"Queen of Tears" officially surpasses the ratings of "Crash Landing On You"
Okay, so I've picked three movies out that I think everyone should watch at least once. They are all Taiwanese movies for no particular reason other than the fact that I wanted to suggest movies with a certain feel, and all three of these movies have that certain feel to them: slower-paced, excellent writing, acting, and cinematography, and a little different from your average movie. They are kind of artsy and just lovely to watch. These are not your typical rom-coms, they are just good movies. Period.
Description: Singing (Nikki Hsieh) lives with her mother on the Taiwanese island of Kinmen. In a constantly recurring dream, she meets a man. She can neither recognize him nor does she understand the words he shouts at her. Singing works on a ferry boat where she meets a young soldier who claims that he will be her boyfriend one day. Initially, she doesn't believe him, but it turns out that he is right. "All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream." This quote by Edgar Allan Poe might well be the motto of Hou Chi Janʼs first feature film. On the narrative level, several dreams overlap and break up the story line as well as the chronology of the film, until it appears as if not even the dreamers themselves can be sure at which dramatic stage of the story they are at a given moment. Hou Chi Jan expertly manipulates narrative levels and genre elements. Dream and reality blend into one. One Day resembles a poem made of light, color, water, and emotion, telling a melancholy love story in modern-day Taiwan.
Genre: Romance, Drama, Sci-Fi Year: 2012
Why I loved this movie: This movie is shot beautifully. It's a gorgeously made film. IMDB calls it "a visual love poem of magical realism." It's very surreal and dreamlike. Yes, it might be a little hard to understand or follow along at first, but everything should make sense in the end. As soon as I finished it, I remember watching it again so that I could pick up on things that I might have missed the first time around. It ends up being a brilliant, tragic love story. However, this is the movie to watch, even if you're not into romance because it has so much more to offer!
Description: Two deaf sisters support each other, while the older Xiao Peng (Michelle Chen) attempts to become a swimmer for the Deaf Olympics. Younger sister Yang Yang (Ivy Chen) stands nearby ready to support her in any way possible. A young man named Tian Kuo (Eddie Peng) comes by delivering lunch boxes to the swimming team. He takes an interest in the younger sister Yang Yang and soon a relationship develops between the two. But when younger sister Yang Yang realizes she has been drifting away from older sister Xiao Peng she breaks off her relationship with Tian Kuo...
Genre: Romance, Drama Year: 2009
Why I loved this movie: This is such a wonderfully shot, simple film. Throughout most of it there is no dialogue. I have a personal fascination with sign language. Before I started watching Asian dramas it was the language I had always wanted to learn, and there is a lot of sign language throughout the film. However, since most of us are so used to reading subtitles anyway, I don't see that as too much of a problem. This movie is about two people naturally falling in love, with a slightly humorous misunderstanding between them. It ends up being a cute and sweet love story!
Description: College student Shi (Angela Baby) has a terminal illness. There are experiences she knows she’ll probably never have, like falling in love. So when an old high school crush named Gong (Mark Chao) suddenly resurfaces, she is surprised and swept away by his interest in her. Because side effects of her medication cause Shi to suffer short-term memory loss, she recounts everything onto a cassette tape to remember the details of their precious time together. What Shi doesn't know is that her mother, wishing to give her a chance to experience romance before it's too late, actually hired Gong to pursue her.
Genre: Drama, Romance Year: 2012
Why I loved this movie: Yet another good romance! This one has some sad moments throughout and tends to be a bit more angsty (which I love!) compared to the other two. I so enjoyed watching the love grow between the two main leads, especially from Gong towards Shi. After watching this I thought I should go watch ...Ing because First Time is the remake of the Korean movie ...Ing. However, I have yet to make it through ...Ing, I just loved First Time so much!
In Conclusion: Okay guys...there you go. Three beautiful films. Each have their own unique stories. Each are worth giving a shot.
If you've already seen the movies, what did you think? If you end up watching one later, I still want to know what you think! Enjoy! :)
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