While gay people face problems in the west, it’s easy to forget things are very different in other countries, where society is either openly hostile to homosexuality or ignores it to the point of gay people being (and feeling) invisible. However a new Vietnamese movie is hoping to change attitudes to gay people in that country.
Lost in Paradise is about the doomed love affair between a gay prostitute and a book seller and provides a rare glimpse into a usually hidden side of Vietnam. The AFP reports that the movie has proven a success, with cinemagoers flocking to watch the movie.
While some people have laughed or been squeamish about the movie’s same-sex tenderness it has changed some people’s attitudes. One 50-year-old state employee who caught a screening in Hanoi commented, “Now I think they are just like us.”
Homosexuality remains largely taboo in communist Vietnam, where traditional Confucian social mores dominate. Gay people are routinely portrayed as comical figures or as people suffering from a condition that can be treated — something the makers of Lost in Paradise hope to help change.
“We just want to contribute so that gays are better accepted in our society. They don’t need sympathy or understanding. They need equality”, said Luong Manh Hai, who stars in the movie and co-wrote the script.
The country still has a long way to go on gay acceptance, but films like this are making an impact. The movie will screen at the Berlin Film Festival in February.
However perhaps the final word should go to Nguyen Quoc Duy, an openly gay 21-year-old student who remarks, “I don’t know if the movie succeeded in telling people that being gay is normal, but for sure it helped them understand who we really are and how wrong the prejudice they have against us is.”
Take a look at the trailer below:
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