Bishonen (film)
Bishonen... (Chinese: 美少年之戀; literally: Passion Between Beautiful Youths) is a 1998 Hong Kong romantic drama film about an ill-fated gay romance. Written and directed by Yonfan, the film stars Stephen Fung, Daniel Wu and Shu Qi.
Bishonen... | |
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Film poster | |
Traditional | 美少年之戀 |
Simplified | 美少年之恋 |
Mandarin | Měishàonián zhī Liàn |
Cantonese | Mei5siu3nin4 zi1 lyun2 |
Directed by | Yonfan |
Produced by | Sylvia Chang |
Written by | Yonfan |
Starring | Stephen Fung Daniel Wu Shu Qi |
Narrated by | Brigitte Lin |
Music by | Chris Babida |
Cinematography | Henry Chung |
Edited by | Kam Ma |
Production company | Far-Sun Film Company |
Distributed by | Chong Cho Sau Productions |
Release date | 14 August 1998 |
Running time | 111 minutes |
Country | Hong Kong |
Language | Cantonese |
Box office | US$18,629 (USA)[1] |
In 2011, the film was screened at the 16th Busan International Film Festival as part of a retrospective of Yonfan's work, which featured seven of his restored and re-mastered films from the 1980s through the 2000s.[2]
Synopsis
Jet (Stephen Fung) is a handsome gay hustler whose sex appeal seems to know no bounds. Everyone wants to make love to him, but he is in love with no one but himself.
Things change drastically when he notices what seems like a young couple in a shop, Sam (Daniel Wu) and Kana (Shu Qi). At first sight, he falls in love with Sam and begins following the two around.
Jet's friend Ching, who is also a hustler, runs a personal ad in a gay magazine for Jet, imploring Sam to contact Jet.
At first, Jet is angry with Ching for not asking him, but his wrath subsides quickly when indeed he meets Sam again in what seems like a chance encounter but actually is an outcome of the personal ad.
Sam turns out to be a police officer and Jet starts to befriend him, hoping this will turn into a relationship. But Sam does not seem to notice Jet's intentions.
Unbeknownst to Jet, Sam had an affair with pop star K.S. (Terence Yin) five years earlier. At the same time, Ching had been in unrequited love with Sam (then calling himself Fai) when the two were office workers.
Ching comes to his apartment shared with Jet when Jet and Sam are there, instantly recognizes Sam as Fai and is furious with Jet for stealing his beloved. Sam runs back to his apartment, but Jet pursues him. The two kiss, but they are interrupted by an unknown person at the door.
Later, Sam believes the person to be his father. Unwilling to face his father's disappointment, he kills himself. Jet lives on as a hustler and receives a letter knowing that Sam loved him.
Cast
- Stephen Fung as Jet
- Daniel Wu as Sam
- Shu Qi as Kana
- Terence Yin as K.S
- Jason Tsang as Chin
- Kenneth Tsang as Sam's father
- Lisa Chiao Chiao as Sam's mother
- Cheung Tat-ming as Tsu
- James Wong as Sex-buyer
- Joe Junior as Photographer
- Paul Fonoroff as Sex-buyer
- Michael Lam as Sex-buyer
- Yim Chim-lam
- Ma Man-ming
- Wu Kai-kwong
- Sherwin Ming as bar customer
- Brigitte Lin (narrator)
Theme song
- Answer (答案)
- Composer: Chris Babida
- Lyricist: Yao Chien
- Singer: Coco Lee
References
- http://www.the-numbers.com/movies/1999/0BTY.php
- "Busan International Film Festival to Feature Yonfan Retrospective". The Hollywood Reporter. 5 September 2011. Retrieved 15 October 2011.