Yawn. Poorly Filmed Snooze Fest.

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

This is ultimately a movie about the very bad things that can happen when we don't address our unease, when we just try to brush it off, whether that's to fit in or to preserve our self-image.

I thought the story dragged on like i feel the whole thing was just confusing to understand really even if I had English subs to back me on what they are saying. There's better Asian films then this tbh, it just didn't click with me on this one. I did want to like it since it seemed to have such positive reviews but I'm not one of them I'm afraid!

Well it's really a good story but not too very good movie, since the DVD that I watched had many deleted scene which makes me feeling upset because I can't understand the movie completely. However Lan Yu is a really good gay's movie its portray a beautiful love story and great performance from both of the main actors. I can feel Lan Yu's and Han Dong's emotions which makes me deeply sad and fell happy because I've had chance to see such a good movie. Even though it's not a happy ending but at least they've both already known about true love. And the soundtrack is good especially the lyric its almost describe exactly the same with what lan yu's felt.If you feel bore with man-woman love story or just want to see a good movie and want to see something new, you have to watch this movie.

I have waded through some pretty sniffy comments on how ordinary this movie is. Admittedly, it is a little like Love Story, with Ali MacGraw, which WAS banal and boring, badly acted and badly filmed (boy meets girl, boy gets girl, girl dies). The setting in Lan Yu, however, with its awesome director, lift it way out of the ordinary. Never mind the snide reviews. These actors are hot!

Before my comments about Lan Yu, first some comments on the "comments".First of all, I don't really understand how someone can call the relationship/love affair in this movie "stereotypical". Or put it another way, does it really matter? Two-third of movies produced are either about "straight" relationship, or of stories surrounding it. When we go to see a movie strictly about boy-and-girl falling in love, do we immediately say the relationship is so "stereotypical" just because the movie is about the relationship? Why it seems that a gay movie about a gay relationship HAS to somehow have something more to be non-stereotypical? If everytime we go to see something like, say, "Tricks" we have to say, "ah, so stereotypical", you might as well avoid the lot if it. If you find the gay relationship in this film stereotypical it is probably because they are human too.Second, why internationally acclaimed directors from Asia have to somehow show more (Asian) characters to "worth the praise"? World cinema is a global scene - if someone in Asia can make as good a movie as his/her French, German, US counterpart while not inventing anything new or introducing any "Eastern" elements, why can't s/he still deserve the same level of international (aka Western) recognition? In other words, why can't Stanley Kwan get the recognition by recycling Western ideas and technique to tell a wonderfully crafted story in a beautifully understated movie?Back to the movie - it's a great one because Kwan was making something that is very close to his heart. The direction is close to flawless and he (and the writer) has very successfully limited the scope to focus on the two leads and their relationship with all other important outside elements (economic development in China, corruption, etc) and major historical events (June 4, etc) as background. Examples of outstanding scenes include the night of June 4 when Handong (Hu Jun) was driving in his car looking anxiously for Lan Yu (Liu Ye), who has obviously participated in the student protest. It was done tasteful with just the right level of drama and hints to tell you the state of both characters' minds.Kwan's major talent, IMHO, is on directing actors. No matter what one says about "Center Stage", his milestone, he has successfully transferred Maggie Cheung from a "flower pot" (actress with no brain) to an international acclaimed actress. Hu and Liu also got their big break from Kwan - I know now as I have a chance to watch some of Hu's TV drama series in which he plays the typical and boring macho cop. The sparkle between them in the film is simply brilliant - from the few playful/romantic bedroom scenes to Hu's visit to the hospital to identify the dead body of Liu.And too bad if you don't like seeing Lau Yu being killed at the end - it's in the book.