Where Is My Love?

(CHYANG POH PUH GUANG) ((TAIWANESE-U.S.))

By DAVID STRATTON

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A Chen production. Produced by Jojo Wu. Directed, written by Jofei Chen.
 
Ko ... Jyi-Shin Uen
Pierre ... An-Chern Chiou
 

Amodest first film by Jofei Chen, a former student at Cal Tech, "Where Is My Love?" is about a gay youth and his indecision as to whether to come out. Shot on 16 mm and running barely an hour, this is a slow, deliberate little drama that can hope for TV slots at best, with fests specializing in Asian or gay segments also indicated. But it signals an interesting new talent with a style very much in the same mode as some of the better-known Taiwanese directors, like Edward Yang and Hou Hsiao-Hsien.

Ko (Jyi-Shin Uen) has written a book about his homosexuality, and his teacher wants him to enter it in an important competition she is certain he can win. But Ko hesitates, because he doesn't want his family and friends to discover the truth about his personal life. He deliberates for a long time in his sparsely furnished apartment, which is dominated by a TV monitor, before going out and meeting a young man, Pierre, at a bus stop. The two return to his place for sex. Next morning, they don't know what to say to each other. Pierre leaves, and later Ko discovers he left a message on Ko's video camera. This helps him make his decision about the book.

Chen handles this simple story with sensitivity and precision, and may well be heard from again when she tackles a more substantial story. Uen is excellent as the tormented Ko.

Camera (color), Jih Pyng Liou; editor, Sheau Dong Chen; sound, Jy-Haw Chen. Reviewed at World Film Festival, Montreal (noncompeting), Aug. 28, 1995. Running time: 58 MIN.
 

With: Hann-Jye Lan, Shwu-Ching Ko, Shuenn-Ching Yang, David Wang, Yeang-Yeh Fuh, Miaw-Huoy Gau, Wen-Cherng Yu, Fuh-Chyang Wu, Vicky Wang.