Old Testament

By: Lawrence Ferber
In-House Review - Sep 06 2005

A low-budget gay drama from China, The Old Testament offers a fascinating first-hand peek into young gay life (and independent filmmaking) in the homophobic communist country. Structured in three parts, the first and funniest story, "Psalter," takes place in 1971. A young man living with his older brother and his wife brings home a close male "friend." Appalled upon learning the true, gay nature of their relationship, older brother and wife hysterically scheme to sabotage their attempts to together (including inserting themselves into the bed)! Set in 1981, "Proverbs" sees a nelly little queen, Xiao Hao, anxious to dump his milquetoast lover for a married man. But when the married guy finally gets divorced and moves in, life gets complicated! 2001's melancholy "Song of Solomon" sees a young couple's life interrupted by the arrival of an ex-boyfriend suffering from AIDS. When nursing him turns into a serious commitment, one of the lovers leaves. Unable to afford his ex's medications alone, the other turns to desperate measures.... A major figure in the still-underground Chinese queer film scene, writer/director Cui Zien separates Old Testament's dark, tragedy-tinged tales with bizarre a capella musical interludes. Utilizing a rotating cast, and frequent nudity, Cui Zien is an original, unflinching talent, whose work heralds a hopeful new era in his country's queer history. (Mandarin with English subtitles)

By: Amos Lassen

Cui Zi'en has been hailed as the Chinese gay underground film director and his movies always stir up controversy. "Old Testament" gives us a peek at Chinese gay life behind Communist lines. Made of three separate vignettes, the film is tied together by Biblical references.
"Song of Solomon" looks at a gay male couple that receives an unexpected visitor who happens to be an ex-boyfriend who has AIDS. As the two men try to find a way to find hospice care for the visitor, they are also to face their own relationship.
"Proverbs" is about a love triangle between a married man, his wife and a gay lover. The bisexual husband wants to find the best of both worlds and both the wife and lover question if he s worth fighting over.
"Psalm" deals with the attempt of a straight couple to prevent the husband's brother from with his male friend.
This is certainly a film that is way ahead of its time. China is hostile to homosexuals and it is surprising that this film was ever made. It is a low budget film that looks more like a home movie than something that was intended for public viewing and the movie is jumpy with actors who are not actors and the sound quality is poor. The editing us very poor and the plot leaves something to be desired.