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| Plot Synopsis Independent filmmaker Simon Chung offers the pensive story of a family who emigrates from Hong Kong to Canada, only to find their relationships gradually dissolving, in this gentle coming-of-age tale focusing on the experiences of a gay teen looking to find his way in a new land. When Eric (Timothy Lee)'s first came to Toronto, he thought they were simply going on vacation. In truth, their move was a desperate attempt to escape the unpaid debts incurred by his father's failing business. Though his father (Wilson Kam Wing Wong) seems to wander the streets aimlessly upon their arrival in the bustling Canadian metropolis, his mother (Jovita Adrineda) seems to find success by launching a restaurant with a bit of help from a business-savvy mainlander emigrant (Mr. Huang). Soon after falling in with a kindly middle-aged Canadian man (Larry Peloso) with a special affinity for Asian boys, Eric finds himself ostracized by his fellow students for making a pass at his new best friend Jim (David Yee). Though a subsequent attempt to befriend a worker (David Lieu Song Wei) doesn't turn out quite as Eric suspected it may have, it does open some new doors for the struggling teen as he sets his sights on New York and a wondrous new world of vast possibilities. - Jason Buchanan, AMG Reviews DON WILLMOTT filmcritic.com Rare is the teenager who's as cool under pressure as Eric (Timothy Lee). Given the challenges that he faces in Innocent, it's amazing that he endures at all, let alone with his mental health and sense of humor intact. A Hong Kong native, Eric and his sister accompany their parents on a vacation to Toronto to visit some extended family members. What the parents don't say until they've arrived is that the famly is not returning. That's right, Eric... Welcome to Canada. Eric's other big issue, that he's a closeted gay teen, seems to pale by comparison, at least for the moment. But then a complication: He meets his devastatingly good-looking cousin for the first time. Brushing off that dangerous temptation, Eric starts school and manages to pick up Larry (Larry Peloso), a rice queen sugar daddy, in a gay bookstore. Luckily for Eric, Larry is actually a very nice guy who wants to offers him adjust to his new surroundings. So, apparently, does Eric's new school chum Jim (David Yee), with whom Eric thinks he can really make a go of it until he pushes the heavy petting too far, scares Jim, and ends up getting outed at school. Now not only is he the new guy but he's also the queer in the class. All this, and English isn't even his first language. Stress! Still, Eric perseveres. His next crush is on an illegal immigrant worker (David Lieu Song Wei) in the restaurant his parents have started up. The two hatch a plan to escape to New York, but Eric is only setting himself up for one more smack in the face. Can he continue to keep such a stiff upper lip in the face of so much betrayal and upheaval? Unlike the protagonists of most teen coming-out films, Eric is delightfully free of despair and angst. Whenever he's down he simply visits Larry (more betrayal there in the end) or takes a walk in a nearby wheat field. Timothy Lee is a natural, and writer/director Simon Chung was lucky to find someone this good to fill a very difficult-to-cast role. The supporting cast has no trouble pulling off both the heavy drama and the lighter comic touches of the screenplay. As offbeat as this tale may seem, they make it seem true-to-life, as do the scruffy suburban locations. |
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| INNOCENT 2005 - Canada - 80 min. - Feature - Color Director - Simon Chung |
| Genre / Type - Drama, Family Drama, Gay & Lesbian Films, Coming-of-Age Keywords - family, homosexual, restaurant, teenagers, coming-of-age, immigrant Themes - Immigrant Life, Sexual Awakening Moods - Only Human Cinematic Process - DV Produced by - Asia Video / Heart Film / Picture This! Releasing Film / Ying E. Chi DVD Street Date - Oct 17, 2006 Languages - English Subtitles - CANTONESE, MANDARIN, English, Spanish Screen Format - Widescreen Sound - Dolby Digital Stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1 Aspect Ratio - 2.00:1 (DVD) Studio - Picture This Cast Timothy Lee Wilson Kam Wing Wong Jovita Adrineda Larry Peloso David L. Yee Mr. Huang Justin Penaloza Stephanie Chang David Lieu Song Wei |
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