WiseRatFlames An unexpected masterpiece

ChicRawIdol A brilliant film that helped define a genre

Beystiman It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

Zandra The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

jeremy-giroux First of all, if something has to be written about this film, it's about the poetic way the director talks about teenage problem in Asia. The story, about a young man and two young girls is really close to the "2 girls and a boy" type and at the beginning, you can be afraid that the film would be like a boredom teenage movie, but be confident, it's not and so go on watching it... The love story is about teenagers who don't love the right person (the girl who loves her classmate who is also a girl, who loves a young man, who loves the first girl) and the thing which makes it interesting is the fact that the story is not focused on the three people but only on two of them who try to create a false couple (as their love is not mutual and shared). This couple transforms itself in a kind of friendship, born from incomprehension.How sometimes destiny makes us meet some people by chance, those who will be essential to our lives. That's the real topic of this movie. Little by little, the girl, who's afraid to love girls and the guy, who's afraid to be alone start to know each other and to love each other, even if they'll never be a couple. The movie is good because of that way to treat teenage relationships and also by the quality of the image.The work on image is really really good. Some sequences are quite splendid (like the first sequence or the one with the two main characters on bicycles) and the music is also really good (a simple piano theme). The actors are really incredible and fit absolutely their characters.The whole charm of the movie lies in the real fragility of teenage relationships and on how life is taken by these characters : complicated, light and sometimes quite incredibly beautiful.

lost-in-limbo Two Taipei teenage girls who are best friends like to talk about boys at school and one of them has a crush on this boy. Though the boy starts talking to the one who doesn't like him and he thinks she likes him, but there's a twist. This film from Taiwan is a simple but a lavish coming to age story about love and sexual preference, with some nice touches of drama and comedy in the mix. The context of the film is hardly in-your-face or confronting- but subtler in the approach, as it's more on the effect it has on the three teenager's friendships and to what's right in society. There's not much of a story in it, well it does show the confusion faced when teenagers first come across love and that's expressed in the dialogue and in some engrossing scenes- but it does show the lack of plot after an hour or so. Though the characters are well thought out and quite convincing and that's because of the touching chemistry and superb performances from the two leads Lun-Mei Guey as the confused teenager Meng Kerou and Bo-lin Chen as the naive Zhang Shihao and this is what keeps you glued to the screen.As well it looks visually stunning and great in detail, from the school grounds to the nightlife of the city. This is a nicely handled film, without trying to force-feed us the morals of love and sexual preference.

Bigprisc Do you remember what you have done when you are 17? If it is similar to how i remembered mine, then this movie would invoke alot of memories. Isn't life like that: simple, un-eventful, yet confusing and full of uncertainties?I applaud the way the director handled this coming-of-age movie. He managed to touch a really heavy topic like homosexuality without throwing it into our face. He had managed to keep everything simple, with no dramatic ups and downs, but accurately reflect the lives of 17 year olds. The lead characters may seem too sweet and innocent, but pretty accurate to people in Asia.To keep the movie real, the director went to the streets and got the male lead Chen Bo-lin (Zhang Shi Hao) and the female lead Gui Lun Mei (Meng Ke Rou) and all of the other cast. And knowing that they were all first time actors really lifts up the mood of the movie. I say they did a great job. By the way, the name 'Meng Ke Rou' means 'fierce subdue the gentle' (although not the exact words, the pronunciation is similar), which to me is a subtle undertext to her character. The biggest applause goes to Gui who did a great job portraying in Meng's confusion and awkwardness, and her struggle to conform to society's standards.Watch the movie for its simplicity, if you are looking for a plot heavy, technically driven movie, this is the wrong place. One of my fave movies of all times.

up_and_out Yes, this is a Taiwanese "art film"; and it does explore an old and worn theme - coming of age in high school. However, it does so in a tender, unusual way. Additionally, it tells a teen lesbian awakening, still now quite daring material for film from that part of the world. But, it is a sweet film, which really does not come off as being neither artsy nor gay. The characters are common people, yet sensitive and well developed. They come across as average, normal people one can relate to. In short, this is a little gem: simple, very believable, well told, leaving one full of good feelings at the end.