Inclubabu
Plot so thin, it passes unnoticed.
Blake Rivera
If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.
Darin
One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.
Venus Attack
The first glimpse of this lovely film was through its music video by Cheer Chen, one of my fav Taiwanese singers, and the footages just grasped my attention so much that I wanted to catch it for the longest time. Starring one of the cutest boy actors who were up and coming during that time, this was another good reason to watch too. But alas, it actually took me more than a year after the movie was released that i finally watched it, sadly thru VCD by a good friend.OK, it's basically about an awkward love triangle story on 3 17 yr-old kids ,with lesbian elements in it to add to the flavour. But if you look at it in a different angle, it's just a pretty innocent love story and the chemistry between the 2 main leads are the main factor that keeps the attention going. With the boy's straightforwardness and the girl's sexual confusion, it brings you back to school days where crushes are aplenty and some peculiar actions done by you or others that are just not explainable at all.There are some classic lines and performances by the 2 leads which are unforgettable and the story engages our attention with the tensions and struggles we face while growing up, lots of questions nobody can answer and lots of emotions waiting to explode out from our young minds. The music is great too with a sort of sorrowful touch to match the teens' loss, in terms of love, innocence and youth.A simple story beautifully shot and strongly cast leads, makes it an unforgettable piece of work and lastly, I'll end with the classic line from the film 'If one day you start liking guys, please let me be the first one to know'. Sigh! So sweet.
ralph bell
I went to see this by chance one wet afternoon after work and came out feeling great. It's a quirky little gem that carries you along and reminds you of the innocence and emotions you felt as a teenager. It does this in a manner that is totally authentic to the culture from which it comes and reminds us of our own cultures loss of identity.The male character is interesting as he is initially manipulated as a naive male teen by the lead female (who is lesbian), but later metamorphosis's into a strong and true friend who we could all use. I loved the bit where they sit on their bicycles next to each other in the traffic and watch each others faces in between inching alternatively ahead of each other.
hypersquared
Upon seeing it at the AFI Fest, Yee Chin-yen's "Blue Gate Crossing" instantly became one of my favorite pictures of 2003.The premise is very simple, and yet it is one of those about which the less is said, the better. Simply put, it examines the effect on two girls, best friends in high school, when one has a crush from afar on a boy, and the other actually starts talking to him. The writing is delicate, the performances completely natural and real. Even the look of the movie -- echoing Wong Kar-Wai's elegantly composed, florescent-lit romances -- is stylish without being over-stylized. The narrative is never forced, and yet the ground covered encompasses the awkwardness of a first kiss, the vagaries of sexual orientation, the safety of fantasy over reality, and the nature of friendship -- both the kinds that just happen and those that come about because they've been earned. Finally, the last minute of this movie made a mess of me, I haven't gushed so hard since "Whale Rider."
zetes
"A fantastic film about adolescence"Unfortunately, I doubt many in the U.S. will ever see it. I'm also unsure as to whether U.S. audiences would like it much anyway. I myself loved it - it's very beautiful, one of the best films on that age group I've ever seen.
The story revolves around three teens in a Taipei high school, two girls and a boy. The girls like to think of themselves as BFFs ("best friends forever!") and, like any two best friends, they talk to each other about boys. The third character is the boy one of them likes. The two girls look for him one night and the girl who doesn't like him approaches him to tell him that her girlfriend has a crush on him. The second girl, however, is too nervous and flees the scene. The boy then thinks that the girl who approached him actually likes him but won't say it straight out.
I won't go on with the plot. If I am wrong and it does get a U.S. release, I don't want to be the one who ruins the surprises (I'll let the professional critics do that). Suffice it to say that, unlike American films about high school, Blue Gate Crossing remains simple and honest all the way through. There are no subplots or melodramatic developments. No one gets knocked up or dies in a tragic drag racing accident. We are just left to witness the sweet and beautiful events in the lives of these three characters. The reason that I believe it will never be officially released in the United States is this: it'll seem far too innocent. These kids are meant to be between 16 and 18 years old. For a U.S. audience, their actions and attitudes will seem like those of sixth graders. Perhaps even in Taiwan it will be seen as quaint. One of the film's producers, Peggy Chiao, was present at the screening I attended and she said that the director himself (Yi Chih-yen) was afraid that the film was too sweet. It's really up to 1) distributors and 2) film critics. Let's face it, the first obstacle for U.S. distribution will be nearly impossible to overcome. As for critics, people love to flaunt that critics in this modern day and age are meaningless. That may be true for the latest teen sex comedy, but for foreign films they are of the utmost importance. I am afraid that they will see little but an after school special in Blue Gate Crossing. Let's all hope I'm wrong and that this'll be the biggest foreign hit since Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. 9/10.
