SDU: Sex Duties Unit - Defiance In A Libidinal Adventure?
Thoughts On: SDU: Sex Duties Unit (飞虎出征, 2013)
Made by Gary Mak, this is the Macanese film of the series.
SDU is a raunchy action comedy, Hangover infused into American Pie. It then feels generically familiar; an escapade into debauchery motivated by basic pleasures. Such is often wrapped up in Hollywood teen movies whose central characters want base fulfilment - to have sex (American Pie), to eat (Harold and Kumar go to White Castle) or have a party (Superbad). SDU self-consciously falls into this loose genre of the 'libidinous adventure film'. It follows a small group of special force officers in Hong Kong who are all obsessed with sex; they decide to sneak into Macau to find prostitutes, but in doing so find themselves in a heap of mess that reveals much about the individuals composing the team. Much of the conflict of the film is centred upon the team wanting to hide the fact that they are going to Macau from their work place as Macau has a reputation a little like Bangkok, Las Vegas, Amsterdam, etc. do as sin cities. It is here where you can begin to gain a little more incite into the minor significance attached to SDU as an East Asian film.
Macau, like Hong Kong, is an autonomous region attached to China with a colonial history that came to a close in the 90s. There are a myriad of cultural and political connections (some contentious) between these regions and mainland China that emerge from similarity and difference. One pertinent difference that SDU has us focus on is prostitution. Prostitution is legal in both Hong Kong and Macau. It is not in China, but of course it exists (Dongguan is a city with something of a reputation). Though prostitution is legal in both regions, brothels and similar institutions are not. The industry must then function discreetly. It appears that the industry is more developed in Macau - which signals part of the reason as to why the characters in SDU decide to travel from Hong Kong (where they could legally find prostitutes) to Macau.
This information alone is rather inane. SDU emerges from a wave of popular raunchy, sex-focused comedies - vulgar comedies. This wave began around 2012 with the likes of Vulgaria. SDU may be seen as something of a cash grab, a foray into a suddenly lucrative and trendy genre of film. But it has been suggested that the film represents something of a rebellion against China and its values. Not only does SDU represent acts and an industry deemed wrong by Chinese law with irreverence and acceptance, but it is also a something of an illegal document. I have not been able to confirm the following definitively, but SDU is a Category III film and so likely never got released in China (was banned). We can rather safely assume that SDU never got an official release in China as the Hong Kong film industry operates with a different rating system and censorship practices. In China, there is no official, legalised rating system for films - it is, to my knowledge, one of the only countries not to have one in the modern day. This is never a good sign as, if a country has no way of rating films, their censorship practices will be black and white; a film is allowed or banned; it must be suitable for everyone or will be seen by no one (at least in a cinema or on official streaming sites, DVD, etc). We have explored the Hong Kong rating system previously through A Chinese Torture Chamber Story, but SDU can only be seen by audience members aged 18 or above - which doesn't give it a good chance at all of not being banned in the mainland. Furthermore, SDU contains a gay character and a plot strand that not only celebrates and supports him finding a prostitute, but he has a visible erection for the vast majority of the film's run-time. In China, whilst homosexuality is not illegal, the expression of homosexuality is pretty much illegal on film and television. It is then this that apparently makes SDU, much like others in the wave, defiant in some way.
I am somewhat sceptical of the assertion that SDU and other vulgar comedies defy Chinese culture, politics and its norms as Category III movies (some of which make SDU appear childish) have been extant for decades now. It is possible that the film's popularity signifies a growing acceptance of Hong Kong's industry laws and its freedoms, but my general knowledge on the industry and culture is far too limited to speak much to this. Alas, seen as such, SDU does open up a space requiring more research and thought.
That said, to return to the film itself and its content, SDU is not particularly special or competently constructed. As implied in the beginning, this is generically familiar, and so appropriates tropes, a tone and plot beats from Hollywood libidinal adventure films that have risen and fallen in popularity cyclically since the 50s. SDU shares a particular connection with the contemporary incarnation of the libidinal adventure à la the teen, stoner and party comedy. It then predictably and sarcastically takes an outcast and failing group of people, sets before them a goal emergent from the 'norm' and desire (everyone seems to want to have sex, to get drunk, party, etc.) that challenges persona constructs, revealing more subtle struggles of self that unify the band of friends. The basic assertion of the narrative is that the higher self is discovered by indulging in the chaos of pleasure and social pressures constructed without regard for the personal psyche. In such, SDU - like American Pie, Hang Over, Eurotrip, Superbad, Wedding Crashers, Due Date, etc. - use pleasure, vice and stupidity as a fire that burns away the frailty of a weak individual whilst catalysing the strengthening of their irrevocable self. Put more simply, chaos teaches characters in libidinal adventures how to be themselves. Where SDU falls short in this respect is in its inability to construct particularly human realisations for characters and particularly striking or funny chaos for them to fall into. In short, this is merely satisfactory in all aspects, but nonetheless a potentially significant film that gives some insight into its cultural and industrial context. For that, SDU may be worth watching.
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End Of The Week Shorts #96
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End Of The Week Shorts #97
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SDU is a raunchy action comedy, Hangover infused into American Pie. It then feels generically familiar; an escapade into debauchery motivated by basic pleasures. Such is often wrapped up in Hollywood teen movies whose central characters want base fulfilment - to have sex (American Pie), to eat (Harold and Kumar go to White Castle) or have a party (Superbad). SDU self-consciously falls into this loose genre of the 'libidinous adventure film'. It follows a small group of special force officers in Hong Kong who are all obsessed with sex; they decide to sneak into Macau to find prostitutes, but in doing so find themselves in a heap of mess that reveals much about the individuals composing the team. Much of the conflict of the film is centred upon the team wanting to hide the fact that they are going to Macau from their work place as Macau has a reputation a little like Bangkok, Las Vegas, Amsterdam, etc. do as sin cities. It is here where you can begin to gain a little more incite into the minor significance attached to SDU as an East Asian film.
Macau, like Hong Kong, is an autonomous region attached to China with a colonial history that came to a close in the 90s. There are a myriad of cultural and political connections (some contentious) between these regions and mainland China that emerge from similarity and difference. One pertinent difference that SDU has us focus on is prostitution. Prostitution is legal in both Hong Kong and Macau. It is not in China, but of course it exists (Dongguan is a city with something of a reputation). Though prostitution is legal in both regions, brothels and similar institutions are not. The industry must then function discreetly. It appears that the industry is more developed in Macau - which signals part of the reason as to why the characters in SDU decide to travel from Hong Kong (where they could legally find prostitutes) to Macau.
This information alone is rather inane. SDU emerges from a wave of popular raunchy, sex-focused comedies - vulgar comedies. This wave began around 2012 with the likes of Vulgaria. SDU may be seen as something of a cash grab, a foray into a suddenly lucrative and trendy genre of film. But it has been suggested that the film represents something of a rebellion against China and its values. Not only does SDU represent acts and an industry deemed wrong by Chinese law with irreverence and acceptance, but it is also a something of an illegal document. I have not been able to confirm the following definitively, but SDU is a Category III film and so likely never got released in China (was banned). We can rather safely assume that SDU never got an official release in China as the Hong Kong film industry operates with a different rating system and censorship practices. In China, there is no official, legalised rating system for films - it is, to my knowledge, one of the only countries not to have one in the modern day. This is never a good sign as, if a country has no way of rating films, their censorship practices will be black and white; a film is allowed or banned; it must be suitable for everyone or will be seen by no one (at least in a cinema or on official streaming sites, DVD, etc). We have explored the Hong Kong rating system previously through A Chinese Torture Chamber Story, but SDU can only be seen by audience members aged 18 or above - which doesn't give it a good chance at all of not being banned in the mainland. Furthermore, SDU contains a gay character and a plot strand that not only celebrates and supports him finding a prostitute, but he has a visible erection for the vast majority of the film's run-time. In China, whilst homosexuality is not illegal, the expression of homosexuality is pretty much illegal on film and television. It is then this that apparently makes SDU, much like others in the wave, defiant in some way.
I am somewhat sceptical of the assertion that SDU and other vulgar comedies defy Chinese culture, politics and its norms as Category III movies (some of which make SDU appear childish) have been extant for decades now. It is possible that the film's popularity signifies a growing acceptance of Hong Kong's industry laws and its freedoms, but my general knowledge on the industry and culture is far too limited to speak much to this. Alas, seen as such, SDU does open up a space requiring more research and thought.
That said, to return to the film itself and its content, SDU is not particularly special or competently constructed. As implied in the beginning, this is generically familiar, and so appropriates tropes, a tone and plot beats from Hollywood libidinal adventure films that have risen and fallen in popularity cyclically since the 50s. SDU shares a particular connection with the contemporary incarnation of the libidinal adventure à la the teen, stoner and party comedy. It then predictably and sarcastically takes an outcast and failing group of people, sets before them a goal emergent from the 'norm' and desire (everyone seems to want to have sex, to get drunk, party, etc.) that challenges persona constructs, revealing more subtle struggles of self that unify the band of friends. The basic assertion of the narrative is that the higher self is discovered by indulging in the chaos of pleasure and social pressures constructed without regard for the personal psyche. In such, SDU - like American Pie, Hang Over, Eurotrip, Superbad, Wedding Crashers, Due Date, etc. - use pleasure, vice and stupidity as a fire that burns away the frailty of a weak individual whilst catalysing the strengthening of their irrevocable self. Put more simply, chaos teaches characters in libidinal adventures how to be themselves. Where SDU falls short in this respect is in its inability to construct particularly human realisations for characters and particularly striking or funny chaos for them to fall into. In short, this is merely satisfactory in all aspects, but nonetheless a potentially significant film that gives some insight into its cultural and industrial context. For that, SDU may be worth watching.
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Previous post:
End Of The Week Shorts #96
Next post:
End Of The Week Shorts #97
More from me:
amazon.com/author/danielslack
