So, there is a real concern about what happens to them. “These men came out 30 to 40 years ago and were rejected by their families and have been living alone. “I was so touched by speech that I had to include it into the film,” says Yeung.
In the movie, he reenacts his appearance at Hong Kong’s legislative council, pleading to allow gay elders to “live out twilight years with dignity and freedom”. Like his character, Wai-Keung is a real-life advocate for the creation of LGBTQ+ nursing homes. Dior (Chu Wai-Keung), a sharp-tongued fashionista, dabbles in drag and social justice in the film. Yeung looks beyond his main characters to include the perspectives of other older gay men in the community. In Yeung’s film, however, it insists that the genre’s lack of such depictions misses a crucial aspect of gay life. In a lesser film, the nakedness and vulnerability of older people would be a spectacle only to highlight the lack of meaningful portrayals. Yeung affectionately details his characters’ warmth and beauty, showing respect and appreciation for their age. Afterwards, they talk about their struggles growing up during Hong Kong’s rapid modernisation, and Hoi says, “who hasn’t had it tough in our generation?” as Pak drifts away on his lap, a new beginning in their twilight years. “I wanted to show that two old bodies are still attractive,” says Yeung, talking about the first time the two men sleep together. Intimate moments of caring and kindness are thoughtfully directed as the two men go on dates, strolling through wet markets and seeking refuge in a gay sauna. Nevertheless, Pak and Hoi fall into a clandestine, risky love affair. Hoi, on the other hand, is beholden to his strict, humourless, religious son, who has replaced him as the patriarch of the family. Pak’s wife Ching (long-time stage actress Patra Au), perpetually bothered by life, senses that Pak has been led astray. After a second chance meeting, the two men start opening up, commiserating about being stifled by their families and swapping stories about their granddaughters. Hoi suggests the two “become friends first”, but Pak brusquely rejects the offer, saying, “another time, then”. After his kids grow up and move away, he starts cruising and eventually crosses paths with a soft-spoken romantic named Hoi (Ben Yuen). Inspired by Professor Travis Kong’s Oral Histories of Older Gay Men in Hong Kong, the story follows Pak (Tai Bo), a gruff grandfather who swam to Hong Kong during the Cultural Revolution and toiled for years as a taxi driver. “Two men, at peace with their age and bodies, hoping to find their soulmates,” says Yeung. Twilight’s Kiss instead imagines two men already in their formative years and getting another chance at love. Or it’s about an older couple who met during their youth and are lifelong partners. When it’s portrayed, it’s usually about an older man lusting over a younger one. I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen any film, gay or straight, that focused on senior romance. There is a lot of ageism in the gay scene,” says Yeung.Īnd he’s right. “Investors don’t see the marketability and commercial value of old bodies, especially in the context of gay films. Relationships between older people are a topic rarely examined in the youth-oriented genre of LGBTQ+ films. It is Yeung’s best film yet, a meaningful and refreshing portrayal of the inconveniences of ageing and romance, starring two older, closeted gay men.
Twilight’s Kiss was first introduced as Suk Suk – Cantonese for “uncle”, both in the familial sense and as an honorific for older men – at the 24th Busan International Film Festival. He says, “We wouldn’t be where we are today without what these men have gone through. “Their sadness and shame” are the story Yeung wants to tell. Still, we purposefully leave behind our forebears to carry their trauma alone.
This idea of hiding one’s identity might seem like a distant memory to today’s self-actualised youth. Gay men lived in the shadows of society, maintaining their veneer of heteronormative stability by marrying straight women at great cost to themselves and their families. Even before the Aids pandemic, social stigma led to the pathologisation and criminalisation of the global community. “To survive, they’ve had to ignore who they are,” says director Ray Yeung about the older gay men of Hong Kong, the subject of his latest film, Twilight’s Kiss.įor a long time, the future was inconceivable for gay men.