Queerguru’s Ris Fatah reviews Queerpanorama : a deep dive into the offbeat hook-up experiences of a twenty-something queer Hongkonger

Queerpanorama takes a deep dive into the offbeat hook-up experiences of a twenty-something Hongkonger. Directed by Jun Li and featuring the impressive acting debut of Jayden Chung, we follow an unnamed protagonist (Chung) as he flips from hook-up to hook-up in and around Hong Kong. What makes this guy different is that he takes on elements of the identity of his last hook-up and passes them off as his own with his next hook-up. At first he’s an actor, then a post-grad scientist at HKU called Erfan, then a teacher, then a motorcycle delivery driver called Dan, and then an architect, and so on.

Based on the real-life sex experiences of Li, and featuring several of his actual previous hook-up partners, and shot in their real homes, we are treated to a snapshot of queer life in Hong Kong. Our leading man is fearless, sex-positive and on an adventure of self-discovery. The viewer is left to make their minds up as to the reasons for his tall story-telling, although there are some clues in his conversations with his sexual partners. Chung’s acting debut is strong. The encounters are varied and realistic, ranging from hot poppers-fuelled sex to intimate cuddles, in everywhere from a nightclub to a dormitory. What they do share is a relaxedness, with conversation and food often taking equal prominence to the sex. Very natural. The conversations are sometimes a bit stilted, but that’s acceptable when you realise the international mix of people – Iranian, Chinese, Thai, German etc. are often speaking English as a second language. His hook-ups divulge interesting nuggets of info about their lives – whether it’s an escort working in a karaoke bar and living in a dormitory, or a lingerie-clad Chinese flight attendant who believes he has more personal freedom in Hong Kong that he would have in London. Human rights issues around the world feature in several of the conversations.

Shot in black and white, the film has a gritty fly-on-the-wall documentary feel about it. Beautiful cinematography gives an art gallery image feel to many of the shots. A couple of the scenes seem to be sub-plots that don’t get fully explored, such as when he wakes up in an alley way after the sex in a nightclub, or when he’s wandering around naked and alone in a forest near a beach. This doesn’t really matter though and adds to the randomness of proceedings, and lets our imaginations run with different options to the prior events. Various reasons for his behaviour come to mind. Is he lonely? On an adventure of self-discovery? Just highly-sexed? Depressed? Looking for a new identity as he’s unhappy with his own? The reality may be a combination of all of those, or maybe none. That’s the beauty of this film. It’s essentially saying that you can’t judge hook-up culture. Another message could be that every hook-up alters your DNA slightly. A sexy, contemporary, indie art house gem.

 

 

 

Queerguru’s Contributing Editor Ris Fatah is a successful fashion/luxury business consultant  (when he can be bothered) who divides and wastes his time between London and Ibiza. He is a lover of all things queer, feminist, and human rights in general. @ris.fatah