Douban's 8.3-point love campus movie "Love You, Simon" led the 2018 romance film and became the best romance film of the year selected by Douban. Not only that, this small fresh and low-cost gay film is called "a milestone in various levels" by foreign media, and the word of mouth is praised continuously, what magic does it have?
"Sometimes I feel like I'm stuck on the Ferris wheel, one minute at the top, the next I'm back in the ground, and the cycle goes on and on, every day, because life is going well, but no one knows I'm gay."
In the small town where the male protagonist Simon lives, there is a small town website, someone anonymously publishes moods or reveals gossip on it, and a "gay" confession about a small-town youth "Blue" has become a popularity on the website, and it has also made Simon's life go to the other side of the calm - budding and stimulating.
He wrote an e-mail to this Blue under a pseudonym, and in the coming and going, he developed a dependence and trust on this mysterious "fellow believer", as well as a clear sense of affection and love.
Maybe some people will think that after watching this movie, isn't this an American youth school film? Growing pains, singing and dancing youth-style joys, reunion endings, making people look relaxed, typical popcorn movies, why is it called "milestones"? However, if you add a qualifier, gay film, then all this ordinary makes it unusual.
At a time when gay themes are becoming more and more well known and recognized by the public, gay films seem to stay on the subject of niche themes, either obscure and painful, struggling and dark as "Brokeback Mountain", or literary and artistic profundity, such as "Call Me by Your Name", it is difficult to launch a mass-market commercial film.
However, "Love You, Simon" successfully broke this dilemma, and it is not an exaggeration to say that it is a pioneering work that combines commercial film and gay film. This is a new model, but also a new way of thinking, its success may play a leading role in the commercialization of gay films in the future, in this sense, it is not too much to call it a "milestone".
Simon, like all high school students, may be happier. He has enlightened parents, a sister who loves to study cooking, and close friends, who rehearse cabarets at school and attend Christmas parties after school, except that he is gay.
One topic that all gay movies can't avoid is "coming out," and Simon is no exception.
"In short, I wonder why I didn't choose to come out, maybe I think it's unfair, why only gay people have to claim to come out, why heterosexuality is the default option?" 」
When society treats homosexuality as an outlier, the film offers an empathetic perspective. A clip in the film is when heterosexuals also need to declare "coming out", the parents are excited and crying, and the difficulty of gay coming out of the closet is told in the form of cold humor, so that the public can feel more empathy.
"For a long time, I've tried to hide this fact, and I have various reasons, like only gay people need to claim to be out of the closet and don't want to change the status quo, but the truth is, I'm afraid." At first I thought it was related to homosexuality, and then I realized that it was terrible to claim your attributes to the world anyway, what if everyone didn't like you? So I did my best to keep my secret..."
Simon and Bruce's secret emails are exposed, Simon is forced to come out, and he becomes the center of the town's conversation. However, what bothered him most was that after his identity was exposed, he scared away his timid pen pal.
His sister cares about him, his parents understand him, his father even blames himself for not discovering his sexuality earlier, he doesn't protect his son and weeps, his friends complain that he is not because of his homosexual status, but he uses to deceive his friends in order to cover up his identity...
The film shows a world that is too idealistic, homosexuality is not a big deal, it is very common, it is very ordinary, it will be understood by everyone, even if someone laughs at it, there will always be someone who will stand up and accuse it of being wrong. But that's the power of cinema, it gives people dreams, points to that wonderful future, and believes that one day, all people will be equal and not afraid of honesty.
"I'm not afraid anymore, I'm no longer hiding my true identity from the world, I deserve good love."
On the Ferris wheel that Blue originally described, Simon finally waited for Blue. The neon flickered, the people below applauded their kisses, and the atmosphere that was obviously joyful inexplicably made people want to cry. Courage, warmth, love, these old words, will always become the reason for our tears.
The film also sets up a suspense, who is the hidden Blue? If you're curious, go to the movie and decrypt it!