MovieChat Forums > Innocent (2005) Discussion > an OK movie. I wouldn't really call it a...

an OK movie. I wouldn't really call it a 'gay movie'.

posted 17 years ago by whyregister-1
5 replies | jump to latest

This movie was marketed as a "gay movie" but I felt that it had a lot more to do with a family of immigrants from hong kong and their experience in Canada than with being queer.

Some parts were funny but overall I thought it was kinda lacking and it had too familiar themes/scenarios like an older chickenhawk who's also a sugar daddy seducing a naieve young highschool kid, public sex/cruising, and I thought it was good up until the end when it just kinda well ended and it was a let down.

You never really got inside the main character's head that much. There were parts where you did but that had more to do with his location and feeling content more than his sexuality, and while that's good and all it was obvious that he did have some issues with his sexuality but they never touched on them or anything from his point of view.

[–] seakman4 17 years ago

Wow. You said it's more about a family moving from Hong Kong to Canada, then the rest of your post surrounds him being gay.

I agree with the post on the opening page. How the movie (director/acting) pulls you into the film in every aspect of what is going on. From the opening scene to the end. You feel for Eric and what he's going through without him having to say it. He expresses it outwardly, not with words. The film doesn't give us a mother or father that talks to their kids and reasons with them. Only how they make decisions and how it effects the entire family, mostly Eric, of course, in this case (since the movie was about him). But he even takes the time to show the effects it has on the daughter. This is probably one of the most complete movies I've ever seen. You want to know what happened to this family in the long run. You want to keep watching.

It was sad to see some of the things that this character had to go through, but it was good to see that with all that was going on within him, he moves on dispite the disappointments and mistakes.

I love a film that engages you to the point that you use your emotions, and experiences, to feel what the characters are feeling without a lot of dialog. Excellent film.

I would suggest watching the interview with the director after watching the film.

[–] bing-57 16 years ago

I have to agree with the original poster. This a sweet and kind of sad movie, but it just never went where it should have.

For being the main character, we barely ever got to know what Eric is thinking or feeling. Except for a few short outbursts, we can only guess whether he's happy or sad or angry.

> This is probably one of the most complete movies I've ever seen. You want to know what happened to this family in the long run.

This is correct. But, I see that in a bad way. The director just keeps showing us more and more loose ends without any intention of wrapping them up or continuing with that part of the plot.

And the end of the movie was just more maddeningly so. It just feels like the director just ran out of money and never finished the movie, so he had to use extra footage (like of his family driving somewhere) to pad it out to 80 minutes.

In the end, I agree twith the original poster in that this was a movie about the difficulties in being uprooted against your will and being dropped in a new city with no friends. The fact that he was gay and just coming out is besides the point.

And, of course, there were what I call really bad plot holes. What store leaves a cash register full of money overnight? And, if a boy unexpectedly gets an unwelcome kiss from another guy, would he then (1) suggest that they get into bed together and (2) spread the word around school as to what happened?

--
What Would Jesus Do For A Klondike Bar (WWJDFAKB)?

[–] seakman4 16 years ago

3)Say nothing at all about it.

[–] bing-57 16 years ago

> Say nothing

Exactly. The most reasonable reaction would have been, "Look, get out of here now and don't ever come near me again." Then, he never says anything at all to anyone.

But, what confused me a bit was that, for about the first three seconds, Jim actually seemed to get into the kiss. So, if he were actually hiding his own gay tendancies, he for absolutely sure would not be telling the whole school what had happened. I mean, what if Eric had yelled back, "But you liked it too!"

Nope. Best to just shut up and ignore the problem.

--
What Would Jesus Do For A Klondike Bar (WWJDFAKB)?

[–] dim_sumus 16 years ago

The driving to "nowhere" ending of "Innocent" happens in a lot of independent gay theme movies including (but not limited to) The Fluffer, Boys Don't Cry, The River and this one. Some would say it's a cop out ending and others would say it's very deep and philosophical. It's not the happy ending we come to expect in most movies in which all the loose strings are tied up and dots connected. I guess each of us had to decide whether it's an effective ending or not. As I've seen this convention used many times before, it strikes me as cliche as the proverbial happy ending in which true love is found and family quarrels resolved.