Ye ben (2000)

User Rating:

7.7/10   

Directors:

Li-Kong Hsu
Chi Yin

Writers:

Hui-Ling Wang (writer)
Ming-xia Wang (writer)

Release Date:

14 October 2000 (Taiwan)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot:

Set in China in the 1930s, the film is about the unsettling relationship between three characters. Ing'er...

Plot Keywords:

Gay Interest | Gay Asian | Coming Out | Chinese Opera

Awards:

2 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Rene Liu	...	Wei Ying Er
Lei Huang	...	Hsu Shaodong
Chao-te Yin	...	Lin Chung
Leon Dai	...	Huang Zilei (as Li-jen Tai)
Yaoxuan Shu
Ya-lei Kuei
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ah Lei Gua	...	Wei's Mother (as Ya-lei Kuei)

Also Known As:

Fleeing by Night (International: English title) (literal title) (USA)

Runtime:

South Korea:119 min

Country:

Taiwan | China

Language:

Mandarin

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Australia:M | Singapore:R(A)

Filming Locations:

Beijing, China

Company:

Beijing Film Studio

a masterpiece of forbidden love and unconditional friendship

It is a story about two men and a woman --- more likely two boys and a girl as they were innocent and confused in their own way.

There may be no more complicated things than three kinds of love twisted between three close friends constantly influenced by surroundings. There are other films about this triangle, but set in the unsettling historic period before the country's new foundation and mixed with the fascinating Chinese verbal culture of Kun drama, this film offers one of the deepest and most overwhelming cinematic experiences I've ever had. Lei Huang and Rene Liu, as usual, brought forward nostalgically exquisite acting and Chris Babida's music was just as graceful as his any other works. Chao-te Yin was a surprising found, handsome with both manly fortitude and feminine delicacy.

It's original, subtle and very literarily poetic. The dialogues are sometimes so neotericly literary that it almost reminds me of Lu Xun, Lao She and all those great writers once in the junior Chinese books. Thus, some pieces were very unnatural as being said by the characters, but I think there is no problem alike when you only get their meanings from the subtitles, but also that's when some of its unique charm lost. I guess that's a universal problem when it comes to foreign language films.

It may not be perfect due to some factitious parts here and there, which in no way harm the beauty and depth on the whole. Most importantly, it manages to tell us: love is multifarious, but the universal truth about it is it comes from the heart. Be it tortured by circumstances, it will always find a way to last.

Strongly recommend it to Chinese viewers who need a nostalgic introspection and foreign film lovers who want something totally different from other foreign language cinematic experiences (Chinese ones of exclusive lower-class depiction included).