This review may contain spoilers
A realistic depiction of gay life end of the 1980ies...
While nowadays so much BL crap is produced, this is a very serious story about how life was for teens at the end of the 80ies. It's especially important because this movie begins when the martial law ended in Taiwan. They discover themselves, they discover how cruel the world is, discover that the end of martial law does not change people over night and also what role the church played against homosexuals.It's one of the masterpieces Taiwan always produced in the BL-World where the story matters, where the characters matter, where the acting matters and where the production quality, direction and execution matters. All is done so well and all makes sense.
This movie does not have a happy end, so I advise caution before you watch it because it could make you feel terrible, sad or even depressed. Still, it's a masterpiece and leaves a strong impression.
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This review may contain spoilers
The movie set in 1987 as martial laws in Taiwan had ended. The movie perfectly captured on how LGBT relationships in the 80's would have looked like. Jia-han and Birdy battling in a homophobic society when at that time not everyone (especially same-sex couple) was allowed to express their love and affection. This is why I felt so attached with them. Their relationship might not always about happy moments, but we got to see their struggle, confusion, and suffering. The acting and the chemistry between them are the strong points of this movie. As for the plot, some parts felt like out of the place. Especially with the constant jumping between flashbacks and current time during the first and second act. I felt some scenes were being cut, so it resulted for some parts were confusing. For favorite scene, it would be the phone scene. It was phenomenal. I felt hurt. You could felt the pain. The acting between them on this scene was incredible. The music theme was also my favorite thing of this movie. And for the final act? I don't know, from second act to third act was kind of boring, but the execution of the ending was beautiful & bittersweet. It reminded me of the ending of Wong Kar-wai's Happy Together. If you have watched Happy Together, you might know this ending was very similar to it. What is it with Niagra Falls and LGBT-themed movies from either Hongkong or Taiwan??? Not only the ending scene that reminded of Happy Together, but also the cinematography and the color grading. But don't get me wrong, I like both aspects (the cinematography and the color grading) on this movie despite on how similar to Happy Together.
Maybe I will re-watch this again after I read further about Director's story because this movie was based on his real experiences.
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This review may contain spoilers
The face that this is based on a true story makes the story even more sad. To make matters worse, they never meet again (unlike the movie). You know this movie made you feel numb after watching it when you spend 3 hours discussing the plot and your opinions of the movie with your bf (and force him to watch it so he can feel the same sadness you had to endure). The cinematography was amazing and the original song was amazing in terms of summing up the whole angst scene. My only dislike was how even in the end birdy was so nonchalant idk. Was this review helpful to you?
Trailer k filmu mě navnadil na nejvyšší míru očekávání. Přesto, že příběh je dosti hluboký, celkové vyznění snímku na mě zapůsobilo o trošku méně, možná i kvůli mírné roztěkanosti zpracování. Oba herci postav v mladém věku byli moc sympatičtí a herecky na mě zapůsobil Edward Chen (A-han), kterému jsem nejvíce vše věřil. Ve svém mladém věku žil A-han v taiwanské temné době homosexuálů, přesto bojoval za své vlastní city a stal se jedním z těch, kteří proto přišli o své vlastní štěstí, a to si na tomto filmu cením nejvíce. Nutno ale říci, že Taiwan za tu dobu udělal velký krok kupředu v toleranci mužů, co mají rádi muže...
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Lingering Regrets
Well, that was depressing.So how do you differentiate BL from queer art? Because...I see people refer to LGBT films and shows from Asia as BL as if the type of queerness is different from Western ones?! That's a bit weird. Gay is gay everywhere, no?!
Anyway, this is a story of sexual awakening in a crappy era in Taiwan and it's appropriately heartbreaking. You can't really expect all daisies and roses from an era where political and social upheaval are piled on top of dominant prejudices. It's not a cute, fluffy story. So the plot and the characters' characterization are appropriately bleak and raw. It's tragic and heartbreaking, not just due to the circumstances but also because of the regrettable choices made by the characters that make life even harder for them. Then, it is no one's doing but theirs.
I enjoyed this but the experience is bittersweet as the implications of the timeline and the story speak of lost time, irreversible mistakes, and regrets that haunt the characters 30 years into the future. But it's done very well so it feels satisfying to watch the story develop.
That said, I did not love the movie from start to finish. I found the conversation scenes with the priest to be stilted and unnatural. They felt too much like preaching and it made the whole thing awkward. I also disliked the flash-forward in the end; not because of the positive or negative ending but because it felt like over-explanation in a way that was not very graceful. There seemed to be too much conversation. Or the camera was following where it was not meant to go? I don't know, it just didn't feel connected to the rest of the film. It felt like a totally different movie and while I liked the atmosphere and aesthetic of the past (not just visually but the cinematography and the direction choices too) the modern bit felt like your run-of-the-mill indie film...I just didn't like it. It felt like there was a break in the film's flow. Maybe if they had maintained the vibes, I would have liked it better.
The acting...well, actually I watched this because I liked Tseng Jing Hua in a different project and came here for that so I knew the acting was going to be good. But the rest of the cast was great too. I really liked Edward Chen. They kind of break your heart throughout the film.
Music is a big part of this film and so they paid special attention to it. It pays off.
Would I rewatch? I would rather not, to be honest. I hate stories about regret the most. They make me so anxious. So once is enough!
Overall: I guess you can watch it if you don't mind a little heartbreak. It's not a feel-good film but it's also not high-art...still, I think it's worth a watch, for sure. The quality is genuinely high, the story is touching and the acting is moving. You wouldn't feel like you wasted your time. It will be well-spent watching this.
P.S.: A bit of an unrelated tangent but this movie just proved to me once more that with proper crew and budget, Taiwan can save us from certain bad adaptations and censored content...just putting it out there.
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don't watch with close minded people the first time you watch it.
How can they be gay at such a time. How can they defy the church and society. Why would they defy that. How can people not understand that it's not a disease? How could you not believe such love? Why would they want to be gay at such time? How can people say it's not real? these are the type of questions that ran through my mind during the credits. If by then, you still think their emotions aren't real, they you might just be a dense idiot. Hell might just be a wonderful place if it accepts such love.The acting was really great, the actors are so talented(except maybe the western extras. no offense).
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This review may contain spoilers
It is a good movie!
I had been putting off watching Your Name Engraved Herein for way too long. I’d seen some spoilers on TikTok a couple of years ago, so I was kind of hesitant to watch it because I knew it would be emotional and heartbreaking. And yeah, it totally lived up to that. But honestly, I’m really glad I finally gave it a chance.The plot itself is pretty straightforward, but it’s the way the story unfolds that really gets you. It’s set in Taiwan during the late ’80s when being openly gay was still super taboo, and it follows two high school boys, Jia-han and Birdy, as they try to figure out their feelings for each other. The whole time, they’re battling their own fears and the pressure from society around them, and you can just feel how heavy that weight is.
The acting was hands-down one of the best parts. Edward Chen and Tseng Jing-hua really nailed their roles. They brought so much depth to their characters, and even though the movie is only about an hour and a half long, I felt really connected to them. They made the emotions feel real, especially during the more intense scenes.
Speaking of which, the shower scene and the beach scene? Wow. Both were beautifully shot, and you could feel how desperate and scared they both were. In the shower scene, the tension between them was so thick, and you could see how badly they wanted to reach out to each other but were terrified of what that would mean. Then, in the beach scene, it was like all those feelings were on full display — the love, the fear, the confusion. It was heart-wrenching but also really powerful.
That being said, there were a couple of things that didn’t quite work for me. The pacing felt a bit off in some parts. I wish they had spent more time diving into Jia-han’s family dynamics and Birdy’s struggles with dating a girl. These were touched on, but I feel like they could have added more layers to the story if they had been explored further.
One thing I have to mention is the music. The song “Your Name Engraved Herein” was absolutely perfect for the movie. It’s haunting and beautiful, and every time it came on, it added so much emotion to the scenes. It’s one of those songs that stays with you, just like the movie.
All in all, I really enjoyed Your Name Engraved Herein. Yes, it’s sad and heartbreaking, but it’s also so raw and honest. The ending is bittersweet, but it feels real like it fits with the journey the characters went through. If you’re in the mood for something emotional that will leave you thinking about it long after it’s over, this movie is definitely worth watching.
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This review may contain spoilers
Gay people having a sad story once again
Coming into this film I knew that it’s not going to be some wholesome movie where two gay guys fall for each other and live a happy life. So a story between these two ensues and it’s extremely sad, and it delivers it well!Though I was confused sometimes if Birdy was gay at all or not, he just seemed to be a lil too comfortable with his friends (it’s confirmed he’s gay later though).
The movie wasn’t anything special in my opinion, I’ve seen plenty stories where two guys are in an environment where they can’t be who they are so an angsty romance story starts between them.
However the movie is really beautiful and well done in showing their love story. The one thing I liked most is how music is what connected them most and their song in the movie is actually the title of the movie (or just a lyric i’m not sure) but the song is beautiful and i’m definitely adding it to my spotify playlist.
I also appreciate how they made a timeskip and made their older versions reunite, it makes me hope that they continued their love- maybe not since they were hesitant with each other but I think in the end they did try again. Love never expires and i’m sure both of them were waiting to find each other again even after all the years that passed.
Anyway the story is really beautiful, I unfortunately have a very short time span so I kept pausing and stopping the movie which led me to finish it in 2 days so I couldn’t exactly bond with the characters on the level where I would cry on their sad scenes but watching the sad scenes I kept thinking to myself how hard I would cry if only I had connected to them better. Their sad scenes really do tug on your heartstrings.
So sad how love in different forms isn’t accepted. Beautiful film.
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It's just beautiful
Love the storyline, love how it's presented, acting is great, camera work is even better and the chemistry between the main characters is very unique but I gotta add one more thing: the lack of all the "beauty filters" in this series is just beautiful and you don't get to see it in many series (especially these days) which is upsetting. So glad I found this one cause I just started getting tired of all those "sugary sweet" looking series with heavy filters on them so that that the actors look "cuter".. idk it's just nice to see some skin texture, you know? not anime like glossy blurry skin ?Was this review helpful to you?
Beautiful Bittersweet
This one was such a beautifully heartbreaking story. The only criticism I would level at it is that with the ending reunion scene you don’t leave feeling as hopeful as you should. You can’t get away from the feeling that they lost something that they can never get back - the feeling of what might have been. The regret slightly overshadows everything and you leave feeling more bitter than sweet. It’s for this reason I cannot give it a 10/10. It’s a blemish on an otherwise magnificent bl. Like ITSAY, this series can stand up against any mainstream production. It’s another cinematic masterpiece. The young actors are able to convey so much - the angst, the fear, not knowing what you feel, not wanting to accept what you feel, the burden and the expectations, the flawed thinking of youth, the unfairness of the world, and the loss of something precious that can never be re-attained. If I could sum this series up into one phrase, it would be ‘an exhaled sigh’.Was this review helpful to you?
MY HEART
I don't know whether to start sobbing or not. This movie was so heartbreaking and bittersweet. ?It being based on a true story/true events hit me even harder. My heart truly breaks for everyone in the closet and for everyone who never got to experience acceptance and change in their lifetime.
Times may have changed, but for some places and cultures this is still very much a reality. My heart simply hurts so much for every member of the LGBT+ community and the struggles faced.
Thankfully this movie's ending was so sweet and optimistic. This is a must see, but grab your tissues!
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A beautiful representation of life, the good and the bad...
I was not expecting this movie to slap this hard, i was taken in since the first scene.It depicts the struggle, the pain and the need to understand one's emotions, in a way that makes you engaged with each dialogue, questioning how life can be this unfair while all you're asking is for your love to be acknowledged and respected...
The lead actors, made every scene come to life, each and every emotion was shown through their eyes, expressions and actions...
It hurts watching this movie but in a beautiful way.
I highly recommend watching it.
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