This film offers commentary on the place of gay men of Asian background within the contemporary gay community. While in some ways the film is slight (only 30 minutes long and primarily consisting of "talking heads" interviews with a small number of gay Australian men from an Asian background) it makes some interesting and valuable points. (The fact that this is an Australian film does not take away at all from the applicability of the issues raised to gay life throughout Western society.)
The discussion of a "hierarchy of desire" within the gay community is a topic not often broached and it is interesting to see it addressed here. What was more intriguing to me, however, was the discussion of the difficulty that many Asian men have had in working with the issues that come up because of the difficulty in sorting out when they are rejected because they are Asian versus when they are actually being rejected .... well, on their own merits, if you will. I also was interested in the degree to which some of the interviewees acknowledged that they have found themselves discriminating against choosing Asian partners and the great sense of self-discovered a few of them felt when they actually did partner with another man of Asian descent.
The only objection I had to the film was that there is a sort of "drag" framing device (at several points between scenes we see a man making himself up with makeup and wearing what looks like a geisha or other classic Asian female outfit) that also seems to be used in the key art for the film. However the film itself has nothing at all to do with drag and introducing this element, I think, confuses the other issues that the film is really addressing (and, in fact, helps to perpetuate the gay-Asian-men-as-feminine stereotype that is being complained of.)
All-in-all, nothing that's going to change the world, but worth a look. One must also commend a documentary filmmaker who resists the temptation to try to make a feature film out of a short essay topic. At 30 minutes, this is just right.
The discussion of a "hierarchy of desire" within the gay community is a topic not often broached and it is interesting to see it addressed here. What was more intriguing to me, however, was the discussion of the difficulty that many Asian men have had in working with the issues that come up because of the difficulty in sorting out when they are rejected because they are Asian versus when they are actually being rejected .... well, on their own merits, if you will. I also was interested in the degree to which some of the interviewees acknowledged that they have found themselves discriminating against choosing Asian partners and the great sense of self-discovered a few of them felt when they actually did partner with another man of Asian descent.
The only objection I had to the film was that there is a sort of "drag" framing device (at several points between scenes we see a man making himself up with makeup and wearing what looks like a geisha or other classic Asian female outfit) that also seems to be used in the key art for the film. However the film itself has nothing at all to do with drag and introducing this element, I think, confuses the other issues that the film is really addressing (and, in fact, helps to perpetuate the gay-Asian-men-as-feminine stereotype that is being complained of.)
All-in-all, nothing that's going to change the world, but worth a look. One must also commend a documentary filmmaker who resists the temptation to try to make a feature film out of a short essay topic. At 30 minutes, this is just right.
