Lan Yu

2001 1h 27m ZH

👍

7.2

SOLID

★7.2TMDB · 70

DramaRomance

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A love story between a country boy in Beijing to study and a wealthy businessman set against the backdrop of the 1989 Tiananmen Square incident.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Hu Jun
Chen Handong
Liu Ye
Lan Yu
Li Shuang
Weidong
Fang Lu
Yonghong
Zhang Shaohua
Niu Ma
Yongning Zhang
Daning
Su Jin
Lin Jingping
Du He
Sister Zhang

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Stanley Kwan Kam-Pang
Writers: Jimmy Ngai Shiu-Yan
Languages: Mandarin
Countries: China, Hong Kong

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

87 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

25 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: China, Hong Kong.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Stanley Kwan Kam-Pang, shot by Tao Yang. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor William Chang Suk-Ping shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Hu Jun and Liu Ye and Li Shuang carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0292066 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Stanley Kwan Kam-Pang directs. Tao Yang behind the camera. William Chang Suk-Ping cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in China, Hong Kong. Dialogue in Mandarin.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

187 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
225 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3International production across 2 countries: China, Hong Kong.
4Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
5Directed by Stanley Kwan Kam-Pang, shot by Tao Yang. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Editor William Chang Suk-Ping shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Hu Jun and Liu Ye and Li Shuang carry the top of the cast.
8IMDB entry: tt0292066 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Only 70 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.
10Classified under 8 themes, including "china", "beijing, china", "lgbt", "older man younger man relationship".

The technical file

Cinematography: Tao Yang
Editing: William Chang Suk-Ping
Production design: William Chang Suk-Ping
Runtime: 87 min · 1h 27m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: ZH
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Lan Yu (2001)

Also by

Stanley Kwan Kam-Pang

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2023-10-22
★ 7/10
This actually starts off rather seedily, I thought! A handsome young student "Lan Yu" (Ye Liu) is working in a restaurant where some of his colleagues discuss the idea of renting him out! It's the wealthy "Chen Handong" (Jun Hu) who gets the privilege and initially their's is the most transactional of relationships. The older man is an highly successful businessman and the younger one, a would-be architect who lives a basic lifestyle. Against the odds, perhaps, the two men start to bond and even though "Chen" is an ostensibly upstanding, straight, member of the community there is the distinct scent of love in the air. What now ensues condenses quite a lot of their lives - ups and downs for both men, even a conforming marriage - into the story of their sometimes quite turbulent relationship before a conclusion that I really didn't like!! That strength of disappointment with the ending, I think, is testament to two strong performances and a story that draws you in. You start off feeling a bit sorry for "Lan Yu", but gradually thereafter you begin to feel more invested in him as a person, and then with his lover and then with both as the characterisations blossom in a plausible fashion. There is a strong supporting cast of characters who help diffuse the tension at times, but when it is just the two on screen then this makes for one of the better gay romantic dramas that I've seen.

Production companies