Utopians (film)

Utopians
同流合烏
Directed by Scud
Produced by Scud
Written by Scud
Starring Adonis He Fei
Jackie Chow
Ching-Man Chin
Fiona Wang
Jie Shui
William Lo
Jung Jen Pao
Ben Fu Wai Bun
Eric Cheng
Gavin Philip Che
Eric Cheng
Flora Cheung
William Tang
He Wong
Vinci Wong
Yin-chi Wong
Music by Kawayama Ho
Cinematography Nathan Wong
Edited by Matthew Hui
Production
company
ArtWalker Productions
Distributed by Muse Planning (Japan)
Breaking Glass Pictures (USA)
Release date
  • 31 October 2015 (2015-10-31) (New Directors Film Festival)
Running time
 94 minutes
Country Hong Kong, Taiwan, China
Language Mandarin, Cantonese, Japanese and Greek

Utopians (Chinese: 同流合烏; pinyin: Tung lau hap woo) is a 2015 film by the Hong Kong film-maker Scud, the production-crediting name of Danny Cheng Wan-Cheung. It is the story of a university student who becomes deeply attracted to his (male) professor, and whose life changes as a result.[1][2] The film received its world premiere on 31 October 2015 at the New Directors Film Festival in Japan. Utopians explores several themes traditionally regarded as 'taboo' in Hong Kong society and features full-frontal male nudity in several scenes. It is the sixth of seven publicly released films by Scud. The six other films are: City Without Baseball in 2008, Permanent Residence in 2009, Amphetamine in 2010, Love Actually... Sucks! in 2011, Voyage in 2013 and Thirty Years of Adonis (which features footage from Utopians[3]) in 2017. His eighth film, Naked Nation, is currently in production.[4] Utopians includes a scene in which the main character, played by mainland China actor Adonis He Fei, is shown masturbating his erect penis as he sighs with pleasure until he ejaculates.[5]

Plot

Utopians is a coming-of-age story about a young student, Hins Gao (Adonis He Fei), who unexpectedly finds himself deeply attracted to his male professor, Antonio Ming (Jackie Chow). Despite having had a conservative upbringing, Hins wants to get close enough to Ming to understand him. The experience transforms his life and comes to define his adult identity.[1][2] The story is described as a "visually stunning paean to open love and pan-sexuality freely blending straightforward narrative and fantasy elements".[6]

Production

The film's director, Scud, says that he drew inspiration for the film from the writings of Plato and the culture of Ancient Greece, which he describes as the "best era of mankind" when being gay was mainstream, and that "the dream of a utopian life" is one where education "serves to enhance love instead of forbid it", and that this became clear to him ever since he was aware of the sexual alternatives available.[1]

Scud says that he fell into depression after making his fifth film, Voyage, and was considering ending his career. But one day a 19 year old boy came to him and talked about his story of having fallen in love with a policeman, and about a Japanese writer whose work Scud had read extensively when he was younger. He felt his next film should pay tribute to the period of enlightenment brought about by great philosophers and artists.[1]

Scud says that Utopians took only weeks to write and shoot. He also experimented with a more "democratic" method of film-making by consulting the cast on the roles they most preferred to take and encouraging them to resolve matters among themselves, much like the situation in ancient times.[1]

Casting was conducted openly in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore, with over 300 attending in Hong Kong on a particularly stormy day. The film's leading man, Adonis He Fei, is an actor from mainland China. His agent provided a resume so that He could fit Utopians into his busy filming schedule.[1]

Main cast

  • Adonis He Fei ... Hins Gao
  • Jackie Chow ... Professor Antonio Ming
  • Ching-Man Chin ... Swan (credited as 'Moe Chin')
  • Fiona Wang ... Joey
  • Jie Shui ... Mother
  • Ben Fu Wai Bun... Dean
  • William Lo ... Boy on boat trip / Bonfire Boy
  • Jung Jen Pao ... Boy on boat trip / Bonfire Boy
  • Eric Cheng ... Father
  • Yeung Man Lok ... Baby Hins

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Gareth Johnson (9 October 2017). "Utopians - an erotic coming-of-age story from Hong Kong". Mainly Men. Retrieved 15 May 2018.
  2. 1 2 "Utopians (Director's Cut)". Broadway Circuit (Cinema.com.hk). Retrieved 15 May 2018.
  3. ↑ "Interview: Scud talks Thirty Years of Adonis and More". FilmDoo. 2017-12-13. Retrieved 2018-08-20.
  4. ↑ Gareth Johnson (11 January 2018). "Scud: "I'm reluctant to call Hong Kong home"". Retrieved 22 May 2018.
  5. ↑ Pip Ellwood-Hughes (12 May 2017). "Utopians DVD review". Entertainment Focus. Retrieved 15 May 2018.
  6. ↑ "Utopians". MUBI. Retrieved 15 May 2018.
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