Best movie ever!

As Good As It Gets

If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.

The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

LAN YU is another indication that films from China are becoming increasingly more poignant, less dependent on spectacle, and certainly more daring in view of the political milieu. Director Stanley Kwan not only has courage to make this poignant film, he also has the gifts to create an atmospheric, gentle, quiet, and luminously photographed love story. He draws understated performances from his actors, never stooping to caricature, always respectful of the inherent delicacy of his subject matter. Lan Yu is a handsome young gay architecture student who becomes involved with Hangdong, a closeted Beijing businessman. The affair they pursue is subtle yet not without passion, the kind of understated passion that rings true rather than playing for sensationalism. The plot twists and turns - Lan Yu is set aside by Hangdong for a "proper marriage" which leads to divorce and to other losses, bringing Hangdong back to seek his real love - Lan Yu. The change in their relationship speaks loudly for a wider acceptance of same sex love. To reveal the ending would be a disservice to the viewer. Part of the joy of this simple story is the sensitivity of Hangdong's colleagues in responding to the his various dilemmas: there is no "bad guy", no prejudice, no castigation - these friends are committed and make homophobia seem merely a foreign, unimportant word. This film is a model of restraint and intelligent, finely crafted story telling. The actors are uniformly excellent and win our hearts. Highly Recommended!

Although this movie is pretty limited in everything (scenes mostly confine to indoors, simple storyline, characters mostly just talk and do mundane stuff like eating), I still like it because it was able to pull me into the story and makes me care for the characters in it especially Lan Yu.Both lead actors acted well in their respective roles and have good chemistry. Their interaction is very natural and they really look like they love each other. I especially like looking at Liu Ye's facial expressions.I think Stanley Kwan made the right choice in focusing on the lovers. Honestly, like another reviewer said, I really don't care about what happen in Handong's marriage, or the details in Tiananmen Square or Handong's shady business. I also don't care that the movie didn't reflect any Chinese culture or make any social commentary. What I really care about is only Handong and Lan Yu.But I didn't give this movie 10 stars because Stanley Kwan/the scriptwriter could have done better with the time-line. He should make the time-line clearer, how much time has passed between each stage of the development of their relationship. The movie also could have been longer. It's too short!! :( The ending is actually pretty well done (although I still hate it). Made me want to cry when the song came on. The song lyrics is very suitable for this ending.

The college student LanYu wanted to make money and had sex with rich entrepreneur HanDong. From then on, LanYu fell in love with HanDong. But later HanDong was not satisfied with LanYu and they broke up. After learned LanYu died of car accident, HanDong just knew how he loved LanYu. The saddening ending song appropriately represented his mood.Although it was a homosexual love story, what it expressed had the same effect with any heterosexual story. The feeling for love is completely the same. It is obvious that western countries are opener on homosexuality than China. Even some western countries agreed with homosexual marriage. I think they have the right.YeLiu and JunHu gave us impressive performance. YeLiu really is a talented young actor. I am sure he will have a brighter future. In all it is better than East Palace West Palace.A moving love story. 8/10

I really wanted to like this movie. The actors are good looking, honest and real, and the very fact that it is a Chinese film is intriguing. However well intentioned this film was, I believe that it fell quite short of its mark.The story is of two guys who have a relationship; there is not much new here. Although there are some wonderful uses of interesting camera angles and a decided lack of score, Lan Yu was not able to unify these elements into an effective picture.Don't get me wrong, however, the film was quite interesting. But when I left I felt cheated; the ending is a huge disappointment, and the entire intermittent narrative voice is really unnecessary. Although well intentioned, this film gyrates between excess sentimentality (Chinese film style,) and touching humor; although some movies can pull these two strains together, this one could not.Whereas other reviewers have stated a great emotional complexity, I caught no such vibe from either of the main characters. Unfortunately, I really did not care that much about either of them, and was unable to believe that their love was as great as they both proclaimed at various times. Although sweet, this movie was really just fluff lite.