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East Palace, West Palace

Country: China, Language: Chinese, 90 mins

Gay | Drama | 1996

Original Title

Dong Gong Xi Gong

Director: Yuan Zhang
Writer: Wang Xiaobo; Yuan Zhang
Producer: Christophe Jung; Christophe Ménager

CGiii Comment

After watching this - you will thank your lucky stars that you don't live in China.

By Western standards, this is a bog-standard exercise in monotony.

By Chinese standards, this is a bog-standard exercise in monotony.

Okay, so it was smuggled out of China (why bother?), it is ground-breaking cinema (but, only in China).

What it is - is a sedative.

There are those who will appreciate the snail pace, the lingering camera work and the overly familiar story.

And, there are those who will fall asleep...soundly.

Trailer...

The(ir) Blurb...

In China, homosexuality isn't illegal, but homosexuals are routinely persecuted by police and arrested for "hooliganism". The film focuses on a young gay writer A-Lan who, being attracted to a young policeman, manages to have himself interrogated for a whole night. His life-story which he tells during the interrogation reflects the general repression of the Chinese society. The policeman's attitude shifts from the initial revulsion to fascination and, finally, to attraction.