Fridae

A must-see for all LGBTs, Eternal Summer tells an achingly tender coming-of-age story about a gay boy, a straight boy and a straight girl � each in love with the other in different ways.

Bryant Chang plays an emo gay boy who has been secretly nursing his feelings for bad-boy Joseph Chang for many years. Things come to a head when a new girl, Kate Yeung, joins their school. Kate falls for the gay Bryant almost instantly, while Joseph slowly starts to fall for Kate. As their friendships and emotions roil through the heat of the summer, Bryant must make a decision whether to come out to Joseph or not...

LGBT audiences (especially the gay bottoms) will no doubt be able to identify with Bryant's character. Pining stealthily after a bad boy has been a rite of passage for every gay bottom throughout history. It certainly makes it more believable that the bad boy is played by Joseph, who has a rough-and-tumble charm and roguish good looks that are a natural magnet for teenage girls and gay bottoms.

Indeed, Bryant and Joseph pull off their roles so naturally that it's no surprise they both received acting nominations at last year's Golden Horse Awards. (Bryant eventually won for Best New Performer.) And while she didn't get an acting nomination, hot minx Kate Yeung certainly holds her own among the boys with her unforced acting and sexual allure.

Focusing the camera on these three characters only � we hardly get to see any of the supporting characters � director Leste Chen manages to depict the complex and intimate world of teenage emotions. Oftentimes, we understand what they are feeling through the evocative visuals, rather than the dialogue. Indeed, Leste wisely leaves a lot unsaid � except in the last scene where the film starts to falter.

Eternal Summer is lovely and evocative gay film that will give LGBT viewers their fix of queer cinematic satisfaction for the week. Don't miss it!