Out & About

Yours truly may not be the best person to review Poj Arnon's "Bangkok Love Story" ("Puen" or "Friend"), after having been thoroughly underwhelmed by "Brokeback Mountain".

Sure the cinematography in Ang Lee's film was breathtaking and watching Jake and Heath getting it on was hot, but the story of two men who must hide their love for each other in the woods was too obsolete for my taste - probably more suited to be shown in the closet. Or to the straights who had not seen anything like it.

Press fast-forward and we now have "Bangkok Love Story" telling us of a sexually ambiguous hitman and his "straight" target who, with no good reason, fall in love with one another in the underground mobster world. Light-years away from his notorious katoey-caricaturing slapsticks, this visually and acoustically beautiful movie was a brave move on Poj's part. He also deserves a medal for surviving the battle with the Royal Thai Police, which raised objections last year to the depiction of a police officer in bed with a thief - no matter what gender the players were. So, to pass the censorship board (which includes policemen), the role of the cop character's ties to the police department were made ambiguous.

Both films are about love that is gut-wrenching and all-consuming, despite one's troubled knowledge that the world has no place for it, but "Brokeback" seems a lot easier to relate to since even straights have their own "Brokeback Mountain" - the wilderness part of memory banished furthest away from anybody's access where you can be who you are. We all have a moment we want to revisit, fully knowing that we can never go back.

The other difference is that the tension in "Brokeback" centred around being outed, but the same tension in "Bangkok Love Story" was completely overshadowed by that of being found. This robbed the central relationship of much of its emotional power. It's no surprise that many people weren't convinced.

Another couple trying their best shot at being convincing was in "I Now Pronounced You Chuck and Larry". After many Hollywood "same-sex" kisses between a girl and a dude in skirt or the other way around, now it's a "same-sex" marriage where both partners (homophobic firemen Adam Sandler and Kevin James) are anything but gay.

The film however does have its merit, as the story takes place in the mundane world where "love needs no reasons" just isn't enough. Like Ang Lee's previous gay film "The Wedding Banquet", it shows that unlike love, marriage does need reasons, although many of them don't involve making babies.

While states and religions have vested interests to recognise some unions and condemn others, it takes movies like these to remind society that a marriage must above all be about two people. Nobody should need to go to the woods or the underworld to be happy.

As far as the portrayal of gays in Thai movies goes, "Bangkok Love Story" is indeed a milestone, but there are still many miles to go. Bangkok it may be, but it's not a Bangkok any of us have much to do with.

Ayor

Weekend Magazine

Published on September 28, 2007

Share ideas on gay issues via ayor@nationgroup.com.