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Review

Nineteen-year-old Jade looks and acts childish, yet makes her living doing private webcam sex shows for those willing to pay to see it. Visiting a tattoo parlor, she decides to get a spider lily tattooed on her arm, which 20-year-old owner/artist Takeko also has. But beyond their attachment to spider lilies, it turns out that these two women share a deeper connection to one another: they first met ten years ago as children living in the countryside. Back then, Jade had developed a powerful crush on Takeko which endures to this day. Can their unrequited love turn into a full-fledged adult romance?

Directed by Taiwanese lesbian filmmaker Zero Chou, Spider Lilies sees its love-starved protagonists flirt with one another in the present while, via flashbacks, we learn of the heartbreaking tragedy and pain in their shared past. Further complicating their romance is Takeko's high maintenance brother and an undercover policeman charged with busting the webcam sex ring that Jade is a part of. Both of the female leads are gorgeous, while fantastic indie pop/rock music by Raine Yang – who also plays Takeko – adds to the exotic beauty of Spider Lilies. (Cantonese with English subtitles)

 -- Lawrence Ferber