A work of sincerity by Yonfan. Although the story of beautiful young boys in
love and the plot of sacrificing for one's love are somewhat cliched, the
performances of the newcomers are charming. It is apparent that they are not
crafted in acting skill, but, without any burdens, it actually works better for
their playing homosexual characters and in erotic scenes. The director's
handling of the sex sequences is rather restrained (only the shower scene comes
close to being titillating), concentrating instead on portraying the characters'
emotional journey. Ironically, it was the performances of James Wong and Joe
Junior that were not convincing, proving that a camp approach not necessarily
captures the gay spirit. - ManAlone Ho
It is surprising that an incident of facing off the Royal Hong Kong Police
has such an impact on the creative life of Yonfan. The line "Why do you have to
check my I.D.?" is indeed pregnant with meaning. But to consider the film from
its own perspective, when the cop falls in love with the male prostitute, taking
off the uniform is heavy enough by itself. It's therefore unnecessary to play a
small-circle game within a small circle. In fact, James Wong's camp performance
and Bridgitte Lin's deliberately litero-dramatic voice-over only serve to
distort the film's main thrust. If it had concentrated on Shu Qi, it would work
better. It will be more modern and more balanced. Of course, the pleasure of
watching Yonfan is not in the modern stuff but in the sporadic expressions of
emotions. Without a burden in his heart, it's a question of whether it is
acceptable to one's personal taste; it is unnecessary to involve the issue of
gayness or straightness. - Bryan Chang
Yonfan's beautification approach has not changed in ten years and he is best
at telling stories along the line of romance novels . My favorite are still
Rose and Last Romance. The plot may be thin, but it works in explaining
itself. The complicated web of emotions among the few male characters is
interestingly fresh and Daniel Ng and Tsang Sze-yin acted their hearts out in
their roles. The film's major flaw is its frequent jokes on middle-aged johns.
The distorted images of James wong and Joe Junior take away from the
accomplishments of the film. - Ye Nianchen
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From filmcritics.org.hk
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