, Jonathan' and exhorting him to talk and spend time with him. Jonathan spends half his time studying, or at least trying to pretend the sight of a half-naked Shane in his bedroom does nothing to him. And Carrie spends half her time creating phone drama between the three of them.¹

One good thing about the movie was the camera angles and shots. Clearly shot by an artisan, often the camera angle said more about the situation than the characters themselves. The actors are undoubtedly excellent as well, conveying much with their expressions and actions. Which was a good salvaging point for the movie, because the dialogue was often puzzling and stilted. Awkward silence dominated the film, or maybe that was a good thing, because such a situation is definitely awkward. The writing, in my opinion, could have been a lot better, especially given such an interesting concept.²

What would make this movie worth watching is also cultural contextualisation, to an extent. I liked seeing the villages, the girls and boys riding home in their bicycles through rice fields, to later transition into motorbikes through expressways, subtly indicating both westernisation and urbanisation of the culture, as well as indicating the coming of age of the characters. The directors also did a good job in building the setting for the film, not shying away from showing algae-coated walls and the bleak greyness of the modern homes, all which accentuates our understanding of the despair and frustration Jonathan has been feeling.

I rather thought the ending was frustrating and lame. It would have been awesome, and taboo-breaking, to let the characters end up in a m-nage-a-trois of sorts, since they are all clearly in love with each other. It need not be a happy ending, but this, in my opinion, is where it should be headed. However, I believe the writers were not courageous enough to go there, and hence we got a very lame, supposed-to-be-artistic kind of ending, which made me want to bash up something when I left the theatre.³

So should you watch the film? Even though I was marginally disappointed with it, I would still think it is worth watching, for all the love-lorn people out there who have been where Jonathan is. Really, who among us has not once been in love with our close/best friend? [Oh please, don't lie... don't think I didn't see that spark in your eyes when you were looking at her.]

Until the next time I have to get out my Kleenex box.

1. One problem I had with this movie is that it is not clear whether Shane loves Jonathan. His behaviour is rather schizophrenic, especially towards the ending. I thought it was a done deal when Shane made the first move and had sex with Jonathan. [The sex scene, by the way, was censored in a highly disconcerting way] Or maybe us not knowing is supposed to be the “artistic” point of the film. [back]
2. One point the writing stood out was when Shane was picked up by a random guy for sex. This, I thought, was very realistic and well-written, and may encompass the experiences of many a young person who is coming out [back]
3. What kind of ending is it, for Shane to declare that Jonathan is really your best friend when he confesses he is in love you, after you f***ed him the day before? [back]