Reviews (1)

The quiet clash of two worlds
You don't need flashy direction and big budgets when you have interesting characters, tangible dilemmas, and troubled human relationships. Here is a good example. A quiet love story taking place in Hong Kong between Hugh, a 49 year old professor of English literature and his Chinese student, 19 year old Mark.

The two men are from very different worlds. Hugh is a neurotic character, sensing that his life is slipping away from him. He is writing a play about a long-lost love-affair, but can't get it published. This frustrates him no end, and he has problems concentrating on his job at the University.

Into his life enters Mark, a polite, intelligent Chinese boy, very Confucian, but he seems more sure of himself. He wants Hugh badly, but Hugh is keeping a distance. The key scene happens near the end, when a failed phone-call proves critical.

This film benefits from several viewings. The people grow on you, and what seems like stiff acting is actually restraint, modesty, a reluctance to let themselves go. The good manners of Chinese culture is very much in evidence in Mark and Hugh. Yet, this doesn't retract from the movie, it merely allows you to project you own emotions into the characters. Very Checkovian, you might say.
As for the gay content, expect nothing explicit. But other than that, this is very good indeed.

Note: The film lasts 50 minutes. ... Read more

Reviews (14)

Simplistic
What is most surprizing about this short (50 min) film is that it was made in 1991. One would have thought that by then we had gone beyond the 'pre-Maurice' stage of sociological development. E.M. Forster's book could not be published in his lifetime because it's ending did not involve imprisonment or death for the gay couple! This film would have been much more interesting and complex if the boy's love-object could have overcome his school-boy homophobia--even if in private--and there was at least a moment of joy. But this is simplistic: there is no joy and not one moment of understanding for anyone. It does, however, beg the question: is there still rampant and dangerous homophobia in schools today? I think we all know the answer to that one, Matthew Shepard.

Very powerfull drama
I thought To play or to die was an exelent movie, wich caught my attention fully. Great performances of the young actors and beautifuly filmed. I didn't consider it to be homophobic, but more as a tragedy of a young guy who is caught in complete loneliness, fighting his way out. Having no friends at all, the beautiful and at the same time brutal guy from his class is his only challenge. I can recommend this film strongly.

Excellent
Don't be put off by the short running time of this film. It conveys more in 50 min than most films do in 2 hrs.

Not for the faint of heart!
Good video, good drama but very VERY disturbing!

You want the "nitty gritty" of gay adolescents? This is the video to add.

Spelen of Stevern
A beautiful movie which examines the emotions of Kees, an intellectual lonely teen who clearly falls in love with a more
street wise class mate. His friend Charel does not have the intellectual acumen to see above the society he currently lives in, which is to obey the laws of the norm. As a consequence
there is a clash of two different worlds and unrequited love.
It is a sad end which many gay teens fear will happen to them and of course it does. It happened then as it does now.
Maybe time changes everything: maybe not; I listen to each tick of the clock as the tears fall as snow upon frosted ground. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Interesting
Japan's teeming if still underground gay life is explored and celebrated in this pleasant story of the relationship between two gay lovers and the effervescent woman who befriends them. The story revolves around Goh, a young, self-employed man, and Tochi, an older married corporate worker. Their inability to find a suitable location for their lovemaking is solved by Sayoko, a naive young woman who inexplicably finds herself drawn to gay men. She offers her small apartment as a convenient love-pad. Funny but deceptively lighthearted, the film addresses the serious theme of homophobia which is pervading Japan. A note on the title: Okama is Japanese for a rice pot and a slang insult against gays; Okoge is the rice that sticks to the bottom of a pot and is Japanese slang for "fag hag." (Japanese with English subtitles)

Homosexuality in a Japanese context
An interesting look at the gay lifestyle in Japan. Satoko is a young woman who befriends a gay couple, Goh and Tochi. She allows them to use her apartment for their trysts so that they will not be discovered by Goh's mother or Tochi's wife. This idyllic arrangement cannot last forever. All three characters go through trying times until the sweet resolution in which Satoko and Goh set up their own little family. Gays face enormous pressure from society in all cultures, but it is particularly interesting to see how this plays out in Japan, a culture which exerts enormous pressure on all of its people to conform.

Sad but Lively gay film from Japan
I have seen this movie so many times. The strange relationship of a gay couple and a female (okoge) is truely sentimental. This story does reflect the truth of gay males in Japan lively. They are coming out more though. I love the screen of drug queens fought against guys who made fun of them.

Mixed Feelings
The first part of the movie is lovely. The relationship between the two men is very well done. Midway, however, the story comes apart. The portrayal of gay life in Japan probably reflects the tradition and cultural morays of the time meaning that gay relationships are seen as doomed from the start. The ending leaves one desiring a more fulfilling happy ending for gay couples.

Different
The first half of the film is sheer perfection, but when the couple break up mid-way through the film breaks up with them. The ending is disappointing, but the romance between the two leads for the first half of the film is well worth the purchase price. The erotic scenes are tastefully and artistically presented. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Filmmaker Diane Kurys examines the bittersweet friendship of two women (Isabelle Huppert and Miou Miou) during post-World War II France in this semi-autobiographical account of her mother and father. The women struggle with their dreams and identities, compromising themselves with marriages that are not very satisfying. They long to own their own boutique, but domestic priorities always seem to cut short their aspirations and their friendship. They are only happy when they are together. However, the husbands struggle with their postwar identities as well, and compromise turns them into angry men. The children, meanwhile, are the quiet victims in all of this. It's a predictable yet moving film with much to offer. --Bill Desowitz ... Read more

Description

Legendary director Pier Paolo Pasolini (Canterbury Tales) combines the heroics and hedonism of the classic Arabian tales with his dreamlike vision of bawdy pleasures and sublime sensuality to create "Arabian Nights," the masterwork of his Trilogy of Life. ... Read more