Director: Zeng Dan
Cast: Shang Wenrui, Xian Fengwei, Yang Sho
This is very much a film with a message, a campaign even. The closing credits begin with a set of statistics from a study of campus bullying faced by LGBTQ+ students. As the sobering numbers sit on the screen, line-drawn students appear, all holding up stop signs. It’s unequivocal. And in China, where the climate for queer people remains distinctly unfriendly, it’s a brave and wholehearted move.
However, good intentions and a worthy purpose don’t always translate into a watchable movie. For example, The McHenry Trial had its heart in the right place but was so artless that I described it as “essentially a morality play with the subtlety of a Sesame Street counting song.”
Fortunately, Curve is a much more complete piece of work. Director Zeng Dan has created a believable world, mostly set within a high school but featuring a few other locations as well. I can only assume Zeng also wrote the script because, bizarrely, that’s the only obvious omission from an otherwise comprehensive set of credits. The dialogue, at least as mediated by the mostly OK subtitles, seems lifelike and compelling and the central performances are strong with supporting characters adding appropriate ballast.
He Zhenye, played by Shang Wenrui, is a slightly uneasy member of a school gang, led by Zhang Yang (Yang Sho, exuding the right level of entitled malice). The gang’s primary occupations include going to the internet cafe to watch porn, smoking in the school toilets, and giving a relentlessly hard time to Lin Sheng (Xian Fengwei) just because he’s gay. Sheng gets beaten; he has water thrown over him repeatedly and, when he’s not around, poured into his school desk; crucially, his diary is stolen by Zhenye.
We’ve already noticed that Zhenye appears a bit reticent to join in the attacks on Sheng. Increasingly, he contrives ways to limit the harm done to Sheng. Is there a certain look in his eyes as he regards Sheng? Certainly, it’s not reciprocated: Sheng’s defence and defiance against the world is to adopt a dead-eyed stare at all times. It’s clear that Zhenye will have to take a stand at some point. Will he remain the loyal gang member, carrying out Yang’s bidding, or will he stand up for Sheng? What will he learn from reading Sheng’s diary? And how will this affect the issues in his own life?
While there are very universal and relatable themes in this film, it clearly comes from a particular context. The almost off-hand reference to “your father’s execution” by Zhenye’s mum is a reminder that we’re in a country where much is different even if people are fundamentally the same. It’s been fascinating to see the influx of queer film-making coming from China and being submitted to Indy Film Library and this feels like the most overt yet.