Okoge

This is an old Japanese film with a grainy picture quality. However, the realism and accuracy of the portrayal of life for Japanese gays remain accurate to this day in 2006.

It is a very moving and tragic story, and for those of us who had journeyed though similar social and spiritual battles, this movie is a tearjerker. It reminds me of the fact that social progress hasn't caught up with the developed Asian nations (Japan, Korean, Taiwan,Singapore and a few other regions).

As a gay man who grew up in the West, but the son of very traditional Asian parents, I see many family battles of my own reflected in this movie. It is truly a sad movie for Asian gay men to watch, and a real gem of social anthropological study for Westerners studying Asian gays and Asian attitudes towards homosexuality.

I recommend you buy this DVD. It is a great piece of work to own. I had it a decade ago on VHS tape, and I was thrilled to be able to own it on DVD now.

For those who watch it and think this movie's plot is too unreal... I would like to remind them that they are watching it from their Western perspective. I can assure them, that 70% of the movie is almost identical to my own experiences... and I did NOT write the screenplay!!! If you haven't watched it yet, what are you waiting for???