Directed by Shanshan Chen, Love Bound is a documentary about the story of LGBTQ+ activist Qiuyan Chen. This young woman shot to fame in the 2010s due to her heroic battle against homophobic textbooks. After being outed by her tutor, and suffering conversion therapy pushed by her parents, Qiuyan fled to the UK for some form of respite.
There, she met Bling, and the two started a beautiful relationship. After some time, though, Bling had to return home, and the film picks up as they try to reunite to marry and start their lives properly together.
Love Bound is a beautiful love story about two individuals are not allowed to love each other in their own homes. The film shows how each woman has to deal with the fact that their whole lives they’ve never felt safe. The only place they have ever felt safe is in each other’s arms. The relative safety they have found is partly thanks to Qiuyan’s activist lifestyle and how she has fostered a community in the UK for Asians living there. It’s truly impressive what Qiuyan has achieved, especially since the film is set during the Pandemic period. Both Qiuyan and Bling suffer further due to what is going on around the world and how it puts further pressure on their relationship.
Love Bound – It’s a lifelong battle
One such moment in the film that struck me was their marriage. Bling is still in China and Qiuyan is in the UK, they do it all over Zoom. They can’t have any family attend because they might try and stop it. Also, Bling is in a hotel room when this all occurs. They make their own decorations because they don’t have the money and there is a struggle to find a witness, something that many take for granted when getting married. It’s a sweet scene, but like most of this film, it is tinged with bitterness.
The film showcases the LGBTQ+ community that Qiuyan has cultivated in the UK and it is quite striking, with the score and cinematography that has been utilised it comes across as powerful, but also loving. It’s a tough balance that I believe director Shanshan Chen achieves. There are also scenes in the film that reveal past events in an animated fashion that is emotionally potent.
All in all, Love Bound is an interesting film. It doesn’t do anything that will break the mould of the genre. However, it puts a spotlight on another aspect of a subject that is still relevant today. Love Bound was another highlight of the East Asia Film Festival Ireland. This is an event I highly recommend film fans to attend.
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