NEW First Love & Other Pains Plus (DVD): Amazon.ca: DVD

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In First Love and Other Pains, a Hong Kong college student is smitten with his English instructor, an older, frustrated British playwright. Their common love of great literature leads both men into an erotic affair-the tenuous beginnings of a romance spanning two different worlds.

From the directors of the camp hit Desperate Remedies comes One of Them. Set in the 1960s, two gay teens grappling with their mixed-up emotions and emerging sexuality strike up a friendship fortified by frank talk about fashion design and ogling cute boys, all to make the taunts and boredom of small-town life almost bearable.

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4.0 out of 5 stars (1 customer review)

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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars The quiet clash of two worlds, July 2 2002

By

Yngvar Myrvold (T�nsberg, Norway) - See all my reviews

This review is from: NEW First Love & Other Pains Plus (DVD) (DVD)

You don't need flashy direction and big budgets when you have interesting characters, tangible dilemmas, and troubled human relationships. Here is a good example. A quiet love story taking place in Hong Kong between Hugh, a 49 year old professor of English literature and his Chinese student, 19 year old Mark.

The two men are from very different worlds. Hugh is a neurotic character, sensing that his life is slipping away from him. He is writing a play about a long-lost love-affair, but can't get it published. This frustrates him no end, and he has problems concentrating on his job at the University.

Into his life enters Mark, a polite, intelligent Chinese boy, very Confucian, but he seems more sure of himself. He wants Hugh badly, but Hugh is keeping a distance. The key scene happens near the end, when a failed phone-call proves critical.

This film benefits from several viewings. The people grow on you, and what seems like stiff acting is actually restraint, modesty, a reluctance to let themselves go. The good manners of Chinese culture is very much in evidence in Mark and Hugh. Yet, this doesn't retract from the movie, it merely allows you to project you own emotions into the characters. Very Checkovian, you might say.
As for the gay content, expect nothing explicit. But other than that, this is very good indeed.

Note: The film lasts 50 minutes.

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Amazon.com: 4.0 out of 5 stars (1 customer review)

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars The quiet clash of two worlds, July 2 2002

By Yngvar Myrvold - Published on Amazon.com

This review is from: NEW First Love & Other Pains Plus (DVD) (DVD)

You don't need flashy direction and big budgets when you have interesting characters, tangible dilemmas, and troubled human relationships. Here is a good example. A quiet love story taking place in Hong Kong between Hugh, a 49 year old professor of English literature and his Chinese student, 19 year old Mark.

The two men are from very different worlds. Hugh is a neurotic character, sensing that his life is slipping away from him. He is writing a play about a long-lost love-affair, but can't get it published. This frustrates him no end, and he has problems concentrating on his job at the University.

Into his life enters Mark, a polite, intelligent Chinese boy, very Confucian, but he seems more sure of himself. He wants Hugh badly, but Hugh is keeping a distance. The key scene happens near the end, when a failed phone-call proves critical.

This film benefits from several viewings. The people grow on you, and what seems like stiff acting is actually restraint, modesty, a reluctance to let themselves go. The good manners of Chinese culture is very much in evidence in Mark and Hugh. Yet, this doesn't retract from the movie, it merely allows you to project you own emotions into the characters. Very Checkovian, you might say.
As for the gay content, expect nothing explicit. But other than that, this is very good indeed.

Note: The film lasts 50 minutes.

› Go to Amazon.com to see the review 4.0 out of 5 stars

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NEW First Love & Other Pains Plus (DVD)

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