The best part of this movie was before it started – before I ever knew it existed.
Not only has this film permanently tarnished my perception of film, but also of Chinese lesbians and tango. The director, Xu Anhua, seems a tad confused about how to go about telling the story and decides to intermittently include tango dance sequences and cartoon illustrations, both of which add nothing but confusion and discomfort. Schizophrenic tendencies also appear in the language choice as the characters switch between English and Cantonese at will.
Confusion seems to be the theme, as the story follows a pair of pregnant lesbians, Anita and Macy, who can’t decide whether to be with men or women. They reunite after many years in a pregnant woman’s group as Macy dramatically screams and topples towards Anita. Their reuniting leads to sit-ins, indecision and ultimately a group of people eating roast goose in a hospital room consoling Macy over a broken toe.
Nothing is subtle or understated in this film, the storyline, acting and particularly the dance sequences. This film managed to take the sexy out of tango.
Showtimes for All About Love:
Saturday, September 24th – 7:00pm (SFFS/New People Cinemas – 1746 Post Street)
