Lan Yu main backdrop
Lan Yu main poster

6.9/10 • 50

2001-05-181h 27m

DramaRomance

A love story between a country boy in Beijing to study and a wealthy businessman set against the backdrop of the 1989 Tiananmen Square incident.

Directors
Stanley Kwan Kam-Pang
Editors
William Chang

Top Billed Cast

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  1. Hu Jun

    Hu Jun

    Chen Handong

  2. Liu Ye

    Liu Ye

    Lan Yu

  3. Li Shuang

    Li Shuang

    Weidong

  4. Fang Lu

    Fang Lu

    Yonghong

  5. Shaohua Zhang

    Shaohua Zhang

    Niu Ma

  6. Yongning Zhang

    Yongning Zhang

    Daning

  7. Su Jin

    Su Jin

    Lin Jingping

  8. Du He

    Du He

    Sister Zhang

  9. Li Bin

    Li Bin

    Bin Zi

Reviews1

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CinemaSerf Avatar

CinemaSerf

Oct 22, 2023

7/10

This actually starts off rather seedily, I thought! A handsome young student "Lan Yu" (Ye Liu) is working in a restaurant where some of his colleagues discuss the idea of renting him out! It's the wealthy "Chen Handong" (Jun Hu) who gets the privilege and initially their's is the most transactional of relationships. The older man is an highly successful businessman and the younger one, a would-be architect who lives a basic lifestyle. Against the odds, perhaps, the two men start to bond and even though "Chen" is an ostensibly upstanding, straight, member of the community there is the distinct scent of love in the air. What now ensues condenses quite a lot of their lives - ups and downs for both men, even a conforming marriage - into the story of their sometimes quite turbulent relationship before a conclusion that I really didn't like!! That strength of disappointment with the ending, I think, is testament to two strong performances and a story that draws you in. You start off feeling a bit sorry for "Lan Yu", but gradually thereafter you begin to feel more invested in him as a person, and then with his lover and then with both as the characterisations blossom in a plausible fashion. There is a strong supporting cast of characters who help diffuse the tension at times, but when it is just the two on screen then this makes for one of the better gay romantic dramas that I've seen.

Media

  • Lan Yu poster
  • Lan Yu poster
  • Lan Yu poster
  • Lan Yu poster
  • Lan Yu poster
  • Lan Yu poster
  • Lan Yu poster
  • Lan Yu poster
  • Lan Yu poster

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Status
Released
Original Language
Chinese
Budget
--
Revenue
--
Keywords
chinabeijing, chinalgbtolder man younger man relationship1980sgay themeboys' love (bl)