David on Formosa

Since I reviewed the Taiwanese movie Spider Lilies (刺青) about ten percent of traffic to this blog has been coming directly to the review. When I wrote the review I didn't put much emphasis on the fact that it is about a lesbian relationship. For me, the most resonant themes of the film were coming to terms with guilt and the burden of filial responsibilities. Perhaps a gay person's perspective might be somewhat different though. 

I did give thought to the fact that the homosexual relationship in the film would probably mean that it would have no chance of ever being released in China. The domestic market for Taiwanese films is quite small, but even a limited release in China could be potentially lucrative. The market for Chinese-language films is otherwise more or less limited to Hong Kong and Singapore. Even in Singapore Spider Lilies might attract the ire of the censors. 

Censorship is certainly not a problem here in Taiwan. Homosexuality is a surprisingly common theme in Taiwanese cinema. I also recently reviewed  Reflections (愛麗絲的鏡子) another movie about a lesbian relationship. Another Taiwanese movie released last year Eternal Summer (盛夏光年) was about a love triangle involving two men and one woman. And although it is not really a Taiwanese film, Brokeback Mountain was directed by Taiwanese film maker Ang Lee (李安). 

Spider Lilies' depiction of sex is quite tame. I was interested to come across a video on YouTube featuring a deleted french kissing scene between the movie's two stars Rainie Yang (楊丞琳) and Isabella Leong (梁洛施). The video showed part of the deleted kissing scene and a brief interview with the film's director Zero Chou (周美玲) and Rainie Yang. Some more of the deleted kissing scene and this French kissing scene can also be seen at YouTube.

In the video Zero Chou said she cut the kissing scene out because she was shy. Rainie Yang, who is obviously not quite as shy, said she hopes the kissing scene can be included on the DVD.

I think it is a shame that a director would feel this way although perhaps there were commercial pressures involved in the decision. I think the scene in Brokeback Mountain (see video at YouTube) where Jack and Ennis kiss on the stairs is an incredibly powerful piece of cinema. I think it reveals the depth and power of desire that the two men feel for each other more than any other moment in the film.

The more passionate kissing scene that was left out of the final edit of Spider Lilies could have made the film more powerful and resonant.

# photo from spiderlilies-movie.com