A movie that released 14 years ago, yet the sentiment lives on like the fresh blooming of a hawthorn flower. My nature has scarce attachments to true-story films, but I stumbled upon this film out of boredom. I wanted to feel something, something new. A few things bothered me at first: there was barely any background music, the lighting was dark, and the slow pacing inclined my impatience to check the timestamps every 10 minutes. These impressions all dispersed in an instant by the hands of the plot's historical and emotional insightfulness. Sun and Jing's love story gave us a glimpse at life during China's cultural revolution movement. I harbored little memory of it from my history course, but my eyes have truly been opened to just how scant their freedom was. Having an opinion could put you in jail or under probation. One wrong move, thinking of a future is the last thing people think of. Everyone sacrifices a bit of their humaneness just to see a tomorrow. But ironically, humans will still yearn ways to stay human. I was at the edge of seat watching Jing and Sun's love story unfold. My heart especially goes for two scenes. First, the scene where Sun cuts his arm so Jing could receive medical care on her foot. The show initially displayed wholesome interactions between the two, so imagine my surprise when I watched this guy start to bleed quite a lot just for a girl he had met recently. Secondly, the ending. Sun dies of leukemia. I cannot tell you how tearjerking this was. He stuck a photo they took together previously up on the ceiling before his last breaths. His body was pale and inhumane, yet he shed his last tear after hearing Jing's voice. It was an ending I never expected, but still realistic considering the medical knowledge they had back then. One last note: I really admired the touch of characterism they gave for Sun's mother. How before she ended her own life, she wanted die looking pretty. It meant his mother cared about her reputation, but I guess it was just too unbearable at some point. Overall, I think all walks of life should watch Under the Hawthorn Tree once in their life. It reminds us of our roots. Even if you may not share the culture, the message remains universal: to realise gratitude for the freedom we swim in everyday, which was unfortunately something Sun and Jing never had.

Read More