1 post tagged “date kouji”
a 1998 movie that follows the original manga pretty closely from what my hazy memory can recall, featuring Hong Kong actors Daniel Wu and Stephen Fung. summary taken from LoveHKFilm: Stephen Fung is Jet, a male hustler who approaches his job with the demeanor and style of a professional. All that is thrown out the window when he falls for Sam (Daniel Wu), a seemingly straight cop with a beautiful girlfriend (Shu Qi, in a short cameo). Enchanted by Sam’s beauty and quiet grace, he draws closer to him. He doesn’t mean to deceive Sam about his sexuality but he’s powerless to walk away from him. Little does he know that Sam has secrets of his own, which involve Jet’s colleague Ching (Jason Tsang) as well as a teen-idol pop star named K.S. (Terence Yin).
boy this is not a fun film. i'm all for boy-lovin' but the layers of angst buried in Bishonen are enough to make even A.W.1 Date Kouji cry. Wu's character, Sam, reminded me of Rufus from James Baldwin's Another Country in his self-hatred. he spoke of having two personalities, one that acted rashly and was capable of betrayal while the other, as described by his mother, was hardworking and just "good." his mother even said that she sometimes wished he would be a little bad, so he could relax more. the best word to describe him would probably be "repressed." he spends most of his time trying to be good to others, being straight in front of his parents, that when he met KS he was finally able to do something for himself... even if it meant cheating on the adorably nerdy Ching (who later got buff and less adorable). but since it didn't work out with KS, Sam got even more messed up in the head...
Stephen Fung was great as Jet, suave yet still maintaining [what should seem by now like an impossible] boyish charm. the opening scene with him catching the old man's eye and leading him eventually into a public restroom without any verbal exchange was so powerful, though i can't say the same for the whole movie. Jet's immediate attraction to Sam was believable because it showed us the loneliness of his lifestyle. i found his reaction to Sam's finding him later after their three chance meetings adorable--Fung's portrayal of Jet's childlike side was one of the highlights of the film. his transition to being "tamed" seemed a little abrupt at the time, but in retrospect it makes sense because of how much he probably wanted it.
i can't say much about Terence Yin except that his English was fantastic!! was that really him speaking? his character KS was really awful though, and i don't mean the acting, although casting him as an 18-year-old does seem a little ridiculous. regardless of his actual age, he looked closer to 30 than 18. KS's natural charisma didn't come across the way it did in the original manga, and he seemed more contrived than young&brash. as a result, i had a hard time believing that Sam would give up everything for this "teenager."
Sam had a really great family. it's funny that the actors playing the parents spoke like mainland-ers, while Wu struggled with his Mandarin. and the rest of the movie is in Cantonese. it's like 2046 all over again. also, Shu Qi is gorgeous. she reminds me of Dawson's-Creek-era Katie Holmes and that girl that Orlando Bloom was (is?) engaged to who starred in Superman and Blue Crush. however, i don't quite understand her role in this movie, other than looking pretty and mysterious. although she does deliver Sam's last letter to Jet at the end, that could've been handled without her.
1After Watermelon. B.W. (Before Watermelon) Date Kouji was something of a crybaby according to his cast-mates and basically every human being on Earth who has seen a Tenimyu DVD backstage in which he often looks like he just lost his lollipop. A.W.D.K. however is more confident and generally happier; he feels that heavy, fruity roundness in his arms and thinks, no, FEELS that life is complete now that suika-tan is by his side. check this picture for reference.
