Austin Gay and Lesbian International Film Festival 2008

Taiwanese director Zero Chou offers up three subtle, interwoven lesbian tales of the “lost and found” nature of love in the film Drifting Flowers, an apt title for this gently flowing film that has a strange beauty and opens a window onto a culture seldom seen on film.

The first story opens with the fragile domestic bliss of Jing, a beautiful, blind nightclub singer, and her younger sister Meigo. Butch accordionist Chalkie upsets the balance by falling for Jing while inspiring Meigo’s first big crush.

The middle story belongs to Lily, an Alzheimer’s patient endlessly searching in her disintegrating memory for her lost lover, Ocean. But when Yen, her sham husband from long ago, leaves his unfaithful boyfriend and comes to visit with his own suitcase of troubles, Lily often mistakes him for the butch Ocean returned, and the two wounded friends build on a sympathy they’ve always shared.

The final segment follows Chalkie, coming of age with best pal Yen while coming to terms with her repulsion at her own budding body and her complicated feelings for girls. She meets the young Lily and both claim their futures, which arrive in unexpected ways.

- Carol Harada and Susan Cole (edited)

Sponsored by Foodies