This one's a beautiful, tender, quiet romantic drama with a moody atmosphere, set in a tight knit Welsh fishing community. It's a touching story about a man waking up sexually in the middle of his life, and how he, his family, and everyone around him deal with it, which makes it emotional and sentimental without ever getting over the top. The slow burn plays out against a landscape that's as bleak as it is gorgeous, where quiet, closed off men are stuck inside rigid ideas of what masculinity should be. Some people might be reminded of "God's Own Country," but I think both films are lovely in their own way. Jack is a middle aged guy who co-owns a mussel farm with his rough around the edges brother Dyfan, and the tension between the two of them is simmering under the surface right from the start. Dyfan's three sons all help out with the work, while Jack's sulky teenage son Tom keeps skipping out. Jack's been with his wife since they were both 16, and...
Khoi, a 20 year old guy moves to the big city with dreams in his eyes. Dong, an attractive young man befriends him to share his apartment with him when he sees Khoi looking for a place. Khoi meets Lam when he goes to check out the place. Dong and Lam turn out to be boyfriends, prostates and crooks, who won and steal all of Khoi's money and clothes. Not too later, Dong also dumps Lam. Lam starts working as a prostitute again on the streets till he once again sees Khoi and brings him home with him. The two become very close and eventually becomes lovers. Khoi constantly wants Lam to leave his job because it scares him but destiny has something else in store for these 2 men. Also in parallel we have the story of mute, slightly mental middle aged guy. he is lonely and somehow attracted to a female aging prostitute. We also see how he ultimately gets fascinated by a duckling, who eventually becomes his only friend. Finally the duck brings the guy and the prostate together.
Although the movie was emotional and I was able to connect to the movie, I really failed to understand the need for 2 parallel tracks. It would have made sense if somehow the two tracks were connected, but they were not. Also, the editing was a little off. Sometimes, one track would go on for a long time, that you would completely forget about the first story which IMO was very confusing. I don't mean that either of the tracks were bad but overall either the screenplay or the editing definitely needed some modification. Actors did a good job in their respective roles. As a young Lam, who has completely given himself to destiny, we see and feel his pain. We also feel the emptiness and harsh life that the youngsters had and still have to go through sometimes. I wished the ending was happier but then I think the way Lam's character was built, something bad had to eventually happen to him.
I will now be looking for a few more Asian gay movies. Time pass. (5.5/10)
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