“I can read your heart.”
I… am still thinking about this. I’m kind of enamored by the discreet quality of how it is literally so hard to access. This film is uncomfortable to watch. It’s weird and unpleasant yet, somehow, A Lan still defends his identity and his community while being berated and harassed. Despite enjoying the situation to an extent, he draws the line at being called degenerate.
Sadomasochism only being explored in traumatic experiences is hard for me to feel out since consent is at the core of BDSM, whether it stems from trauma or not. A Lan doesn’t experience a single moment of clearly consensual sex and that makes me hesitant to really consider this a film about a masochist. On the flip side of this, A Lan is at risk of being charged and jailed as a criminal due to being a gay man — his existence seems masochistic to the straight men around him who don’t understand that homosexuality isn’t a choice you make when you become old enough to have sex. I definitely have complex thoughts about sex and sadomasochism in this film.
I saw a review of this movie that called it “excruciatingly boring, [and] dull.” I think that’s very amusing. East Palace, West Palace can be confusing and some moments lull on as you sit in discomfort, but it’s purposeful.
I’ll cap this here so I don’t ramble but I may come back for more… lol
“I can read your heart.”
I… am still thinking about this. I’m kind of enamored by the discreet quality of how it is literally so hard to access. This film is uncomfortable to watch. It’s weird and unpleasant yet, somehow, A Lan still defends his identity and his community while being berated and harassed. Despite enjoying the situation to an extent, he draws the line at being called degenerate.
Sadomasochism only being explored in traumatic experiences is hard for me to feel out since consent is at the core of BDSM, whether it stems from trauma or not. A Lan doesn’t experience a single moment of clearly consensual sex and that makes me hesitant to really consider this a film about a masochist. On the flip side of this, A Lan is at risk of being charged and jailed as a criminal due to being a gay man — his existence seems masochistic to the straight men around him who don’t understand that homosexuality isn’t a choice you make when you become old enough to have sex. I definitely have complex thoughts about sex and sadomasochism in this film.
I saw a review of this movie that called it “excruciatingly boring, [and] dull.” I think that’s very amusing. East Palace, West Palace can be confusing and some moments lull on as you sit in discomfort, but it’s purposeful.
I’ll cap this here so I don’t ramble but I may come back for more… lol
