About this archive
Hong Kong BL is mostly Cantonese and mostly made at home, and what makes it special is the variety of ways it gets made. Independent web series released free on YouTube sit next to Ossan’s Love and The Taste of Us, which came from the city’s established broadcasters, and Twilight’s Kiss, a cinema release about two retired men who meet by chance in a public park.
The mood has shifted over time. Earlier titles like Stay Still, I’m a Fool for You and The Love that Dare Not Speak Its Name are quieter stories of flatmates, cafes and feelings left unsaid. The newer ones lean into crime, with undercover police, hidden identities and the Kowloon Walled City showing up again and again in shows like Kiss or Kill, Ash and The Last Oath.
My tip: begin with
Twilight’s Kiss, a gentle and grown up film unlike anything else on these pages. Then switch to Ash or Kiss or Kill when you are ready for the gritty side. Uff, Hong Kong does moody very, very well.