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Between Real and Unreal: Representability and Auteurship in Queer Hong Kong Cinema

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Abstract

The chapter looks at two auteurs of Hong Kong queer independent cinema. It argues that their works blur the lines between what is real and what is unreal, complicating the notions of representability in queer Hong Kong cinema. The chapter suggests that Scud’s 2010 film Amphetamine frustrates and alienates viewers, and by undermining the “gay film” genre, forces them to rethink their relationship with the film. The chapter also argues that Kit Hung’s Soundless Wind Chime (2009), whilst offering a similar method of subverting the gay film genre, employs slowness as a way of thwarting the viewer’s expectations. Finally, the chapter suggests that intertextuality in Soundless Wind Chime establishes Hung as a queer auteur whose work references and continues the Sinophone cinematic tradition.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Roskilde University, Roskilde, Denmark

    Zoran Lee Pecic

Authors
  1. Zoran Lee Pecic
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong

    Aaron Han Joon Magnan-Park

  2. School of Humanities, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong

    Gina Marchetti

  3. University of Macau, Macau, Singapore

    See Kam Tan

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Pecic, Z.L. (2018). Between Real and Unreal: Representability and Auteurship in Queer Hong Kong Cinema. In: Magnan-Park, A., Marchetti, G., Tan, S. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Asian Cinema. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95822-1_27

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