I Miss You When I See You

Simon Chung has been making films for decades...after a 6 year hiatus, he's back...pedalling the same old dreariness.

I Miss You When I See You begins badly and improves slightly...if you can force yourself to bypass/forget that horrendous opening scene...then, you are in for the most depressing ride of your life.

Handfuls, rather than pinches, of salt are required to make any sense of the evolving story. Two lads have a kiss and a fumble in high-school, one [then] emigrates to Australia...10 years later the one left behind [now engaged to be heterosexually married] comes and - fleetingly - finds him [for no apparent reason] in a facility for the depressed. They have dinner, chat and nothing actually happens.

Then [for no apparent reason] the depressed one ups sticks and moves back to Hong Kong...with neither money nor job nor plan...and, ends up living with his schoolboy crush, the girlfriend ain't too happy. So...the scene is ripe and ready for a firey fiesta of fireworks...alas, all we get is a damp squib!

This is the whole film, in a nutshell...

Boy gets boy, boy loses boy...boy becomes man, man wants man, man can't have man, man takes a nose-dive into unsafe promiscuity and flounders perilously close to the age of consent. Will man survive? Will man get the man? Who cares?!?

What this story needed was a massive injection of energy...and, grout...to fill in the gaping plotholes! Not only is it cheerless...it also borders on the lifeless...which is astonishing considering this film is all about mental health, manipulation, unrequited love and deceit!

Where are the fireworks when you really need them!?! Not here!

Good title though!

Trailer...