''Bishonen...'' (; literally: ''Passion Between Beautiful Youths'') is a 1998 Hong Kong romantic

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

about an ill-fated

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

romance. Written and directed by

Yonfan Yonfan (born 14 October 1947) is a Hong Kong film director and photographer. Biography He was born in Wuhan, Hubei, Republic of China (1912–49), Republic of China. As the Yang family emigrated from mainland China, they lived first in Hong Kong ...

, the film stars

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Daniel Wu Daniel Ng Neh-Tsu (, born September 30, 1974) is an American actor, director and producer based in Hong Kong. He is known as a "flexible and distinctive" leading actor in the Chinese language film industry. Since his film debut in 1998, he has ...

and

Shu Qi use both this parameter and , birth_date to display the person's date of birth, date of death, and age at death) --> , death_place = , death_cause = , body_discovered = , resting_place = , resting_place_coordinate ...

. In 2011, the film was screened at the 16th

Busan International Film Festival The Busan International Film Festival (BIFF, previously Pusan International Film Festival, PIFF), held annually in Haeundae-gu, Busan (''also'' Pusan), South Korea, is one of the most significant film festivals in Asia. The first festi ...

as part of a

retrospective A retrospective (from Latin ''retrospectare'', "look back"), generally, is a look back at events that took place, or works that were produced, in the past. As a noun, ''retrospective'' has specific meanings in medicine, software development, popu ...

of Yonfan's work, which featured seven of his restored and re-mastered films from the 1980s through the 2000s.

Synopsis

Jet (

) is a handsome gay hustler whose

sex appeal Sex is the trait that determines whether a sexually reproducing animal or plant produces male or female gametes. Male plants and animals produce smaller mobile gametes (spermatozoa, sperm, pollen), while females produce larger ones (ova, oft ...

seems to know no bounds. Everyone wants to make love to him, but he is in love with no one but himself and he is very picky about his clients. Things change drastically when he notices what seems like a young couple in a shop, Sam (

) and Kana (

). At first sight, he falls in love with Sam and begins following the two around trying to get noticed by him. Jet's friend Ching, who is also a

hustler Hustler or hustlers may also refer to: Professions * Hustler, an American slang word, e.g., for a: ** Con man, a practitioner of confidence tricks ** Drug dealer, seller of illegal drugs ** Male prostitute ** Pimp ** Business man, more gener ...

, runs a personal ad in a gay magazine for Jet, imploring Sam to contact Jet. At first, Jet is angry with Ching for not asking him, but his wrath subsides quickly when indeed he meets Sam again in what seems like a chance encounter. Sam turns out to be a police officer and Jet starts to befriend him, hoping this will turn into a relationship. But Sam does not seem to notice Jet's intentions. Jet quickly gains love and trust of Sam's parents and visits them often and helping them with chores and is jealous by the love and affection Sam receives and really wants to become a part of it. Unbeknownst to Jet, Sam had a relationship with pop star Kingsley aka K.S. (

Terence Yin Terence Yin Chi-wai (, born 19 May 1975) is a Hong Kong film actor, singer, producer, and media relations specialist. Yin has starred in over 30 movies, released one solo album and resides in Hong Kong. Early life May 19, 1975, Yin was born ...

) five years earlier. At the same time, Ching had been in unrequited love with Sam (then calling himself Fai) when the two were co-workers in an office. Then just a small star, K.S spends too much money on clothes and other expenses. Sam borrows some money from Ching to pay for his boyfriend's expenses, unbeknownst to Sam, Ching made the money by becoming a hustler hoping that he can finally settle down with Sam after saving enough money. But Kinsley's expenses just increases so Sam starts renting himself out to make some money for his boyfriend. But he eventually leaves Kingsley and Ching behind and joins the police department to become an officer like his father. In the present day Jet feels more and more guilty about his profession due to his love towards Sam. One day Jet spends a night in Sam's apartment because he lost his key but nothing happens between them even though Jet wanted this occasion to be their special moment where his love finally get recognized. Disappointed Jet travels to one of his usual part and hooks up with Kingsley. After having sex Kingsley says that Jet smells like someone he used to know. Jet's guilt only increases after this event. Jet continues to hang out with Sam and one day he gets hurt while playing beach volleyball. Sam helps Jet to get to his apartment which he shares with Ching. Ching comes in after work instantly recognizes Sam as Fai and is furious with Jet for stealing his beloved. Sam runs back to his apartment, but Jet pursues him. The two kiss, but they are interrupted by an unknown person at the door. Sam quickly rushes to find who it is but that person had already left. Later, Sam while having dinner with his parents he finds out that it was his father who was there that day. Unwilling to face his father's disappointment, he kills himself. Jet, depressed Sam's death continues to live on as a hustler. Kana brings Jet a letter written by Sam before he committed suicide, informing Jet that Sam loved him and attached to the letter was the personal ad Ching ran on the magazine Sam was keeping like a treasure with him. Jet goes to sleep that night peacefully after knowing someone truly loved him and Sam appears in his dreams for the first time.

Cast

as Jet *

as Sam *

as Kana *

as K.S * Jason Tsang as Chin *

Kenneth Tsang Kenneth Tsang Kong (; 5 October 1934 – 27 April 2022) was a Hong Kong actor. Tsang's career spanned 50 years and included a variety of acting roles. Tsang won the Best Supporting Actor Award at the 34th Hong Kong Film Awards in 2015. Early ...

as Sam's father *

Lisa Chiao Chiao Lisa Chiao Chiao, often credited as Chiao Chiao (; born Chiao Li-na (焦莉娜); 6 March 1943), is a Taiwanese film actress best known for her work in Hong Kong cinema. Background Born in Chongqing, on 6 March 1943, Her family moved to Taiwan in ...

as Sam's mother *

Cheung Tat-ming Cheung Tat-ming () (born 2 July 1964) is a Hong Kong actor, comedian, director and writer. Personal life Cheung married Ho Nim-chi, a psychiatrist, in September 2001, subsequently announcing their divorce in 2016. They had one son and one daught ...

as Tsu * James Wong as Sex-buyer *

Joe Junior Joe Junior (born Jose Maria Rodrigues Jr.) is a Hong Kong English pop singer from Macau who as active during the 1960s. He has since been in a number of TVB drama series in the 1990s and 2000s playing older character roles. He has regularly ap ...

as Photographer *

Paul Fonoroff Paul Fonoroff (born 1954 in Cleveland, Ohio) is one of Hong Kong's best known film critics and film historians. Biography A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Paul Kendel Fonoroff began studying Chinese in high school, continuing at Brown University ...

as Sex-buyer *

Michael Lam Michael Lam Wai-Leung () is a former Hong Kong film actor. He has appeared in numerous films, in several of which he has played the lead role. He first appeared in the film ''The Night Rider''. Lam took his first lead role in the Hong Kong-Sin ...

as Sex-buyer * Yim Chim-lam * Ma Man-ming * Wu Kai-kwong * Sherwin Ming as bar customer * Brigitte Lin (narrator)

Theme song

*''Answer'' (答案) **Composer: Chris Babida **Lyricist: Yao Chien **Singer:

Coco Lee Coco Lee (; born Ferren Lee, 17 January 1975) is a Hong Kong-American singer-songwriter, record producer, dancer, and actress. Lee's career began in Hong Kong and then expanded to Taiwan. Her single, "Do You Want My Love" also entered the US m ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bishonen (Film) 1998 films 1998 romantic drama films 1998 LGBT-related films Hong Kong romantic drama films Hong Kong LGBT-related films 1990s Cantonese-language films Films directed by Yonfan Films about male prostitution Films set in Hong Kong Films shot in Hong Kong Gay-related films Films about prostitution in Hong Kong 1990s Hong Kong films

Synopsis

Cast

Theme song

See also

References

External links