Moneyboys

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Alan W Born in China but educated in Austria since 13, writer-director C.B. Yi's debut is a blend of East-meets-West influences, where, as he himself admits in the post-film Q&A, you'll find shadows of both Michael Haneke and Hsiao-Hsien Hou. The pacing here is best described as art-house, full of long shots and lingering silences, while his camera artfully frames with precision and deliberation. Taiwanese film-star Kai Ko (aka Chen-Tung Ko) plays Fei, a 'moneyboy' in an unnamed Chinese city where homosexuality is as illegal and shameful as prostitution. While he hustles to make money to send home to his family in a rural village, his path crosses first with more experienced moneyboy Max/Xiaolai and then Long, who followed Fei from their village to the big city. Being almost 2hrs long, this film can test one's patience, especially when it's easily trimmable by 20mins if all the moods are removed, but I find this atmospheric film ultimately to be more nuanced and thoughtful after initially feeling it might be too abstract for my taste. The handsome cast is believable and Ko's solid and watchable performance anchors the film well. Despite its arthouse tendencies, there's no shortage of substance or story in its screenplay. The first half of the film takes time to make poignant observations regarding life both as a sex-worker and a homosexual living under a repressive regime in China that occasionally turns a blind eye, especially when it's financially prudent to do so, though they're mostly forgotten later on as the film's focus lands on the central romance between the moneyboys, exploring their loneliness and the transient nature of love and sexuality for them, which has an air of Brokeback Mountain (or Happy Together) about it in its melancholic hopelessness, before the arrival of the obligatory ambiguous arthouse film ending. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 10/18/23 Full Review Read all reviews

Moneyboys

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