IMDb gave this film a 4.9 and I was a bit apprehensive about watching it. I still did though. My crush on Crystal Liu won out in the end and I have to watch this film if only because I really like her. Thank God I did. This is an awesome film. Let me explain why.
(Note: Don't watch the MV if you haven't watched the film yet since this is the actual ending of the film that was deleted and eventually released due to popular demand. And no, the film wasn't bad because of the deleted scene. It's still good as is. It remains amazing still. - Also, spoiler sorta ahead.)
First, the whole atmosphere, pacing, and imagery of the film reminds me of Koizora (恋空), albeit with less vendetta from the supporting characters. It shows how love unfolds between two strangers, classmates, friends. Yes, it's ordinary. No, love like theirs is not. At least, not in the real world.
Then there's the cast giving life to the characters. Crystal nailed it. I've seen a bunch of her films and series and she always nails her roles. Su Yujin is as calm as the sea but we feel her every time. We feel her melancholy, her sorrow, her giddiness, her happiness, her disappointment with herself. Hell, I felt her conflicting emotions when he asked her if she loved him after all those years and she can't answer. It effing broke my heart. And this is coming from a person who hates (bold, italicized, underlined) female leads who are mute and meek AF especially when it comes to important scenes. I mean, what is so hard about telling the other party that you effing care? Of course there are valid reasons but they're reasons that barely matter mainly because the storytelling made it so; however, in Yujin's case, you know her reasons matter. She made you feel how much it matters.
The lead guy, Kris Wu, is good as well. He reminds me a lot of Koizora's Hiro without the full on bad boy image. (Or there is, sorta. Heh.) He's good with his role as well. Lacking in some scenes. Overbearing in some but his whole attitude makes up for it. I know he was from EXO and I think his role is close to his image so it worked for him.
The other actors such as the asshole friend of lead guy, lead girl's BFF, and sort of second lead guy were good with their roles as well. Particularly, BFF character. She's damn good. Sadly, we never saw her again after in about the last half of the film.
The whole cast delivered to be honest. Minor things such as supposedly rival girl's stricken face after realizing how she's basically nothing to lead guy (finally!!! after freaking years; how slow is the character even?) which could use a little more work but it's okay because we didn't have to see her after that so all is well.
And the ending.
Let me state here how I am an open ending kind of person. I don't just like it, I dig it. It's probably because I'm a perpetually sad person but I like seeing characters end their stories at a crossroad of their lives. I like being left to wonder whether they find their happy endings (which doesn't exist unless the characters die happily; e.g. The Notebook, then fine it does 😜) or not. Whether they chose to live or die. Because that's how life really is. The story doesn't end even after the storyteller ends their storytelling. It goes on and on and on until life itself ends.
Yet, somehow, for this particular story, I wanted to know if he at least found out that she did and does love him. I wanted to know if she was able to tell him. I wanted her to start catching up to him since that's what he's been doing since they first met. I want her to start being a person who takes chances as they come and not be a total risk-averse lead character. I have tons of ideas why I want her go out of that effing comfort zone and one of that is wanting a lead character, her specifically, to not be a person stuck in life like yours truly. I want her to not be me.
Unfortunately, she, again, ran away and he was still the one running to catch her.
That was my main problem with the film. On the other hand, as this was based on a book, maybe the director didn't really feel to be at liberty to change the characteristics of the characters so... ┐( ̄ヮ ̄)┌
P.S. Eff you IMDb, this film deserves a 7.5 and that's that. 😊
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