Ethan Mao, Inspires to Love
Added 3/20/2009
This movie will take you on a rollercoaster ride of emotions. It starts with suspense, makes you think of the (dis)functionality of your own family, and then melts your heart with the love shared. If you are looking for a movie with a REAL twist, meaning it could actually happen, then this is the movie for you. Relatable and brilliantly executed, Quentin Lee brings you Ethan Mao
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Different and Meaningful
Added 4/14/2007
"Ethan Mao"
Different and Meaningful
Amos Lassen and Cinema Pride
"Ethan Mao" represents the latest trend in GLBT film. It is multi-layered and multi-directional. It is a crime drama as well as a look at the struggles of a gay Chinese-American boy. Ethan Mao (Jun Hee Lee) is at odds with his parents. His father is a successful and confident man; his mother is a former actress. He has an older step brother who is a "good boy" and a younger brother who appears to be heading for the gay side. Ethan also has a lover, Remigio (Jerry Hernandez). Ethan, at 18, is a hustler because his parents have thrown him out due to the fact that he is gay. He met Remigio on the street and as they became good friends, they also became lovers. Ethan decides to return to his parent's home to steal a necklace while the family has gone off to enjoy Thanksgiving. When the family returns suddenly and by surprise, a hostage situation ensues and what looks like began as a nice wholesome movie about a gay kid whose parents will not accept him, becomes a suspenseful drama.
This could easily have become one of the tritest movies ever made but the director, Quentin Lee, kept a tight rein on everything. What we have is a very articulate and engaging film about characters. Ethan just so happened to be both gay and Chinese and it is interesting to see how one can identify and sympathize with him. His friendship with his lover is a beautiful example of dedication and vice versa. I think the beauty of the film is that it is not about being gay but about being human. Ethan and Remigio turn to hustling because their families do not want them and they need to survive. The great truth of the film is seeing the effect that the violence and coldness of parents has on the children and how it manifests itself in ways that are both dangerous and destructive.
It is refreshing to see a film that has been made so honestly. The script is smart and well written and the cast is sublime. There is suspense and romance as well as cultural/ethnic issues of acceptance and understanding. Blending these together in a way that touches the viewer is no easy task and Quentin Lee has accomplished this beautifully. The fact that our gay boy, Ethan, seeks redemption ad has the courage to go after it, makes this movie interesting from the very start.
When Abe, Ethan's dad, throws him out of the house, Ethan does what he has to do in order to feed and clothes himself. He takes a passive sexual role with older men as a means of income. Quite by chance does he meet Remigio who becomes his friend and offers him a place to live as well as affection. When we realize that the crux of the story is how Ethan's family in its own tangled mess must reach different levels of understanding while under duress, we see the pressure that Ethan has been feeling and understand why he turned to Remigio for love. We also understand how he can find forgiveness.
"Ethan Mao" is original, powerful and very moving and it is also sweet and tender. It is a new look at an old subject but what hallmarks it is the obvious love with which it was made.
2 out of 2 people found this helpful.
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WONDERFUL THELMA AND LOUISE STYLE LOVE STORY
Added 12/1/2006
Ethan Mao is a riveting and wonderful story in many ways. The people who dislike this story probably have never been out of the mainstream straight society. This movie is about how even in a well-to-do family, that you can become isolated, segregated, and even kicked out of the only family and way of life you have ever known, if you happen to be gay. This movie shows how fragile life really is. It also shows how vulnerable and confusing a teenagers life can be, especially a gay teenager. At one point, Ethan even tries to commit suicide.{Which isn't a stretch considering that 30% of all teenage suicides are those of gay teens. Also according to the department of health, gay men are 6 more times likely to commit suicide than their straight counterparts.) If you have a teenager who may be gay, they need you a lot more than your other kids. Reach out to them, guide them, teach them how to live a happy, productive life surrounded by people they love, and most importantly; love them before its too late.
The part in this movie that made Ethan a hero to me was when he was confronted by his father on his homosexuality, he did'nt lie about it. Being in the closet most of my life, I always felt I had to lie about my sexual orientation lest I be sent to military school so they can make a "man out of me." It's terrible to have to live your life a lie and I have suffered self-isolation and depression because of it. Ethan told his father that was a part of him so his father kicked him out of the house and family. Ethan basically had the choice to lie, or to become a street hustler without a pot to piss in. He courageously chose the later.
I think a parent has an inherent duty to love all their children. And I feel that because there is so much backlash from being gay, their gay children need a little more understanding , sensitivity and compassion than their straight kids would. I also feel that as a step-parent, you have a duty to love your new spouses children, in the least, as you would a good, and dear friend. Hopefully one day, they will become just that.
The love story in this movie was just that. It was actually a pure, innocent, self sacrificing love that all people gay or straight should strive for. Ethan meets Remigio on the streets and he is able to melt Ethan's tough exterior to become his friend, protector,mentor, and his one true love.
I thought the acting was superb on all accounts, but especially the acting of Jun Hee Lee was particularly stellar. In the beginning he is like any normal teen exploring their sexuality. When he is abandoned by his father you feel his pain. When you realize that he has worked in his fathers restaurant for free to support his cruel step-mothers selfish lifestyle you feel his rage. When you see his step-mother continue to mock,torment, and stab him in the back, a lesser person would probably just blow her head off. But deep in his heart Ethan is gentle, sweet, and vulnerable kid and your heart goes out to him because what is in his heart is pure and you know he just wants his father to accept and love him. Jun Hee Lee portays all of these emotions sensitively and believably. This is a movie in which the "criminal " is actually the hero. Believe me, you will be rooting for Ethan all the way!
I agree with most of the plot synopsis' that have been given by the favorable reviewers and also agree with a lot of their opinions. But I do feel that the acting was great, and that the production values gave a realistic vibe to the movie. Loved the music too.
3 out of 3 people found this helpful.
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Wasted chance
Added 7/24/2006
I think the movie has potential but ends up taking a childish turn in the end. I agree mostly with the points Mike Leonard makes in his review right here, only my final conclusion is quite more negative.
The dvd image looks good for a movie shot in video like this, but it's not anamorphically enhanced, despite what the cover says, so be warned if that's important to you.
3 out of 5 people found this helpful.
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"You'll be the first one I'll tell when I'm in love"
Added 11/3/2005
Everyone, just once in their life has probably had fantasies of pistol whipping or perhaps even punching out at least one member of their family, but the embattled title character Ethan Mao, in maverick director, Quentin Lee's saga of Asian American gay dysfunctional angst gets to do this and so much more.
A whole film about holding your family to ransom by gunpoint may not immediately strike viewers as the stuff of a great story, and may even be a little bit much for most, but Lee manages for the most part to hold this film together, delivering up a tight, taught, if not terribly low budget package that mixes elements of the psychological thriller, coming-of-age drama, gay love story, and even black comedy.
Ethan Mao is certainly overly ambitious in its themes and crude in its execution, but there's a gritty and solemn earnestness to this movie, that lifts it above the usual dramas of teenage angst. What makes this movie worth viewing and so involving, and perhaps also so groundbreaking, is that it depicts a modern, urban gay Asian-American teen, which is something that to my knowledge is very rare in film.
The story takes off when the title character Ethan Mao (Jun Hee Lee) has just been kicked out of his home after Abraham, his father (Raymond Ma) discovered his stash of gay porn. His family is reasonably wealthy having worked hard over the years, now they're the epitome of the immigrant success story. But Ethan's father has made the fatal mistake of putting money before the love of his family. Now his days are spent catering to Ethan's gangly younger brother Noel (David Tran), a bullying and spoilt stepson Josh (Kevin Kleinberg), and Sarah, his slinky, narcissistic, ex-actress wife (Julia Nickson).
Obviously being gay doesn't sit well with Mr. Mao, so Ethan is promptly ejected from the family and immediately - without exploring any other options - adopts the life of a homeless hustler, eventually meeting Remigio (Jerry Hernandez), who also works the streets. The pair develops a fierce friendship based on love, trust, and loyalty. Remigio feeds Ethan, gives him a home and surprisingly keeps his hands to himself. Ethan, for his part has a lack of affect, which presumably signals an emotional numbness.
Ethan enlists Remigio's help to return to his home to pick up his belongings as well as a necklace belonging to his dead mother, but his family, who are supposed to be on a Thanksgiving outing, come home. A vicious argument ensues, with the two young men holding the group hostage until the necklace can be retrieved from a safe-deposit box the next day.
From here, the film mushrooms into an unlikely hostage melodrama, complete with guns, uneasy family dysfunction, along with lots of emotional recriminations. Josh, the stepbrother hates Ethan, and Ethan hates Sarah, the stepmother, while M. Mao remains appalled at what his son is doing, but at the same time begins to regret the way he's treated Ethan, and the rest of his family.
As the hours progress, Ethan begins to enjoy his newfound power and uses it to tell everyone in the family, especially his uptight and highly traditional dad, exactly what he thinks of them and how he feels he's been mistreated. Meanwhile, Remigio looks on, remaining a silent, and somewhat reluctant witness to the proceedings, and a loyal friend to Ethan.
Ethan Mao is clearly heartfelt and sincere- and an early robbery scene is particularly strong - but ultimately a facile script hampers the film, along with its low production values and its bargain basement, C-grade acting. It is also essential that the viewer feel some sympathy for Ethan, but his decision to freely participate in the hustler lifestyle, when you know a boy as bright as he could do something else, makes it hard for us to really root for him. Ultimately, he comes across as a bit bratty, spoiled, and sad; he should learn to lighten up a little, even if he does have a mean father and a wicked stepmother.
Despite Ethan Mao's obvious shortcomings, the film has an intensity and fervor that is impossible not to like. The film also works as an offbeat tale of love and friendship; Ethan and Remigio, through no fault of their own, have become a couple of devoted urban hustler outlaws. Thank goodness though, that we are subjected to only one of Ethan's elderly and flabby customers. Mike Leonard November 05.
9 out of 11 people found this helpful.
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