Asian Adonis

Actor He Wei

 In this post, a selection of images and extracts from a remarkable pair of films by director Scud, both starring Adonis HeWei (seen above). 'Utopians' charts a young man's sexual liberation and '30 years of Adonis' is the unconnected story of the rise and fall of a fading actor turned gigolo. The thoughtful musings on maleness are shot in an arty way with confusing flashbacks and dream sequences but they are also sexy and homo-erotic and both finish with a flourish of fetish.
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This first image is from the opening scene of 'Utopians' which depicts a party of young men enjoying an idyllic swimming party on a boat. These are not porn films, but they feature nudity and are frankly sexual and very homoerotic. This moment where He Wei dives into the depths leaving his friends behind, symbolises him beginning the exploration of his sexuality. He Wei's guitar tattoo (visible here) plays a key part in the closing scene of the diptych.



There is plenty of sex and nudity, but although it's explicit, it's not shot in the manner of porn films and it's much more focussed on striking imagery than the mechanics of sex. The hero has an affair with a professor at his college who just happens to live in a flat with a spectacular view.



(and a dizzying infinity pool).



 This film has an unexpected conclusion when the young man's exploration of his sexuality eventually reaches the world of fetish and he submits to the whims of a woman and a man while tied to a cross.
This scene ultimately welds the two separate films together.

See the scene here:- Utopians by Scud
(please let me know if this link stops working by posting a comment)

In '30 years of Adonis' He Wei plays an actor/dancer whose career is not progressing.
Frustrated by his setbacks he decides to supplement his income by becoming a gigolo

Scud has been criticised in some quarters for producing a porn film. I suppose you might call this gratuitous nudity and it's amazingly erotic, but it's not porn and not entirely irrelevant to the context of  a failing career either - think of 'the emperor's clothes'.



The film features beautiful dream sequences which are puzzling in their detail
but obviously intended to represent explorations and new experiences.


Here, He Wei meets a notorious gangster played by Eric East
(who is a Japanese porn star, but doesn't display those skills in this film)

He recruits the inexperienced gigolo to provide sexual services for a mass orgy.


He and other sex-workers are repeatedly used by priveledged clients
in a highly stylised, pseudo-crucifixion sequence
which visually resembles the forest dreamscape seen above

There are some brutal moments in this scene, underlining the one-sided exploitation.
The gigolo doesn't even get paid for it, but he gets his revenge later



He humiliates the gangster in a fleeting but memorable scene
showing him suspended naked under a cold waterfall.

Needless to say, the gangster is very displeased by this treatment.

The gigolo later finds a path to romance and happiness in the conventional world
including a striking scene shot on an elevated platform symbolising idyllic isolation
from the cares of the world.

Life isn't like that for long of course, he resumes his acting career without success
and is eventually persuaded to return to sex work.

The job turns out to be a rerun of the red crucifixion scene.....

This closing fetish scene forges an indelible connection between the two films, shot in an almost indentical way but with a chillingly different outcome the second time around 

(which is sign-posted but not shown explicitly, leaving you to imagine).

 Trailer:- 30 years of Adonis by Scud

These films are baffling but beautiful at first sight and the links and meaning only become (more) apparent in hindsight. It helps if you watch with someone else and can discuss it afterwards.

You can enjoy them anyway for their sexual frankness and surprise use of a fetish theme in a believable, real world situation, dramatising the emotions of submission and helplessness .