Lan Yu (film)
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Lan Yu |
| Original title | 蓝宇 Lán Yǔ |
| Country of production | Hong Kong / PR China |
| original language | Mandarin |
| Publishing year | 2001 |
| length | 86 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK n / a |
| Rod | |
| Director | Stanley Kwan |
| script | Jimmy Ngai |
| production | Qin Jian (executive producer) Yongning Zhang (producer) |
| music | Yadong Zhang |
| camera | Tao Yang, Jian Zhang |
| cut | William Chang |
| occupation | |
| |
Lan Yu ( Chinese 藍宇 / 蓝宇 , Pinyin Lán Yǔ ) is a Chinese film from 2001 about the love of two men between the late 1980s and the early 1990s . The film is directed by Stanley Kwan , it was shot in China, and all the actors are from China. The film is based on an anonymously written internet novel and has received several awards in the Chinese-speaking world .
Content (novel)
The nouveau riche businessman and playboy Chen Handong spent the night with student Lan Yu, who had just come to Beijing from the countryside to study and was in dire need of money. It was a one night stand , nothing more. But something remained with both of them.
A few months later, they met by chance at a newspaper stand and repeated their passion. A one-night stand turned into a more frequent get-together. Chen Handong and Lan Yu were soon moving into their own house on the outskirts of town. While Chen Handong always treated Lan Yu as his toy and tried to dominate, Lan Yu remained true to himself and did not let himself get down. The relationship between the two became an ongoing struggle that was heading towards their first crisis.
After an argument, Lan Yu did not come home on the night of June 4th, 1989 ( Tian'anmen Massacre ). Chen Handong, who was previously warned about the impending event by his informant, went out to find his friend at risk of death. The reunion under this circumstance brought reconciliation and real understanding for both.
Some time later, Chen Handong met the smart Lin Jingping (played by Su Jin , 苏瑾). Lin Jingping is handsome and has a keen business acumen. It was a good match. Under pressure from his mother, Chen Handong decided to seize the opportunity and married Lin Jingping. Breaking up with Lan Yu was heartbreaking. As a memento, Chen Handong gave Lan Yu the house and a thick passbook.
However, Chen Handong's marriage to Lin Jingping was not fulfilling and broke up after just a few months. Chen Handong was driving around town disoriented and came to the house where he had lived with Lan Yu. He found the house empty. The escrow lay unmoved on the desk.
Chen Handong learned of Lan Yu's new place of residence through his subordinates. The two made up. Lan Yu's small apartment was very shabby (he hadn't touched the savings account either), but nobody wanted to go back to the common house.
Then Chen Handong was arrested for bribery. Lan Yu tried to help him. To bribe the police and the court, Lan Yu sold the house and closed the bankbook. Chen Handong was released. Lan Yu was finally accepted by Chen Handong's family. They wanted to start a new beginning together.
But then Chen Handong received a phone call that Lan Yu had been killed in a traffic accident. Chen Handong was again wandering the streets of Beijing in his car .
Novel
The novel by Lan Yu is an anonymously first published on the Internet novel Beijing history ( Chinese 北京 ij , Pinyin Běijīng gùshì ). The author calls himself Beijing Tongzhi ( Chinese 北京 同志 , Pinyin Běijīng tóngzhì - "Beijing comrade", for the meaning of the word Tongzhi in connection with homosexuality, see Homosexuality in China ). His identity is not yet known to the public and there are a lot of rumors about it. According to Stanley Kwans, the director of Lan Yu, this is a woman from Beijing who now lives in the United States. He also assured that he had the express permission of the author, who now lives in America, to make the film and to make the necessary changes to the story.
Compared to the film, the novel deals more with the political and social backgrounds of the heroes. The reader learns that one of the two main heroes, Chen Handong, is the son of a deceased party cadre and that he made money through his father's position and friends. His business dealings (bribery, clergy, corruption) are also described in detail. His subsequent arrest also plays a role in this context, as his most important supporters turned away from him and he made the wrong enemy in the power struggle with others. The novel thus also paints a picture of modern Chinese high society . These social backgrounds take a back seat in the film, however, in order to be able to focus more on the hero's emotional world.
The sex scene in the novel, which is described in great detail and which can certainly be described as pornographic, is very controversial. In the film, too, the physical closeness of the two main actors (in contrast to most Asian films) is shown very courageously. Since the film addresses homosexuality and the student protests of 1989 very openly, the only unclear reason was the reason for the ban on the film in the People's Republic of China.
After the novel was published, it spread rapidly on the Internet. In 2002 a Hong Kong publisher brought out a book version of the novel.
The shooting
In 2000, Hong Kong director Stanley Kwan began planning the film. He won his good friend Jimmy Ngai ( 魏绍恩 ) for the script implementation and the filming permit from the Chinese Ministry of Culture (but without an external filming permit), which enabled him to recruit actors from China. He was able to win Hu Jun (胡军, who is already known to the German audience through his appearance in East Palace, West Palace ( 东宫 西宫 )) and the then rather unknown Liu Ye ( 刘 烨 ) for the main actors . Filming began in the second half of 2000, and the location was mainly Beijing . Since the team did not have permission to shoot outside, all outside scenes were shot with a handheld camera.
The film was unveiled to the public on May 18, 2001 and was immediately well received.
reception
The film received mixed to positive reviews.
Owen Gleiberman gave the film a B grade in Entertainment Weekly . In Lan Yu, he found the "sophisticated nonchalance" with which a gay relationship is portrayed "remarkable"; Director Kwan covers the two main characters in shadows so that the viewer has to look for the “light of connection” in their faces. Even if the film is sometimes "too cautious", in a few moments it captures the eroticism of intimacy in a way that makes most American love stories directly appear "unfree".
In the New York Times , AO Scott saw similarities with Wong Kar-Wai's In the Mood for Love , whose "less dizzyingly gorgeous" counterpart was Lan Yu ; Director Kwan has a “lyrical and bloody approach” with a “sensual and a little claustrophobic” visual style. The narrative rhythm is shaped by the mood and less by the chronology. Except for the “abrupt, maudlin end”, the film is “not particularly melodramatic”. In the end, however, Kwan is satisfied with "observing the meandering course of mutual attraction and shedding light on the moments in which love ignites" instead of delving deeper into the characters' psyche.
Awards and festivals
In 2001, Lan Yu was nominated ten times at the Golden Horse Awards in Taiwan , including for the performances of the two leading actors. The film won five prizes: best director, best leading actor, best adapted screenplay, best editing and the audience award.
The film was also shown at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival in the Un Certain Regard section.
Performances
While the film was very well received in Taiwan and Hong Kong, it was classified as "unsuitable for young people" in the People's Republic and therefore cannot be shown publicly. However, it is easily available on the flourishing DVD black market.
In Germany, the film was shown in the original version with English subtitles at the Enchanted Film Festival.
Web links
- Official website ( Memento of August 25, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
- Beijing Story , the novel based on (Chinese)
- Lan Yu at the Internet Movie Database (English)
supporting documents
- ↑ Lan Yu at Rotten Tomatoes (English)
- ^ Owen Gleiberman: Lan Yu. In: EW.com . August 2, 2002, accessed August 30, 2017 .
- ^ AO Scott : FILM REVIEW; Passion Erupting Amid Political Upheaval. In: Nytimes.com . July 26, 2002, accessed August 30, 2017 .
- ^ Golden Horse Awards 2001. In: YesAsia.com. Retrieved August 30, 2017 .
- ^ Festival de Cannes: Lan Yu. In: festival-cannes.com. Retrieved August 30, 2017 .
- ↑ Steve Friess: Defying China's Unwritten Rules. In: Latimes.com. August 18, 2002, accessed August 30, 2017 .