I Don't Want to Sleep Alone (Hei Yan Quan)
Strand (2006)
Comedy, Drama, Foreign, Musical, Queer Themes/Interest, Romance
In Collection
#1698
6*
Seen ItYes
(9/1/2019 Home)
712267271320
IMDB   7.0
115 mins Taiwan / Bengali
DVD 
Kang-sheng Lee Hsiao-Kang
Shiang-chyi Chen Coffee-shop Waitress
Norman Atun Rawang
Pearlly Chua Coffee-Shop Boss
Lee-Lin Liew Coffee-Shop Tea Maker
Leonard Tee Light Seller
Su-Yee Toh Boss's Second Son
Kok-Fai Chiew Boss's Grandson
Rong-Sin Chan Estate Agent
Kok-Choy Loh Financier
Shiva Indian worker
Mohammad Rani Bin Baker Magician
Rusli Bin Abdul Rahim Hooligan
Azman Hassan Hooligan
Hariry Jalil Hooligan
Mohammad Abuha Bin Rosli Hooligan
Director/Choreographer
Ming-liang Tsai
Producer Bruno Pesery
Wouter Barendrecht
Simon Field
Writer/Composer Ming-liang Tsai
Cinematography Ming-liang Tsai
Pen-jung Liao

Forest fires burn in Sumatra; a smoke covers Kuala Lumpur. Grifters beat an immigrant day laborer and leave him on the streets. Rawang, a young man, finds him, carries him home, cares for him, and sleeps next to him. In a loft above lives a waitress. She sometimes provides care and attention. More violence seems a constant possibility. They find another man abandoned on the street, paralyzed. They carry him. While no one speaks to each other, sounds dominate: coughing, cooking, coupling, opening bags; music and news reports on a radio, the rattle and buzz of a restaurant. It's dark in the city at night. We see down hallways, through doors, down alleys. Who sleeps with whom?
Edition Details
Original Title Hei Yan Quan
Release Date 2007
No. of Discs/Tapes 1
Personal Details
Purchase Date 6/16/2019
Location Personal Library
Owner Deitz
Store Amazon.com
Purchase Price $24.99
Condition Excellent
Links ±3/5 Review: BBC (Thomas Dawson 08 November 2007)
-1/3 Review:CGiii (~2006)
Hei yan quan at Core for Movies
IMDB
TheMovieDb.org
Rotten Tomatoes
References
Lists ‡ Rotten Tomatoes: 200 Best LGBT Movies of All Time
Rotten Critics Rating % (2021) 88
Rotten Best Queer #1-200 (2021) 109

Notes
One reviewer writes: "looks stunning - faultless even." [CGiii] If by "stunning" he means like being hit by a taser, I would have to agree. The imagery is somber, dark. Often so dark that one can't figure out what is happening. The story in vacuous, probably intentionally so. It consists of a series of loosely connected scenes of the very the poor in the slums of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, The weight of their loneliness presses on us.
Then there is the "symbolism." Water, but not the water of bubbling brooks and crystal clear lakes. But of dark channels and mysterious pools. Even fresh water from a spigot is used to fill a bucket to flush an Asian squat commode, or to wash the comatose body of a nearly dead man. Their most valued possession appears to be a filthy mattress which regularly gets moved about the city.

"It certainly requires a degree of patience from the viewer: there's scant dialogue, the pacing is noticeably unhurried, and the contemplative visual style favors static long takes photographed in deep focus." [BBC]

If you are looking for a pick-me-upper, this is not it. If you are looking for a director with an artistic eye, this film may meet your needs.