Drifting Flowers/ 漂浪青春

Another movie from the Seattle Queer Film Festival! I went with JG to watch it yesterday and we both enjoyed it tremendously.


On the surface, the movie had a very Wong Kar Wai feel ( yes, to all who love In the Mood for Love, or 阿飞 正专, and the like) What that means for me is that there is a strong sense of realism, yes, there is some drama but one that is like stream of consciousness. Things just happening without necessarily having a fixed conclusion. There is also a sequence of events that trail one after another, that reconnect is unexpected ways. This is the feel that Drifting Flowers had too. One could argue it is not all as intricate and detailed as Wong Kar Wai's films, but what is powerful about Flowers is that it captures a strong sense of movement through time and space, that the queer characters undergo. I have read comments that say that the film was too steretypical, its portrayal of lesbian butch and femme characters too expected. Maybe its cos in Western genres that is a old tired picture, but I think in Chinese films, there is a lot there that can be explored. The setting of a story is so important. It gives it all the cultural nuances that a similar story set in a different place lacks. I love the intermix of Hokkien or Taiwanese with Mandarin, just listening to the lesbian women talk about their needs and desires in a language that is home for me, feels different!

Call it cliche, call it cheesy and heartwarming, I really enjoyed Drifting Flowers and can't waiting to watch Zero Chou's previous film: Spiderlilies (which is apparently hot, beautiful and super gay)

peace!