In 2019, the Chinese government stripped away the freedoms of millions in Hong Kong, imposing a “National Security Law.” In an instant, the lives of Hongkongers were spun into turmoil. Many fled the country as refugees. Others were the subject of political persecution. Filmmaker Jay Liu tells the story of a young man caught at a crossroads in life that many of us could not imagine in his short film, Anywhere the Wind Blows.
Former Hongkonger Alex (Glen Wong) is attending college in Los Angeles, and as he is about to graduate, he has to make some choices in his life, particularly regarding where he will go next. Alex continues to be haunted by his treatment as a political dissident in Hong Kong during the massive protests, and he is haunted by his treatment as a gay man in a culture that has yet to embrace his LGBT lifestyle fully.
This evening, Alex has been invited on a dinner date with his ex-boyfriend Brandon (Ray Kam). The pair have not seen one another since the protests. Alex finds himself unable to trust Brandon fully, but after a fine dinner and some edibles, the two pick up where they left off but are looking back in the right direction for Alex.
“…haunted by his treatment as a political dissident in Hong Kong…and he is haunted by his treatment as a gay man…”
Like all forms of art, films have a way of allowing artists to unload the burdens they’ve carried in life far too long. For writer/director Jay Liu, this feels like that moment of catharsis for him. Sadly, independent film is the only reason I know what happened to my fellow brothers and sisters in Hong Kong.
In Anywhere the Wind Blows, Liu has much to unload in having to leave his homeland with no certainty that he’ll ever go back, leaving his family to protect them from political persecution, and putting his personal life on hold, not knowing what his next step is. Now add the PTSD he experienced from harsh police tactics during the protests.
Jay Liu packs a lot of ideas into Anywhere the Wind Blows and manages to keep each point in balance. His use of light…more his use of darkness and the black background is quite striking, bringing dreamlike moments into reality. But where Anywhere the Wind Blows shines is the emotional performance of lead Glen Wong as Alex. Wong carries the emotional beats of the short story throughout, and no idea or feeling is lost in any way.
We live in a tumultuous world, and we’re all trying to make sense of it. More importantly, we’re all trying to find our rightful place in it.
"…Wong carries the emotional beats of the short story throughout..."
