By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4.25 cats
Director: Ray Yeung
Starring: Ben Yuen | Hiu Yee Wong | Kong To | Lo Chun Yip | Patra Au | Tai-Bo | Yiu-Sing Lam
Original language title: Suk Suk
Country: hong_kong
Year: 2021
Running time: 92
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10975520/reference
Michael says: “While representation for gays is much better in the movies than… say… twenty years ago, it’s still not outstanding. And representation for older adults… much less older gay adults… is still pretty abysmal. Ray Yeung’s TWILIGHT’S KISS embraces the challenges of aging gay men, and even more daringly, does so in Hong Kong, where that generation is still fairly uncomfortable with homosexuality. Pak is well past retirement age, but he still love driving his taxi every day. He’s got a happy family, wife, kids, grandkids, and a habit of cruising public toilets for sex with men. It is on one of these unsuccessful cruising visits that he encounters Hoi, similar in age, reading on a park bench. Hoi, it turns out, is retired, is long divorced, and living with his son’s family. He is also gay, but he’s not into cruising. Both men are closeted, but Hoi, at least, has a circle of gay friends who are doing their small part with the younger generation, to set up a gay senior home so that they will have somewhere to go if their families are unable to help them.
“Yeung has crafted a gently powerful story of two men to meet in their 70’s, form a sexual bond, and then suddenly realize that they are falling in love. Pak in particular is in a precarious position, and while his marriage doesn’t seem all that loving, and certainly lacks any passion, Pak’s wife, Chin, is never portrayed in a negative light, and there is clearly true affection between them. As the two men’s relationship progresses, they even start to imagine a live together might look like, but that’ seems a chasm to wide to bridge, and the film ends on an ambiguous note that some might be frustrated by, but i felt seemed much more true to life.
“Great screenplay, and terrific performances by Ben Yuen (Pak) and Tai-Bo (Hoi), as well as from Patra Au, as Ching really elevate this film, and Yeung’s direction is unfussy, but but elegant, as he leads us through the complicated lives of two men in love late in life. 4 1/2 cats”
Amazingly, this touching movie has its origin in an academic book—“Oral Histories of Older Gay Men in Hong Kong.” Maybe it’s because the director met some of the subjects of the book, that the films shines in its specificity. 4 cats.