Inclubabu Plot so thin, it passes unnoticed.

Robert Joyner The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

Marva-nova Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.

Billy Ollie Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Gordon-11 This film tells the story of a closeted Chinese American teenager, who is discovered by his step-mother that he is in possession of a gay magazine. His father throws him out and disowns him, and he has to turn to desperate measures just to survive.I am impressed by "Ethan Mao" because it is different from other gay films. First, it explores the cultural shackles of being gay in a Chinese family, which is really touching. Secondly, it is almost a gay crime thriller which is very unusual! Third, sex is not needed to sell this film. There is only one kissing scene in the whole film, and that is it! The film is intense and touching, and I cried at the end. I really enjoyed watching "Ethan Mao".

Hunky Stud i thought that this is just one of those low budget gay films with some nudity and weak stories. It was better than I expected.It is clear that it had a low budget, that is why it didn't have much music in it,(if it had any, I certainly didn't get any impression), and the film visual quality is low. They did not use colored filter in front the lens, either. so it feels more like a TV show, instead of a film that you watch on big screen.Sometimes, i felt that those people were acting, but not living in real life. It could be due to lack of music, or they were limited inside a house for a long time.however, the story is not bad. Most gay films in the USA are about white males, this is a very rare film centered around an Asian gay male. When was the last time, so many Asian males all appeared in one film? for that reason alone, i totally support these kind of films.

andrefiora original. moving. wonderful. powerful... sweet & tender. you've got to see it, absolutely! i don't have already realized if the inexperience of the protagonists (ethan & remigio) is a defect, or something that made me appreciate the movie more! but i guess i would opt for the second say, since i cried so much at the end! and i also appreciated the role of the little brother even if i would have liked him...more gay! congratulations to the director who prevented the protagonists to kiss for the whole movie...i was there saying: come on ethan, touch him, kiss him...but at the end I realized where he wanted to go! last scene: the best kiss i've ever seen on a screen. don't miss it!

gradyharp Quentin Lee is to be congratulated for taking on several controversial issues and blending them into a novel story that works on many levels. While many writers and directors of Indie gay films focus on the downtrodden, bleak, tragic aspect of young gay lads coming to grips with their lives, few have presented stories that emphasize an element of redemption based on courage to change those things that can be changed.Ethan Mao (Jun Hee Lee) is an 18-year-old Chinese American boy who has been working (gratis) for his father Abe (Raymond Ma) all his life in their Chinese restaurant. One evening at closing time a young man enters the negligently unlocked door and robs Ethan's cash register at gunpoint. Abe enters form the back of the restaurant and kills the robber, much to Ethan's chagrin. This results in an angry confrontation (one of many in an Asian family where the children are supposed to always obey the parents). Ethan is still mourning the loss of his mother and loathes his stepmother Sarah (Julia Nickson-Soul), a would-be actress who married Abe for money, bringing along her own son Josh (Kevin Kleinberg), a bright young man of obvious mixed genetic pool. Ethan also has a younger brother Noel (David Tran) with whom he has a warm and strong bond. Sarah discovers a gay magazine in Ethan's room, shares this with Abe, and Abe throws Ethan out of his home for being gay and shaming his family.Ethan, bitter, homeless and without money, begins a life a street hustler, accepting his passive sexual role with older johns as a means of income. Serendipitously he meets Remigio (Jerry Hernandez), a fellow hustler and minor drug dealer who understands the life of an orphan's loneliness, and befriends Ethan and offers him shelter and affection. Ethan decides to return to his home on Thanksgiving (knowing that his family always goes out of town on that day) to take his belongings and get some cash. Remigio accompanies him and what begins as a simple entry into Ethan's empty home results in disaster as his family returns for a forgotten gift. Ethan rages against them and decides to hold them hostage until morning when Abe can send Sarah to the bank to retrieve Ethan's mother's necklace - the only memento he has of her. The crux of the story is how this tangled 'family' comes to different levels of understanding under duress and how Ethan (through this dream vs reality incident) arrives at forgiveness and finds love with the ever-supportive Remigio.The acting is mixed but the cast engages us and allows each character to morph into something better than we expect. Both Jun Hee Lee and Jerry Hernandez bring credibility to their roles and the result is a palpable relationship which touches the viewers' hearts. While there are rough spots in camera work, in script, and in production, this is a strong little Indie film with a lot to say, dealing with positive images and debunking old prejudicial thoughts about sectors of society miscegenating into the fabric that makes our population more tolerant. Grady Harp