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Synopsis

Writer-director Simon Chung, whose film Innocent put him among the leaders of Queer Asian Cinema, raises the bar once again with this extraordinary tale of sexual obsession, unrequited love and psychological isolation – evoking imagery and themes from such gay classics as Brokeback Mountain and Boys Love that are equal parts sensual, eloquent and heartrending while creating a mood and sensibility all its own.

Boyishly cute Ming (Chi-Kin Lee) is a 22-year-old Hong Kong male prostitute whose party-boy ways land him in a Christian reformatory camp. As the story unfolds recalling his relationship with his boyfriend and his ex-roommate – sharing both drugs and “clients” with the latter – Ming falls for Keung (Guthrie Yip), a handsome former drug addict who has been assigned as his sponsor. When Ming and Keung each return to the outside world, they face an uncertain future both sexually and emotionally – and will need to rely on each other to weather any storm on the horizon.

A hit at film festivals around the world, End of Love abandons the usual themes of identity and coming out which are often characteristic of gay Asian cinema and presents a mature, involving and quite entertaining look at what it’s like to be young and gay in modern-day Hong Kong.