Suk Suk () (the title means "Uncle" in Cantonese) is a 2019 Hong Kong drama film written and directed by Ray Yeung. It presents the story of two secretly homosexual married men in their twilight years. The film was selected to compete in the Panorama section at the 70th Berlin International Film Festival.
Plot
Pak, a 70-year-old taxi driver who refuses to retire, meets Hoi, a retired 65-year-old single father at a park. Despite the families that they had built, the encounter sparks a desire that they had both suppressed and leads to a contemplation of a life together.
Cast
Tai Bo as Pak
Ben Yuen as Hoi
Patra Au as Ching
Lo Chun-Yip as Wan
To Kong as Chiu
Lam Yiu-Sing as Edmond
Wong Hiu-Yee as Fong
Hu Yixin as Zheng
Kwan Lau-Ting as Joyce
Chu Wai-Keung as Dior
Release
Suk Suk had its world premiere at the 24th Busan International Film Festival on 4 October 2019. Suk Suk was released in Taiwan by Cai Chang International in February 2020 Suk Suk was released in Hong Kong by Golden Scene Company Ltd. in May 2020 Suk Suk was released in Thailand by M Pictures / Never So Small in July 2020 The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Brussels (HKETO, Brussels) and Create Hong Kong have jointly supported the participation of three Hong Kong films at the CinemAsia Film Festival 2020 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, being held from March 4 to 8 (Amsterdam time). One of the three Hong Kong films is Suk Suk. Suk Suk was released in North America by Strand Releasing in February 2021. Suk Suk was released in Spain by Vitrine Filmes in July 2021 Suk Suk was released in Brazil by Vitrine Filmes in September 2021 The original title "Suk Suk" was changed to "Twilight's Kiss" for USA and Canada by North American distributor Strand Releasing.
The original title "Suk Suk" was changed to "Un Printemps a Hong Kong" for France by French distributor Epicentre Films.
The original title "Suk Suk" was changed to "Suk Suk - Um Amor em Segredo" for Brazil by Brazilian distributor Vitrine Filmes
Reception
Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gives the film approval rating based on reviews, with an average rating of . According to Metacritic, which sampled six critics and calculated a weighted average score of 71 out of 100, the film received "generally favorable reviews".
Elizabeth Kerr from The Hollywood Reporter describes Suk Suk as Ray Yeung's "most accomplished, mature film to date, and Yeung demonstrates a keen eye for the social dynamics that impact us and how we respond to them, and finds space to bask in the simple pleasures, basic generosity and the safety net that is family while simultaneously dealing with homophobia, ageism and faith." Wendy Ide from Screen Daily described Suk Suk as "a gentle, understated storytelling with subtly observant camerawork to match". Zhuo-Ning Su from The Film Stage writes, "In lucid, carefully non-judgmental strokes, Yeung recreates the easy familiarity of (hetero-normative) family life that both men have gotten used to." Sight & Sound indicates, "Suk Suk is a loving, considerate tale of queer love in later life. Elaborating an affair between two elderly men in present-day Hong Kong, Ray Yeung proves himself as an astute observer of human affection and social obligation in his third feature film." Alissa Simon from Variety describes, "Strong performances by veterans Tai Bo and Ben Yuen make the protagonists’ struggle concrete and affecting."