Time: 8:50 pm
Location: Cathay Cineleisure
Kaki: SY & JoC
Rating: 4
Language: Chinese
Synopsis:
Adolescence is like a heavy rain. Even though you catch a cold from it, you still look forward to experiencing it once again. Ko-Teng has several close friends who had a crush on Shen Chia-Yi. Those friends of Ko's thus moved in unison from Ching Chengs junior high school straight into the senior high school division in pursuit of her.
Naughty in nature, Ko was ordered by their homeroom teacher to sit in front of honor student Shen for her to keep close tabs on him. The two hadn't hit it off at first but Ko gradually fell for Shen, who was always pressuring him to study hard. On the other hand, Shen became impressed by the contrasting values Ko represented. Ko started pursuing Shen but Shen remained hesitant.
After graduation from senior high, Ko and Shen almost became a couple but the deal was spoilt by a dukeout competition organized by Ko. Growing up together to witness their beloved Shen walking down the aisle to become someone else's wife, these boys have learned their coming-of-age lessons and continue to pursue eachs happiness.
Review:
I know, this is probably a cultural thing and possible biased... how come some Taiwanese flick get 4 stars, while Marches of Ides get 3.5 right?
Well, sometimes, it is about how much you identify with a particular subject topic, with how close you feel to the movie, and how authentic the movie is. This is a heartland movie, that somehow, despite the cultural differences between Taiwan and Singapore, does bridge the divide. For me, this movie left me with so many thoughts and realizations on how far gone my youth is.. that it deserves a 4.
The exploration of adolescence, although distant from me, is done with an extremely delicate touch. It serves to bring back memories of my own secondary school years. And while the movie is filmed from a guy's point of view, there are still many things that I can identify with. For e.g. even in secondary school, I was asking, what's the point of learning differentiation and integration? When or how will I ever be using it in future, how can you say that you are preparing me for life and work using differentiation and integration?
We sort of all come up with our own theories, or simply just accept that, yes, differentiation and integration will improve something within us, e.g. help us be logical, or help us broaden our way of thinking, help us understand complex stuff, forces us to use our brains more, whatever that may be. The movie invokes flashes of my thought process and memories back then...
Of course, there are areas that I cannot quite identify with, which I felt was sad, but also something which is true and which I accept, that is... I am, was, and seem doomed to be, the best friend. While everyone was courting "Shen Chia Yi", I was always that good friend. The girl that the guys will befriend, so that they can get at my friend. Sigh.. SIGH!!! Like I said, good or bad, this movie brings back memories. Always the bridesmaid, never the bride.
I would say, go watch the movie, it's still running at selected cinemas, it's really good. While I suspect that being a Chinese would help you identify a lot more with this movie, even non-Chinese would be able to immerse yourself in the world of youth, and of the funny, meaningless and wasteful indulgences that marks our youths.
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