GrimPrecise I'll tell you why so serious

Stevecorp Don't listen to the negative reviews

Stoutor It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

Murphy Howard I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

yduric I must admit, to my great shame, that I was also convinced by this crap upon first viewing: I have to admit, like other viewers pointed it out, that it is nicely filmed, that the complexities and subtleties of the love triangle formed by Jonathan, Carrie and Shane, the main characters of the movie, are well-rendered, and that it plays well with the ambiguity about Shane, one of the two male characters of the film, who may unconsciously harbour the same feelings that Jonathan, the other male character, consciously has for him.Everything plays well for almost the entire duration of the movie, until we arrive at a disgusting moment, that all of a sudden struck me after a second viewing and totally ruins the movie: it is the moment when Jonathan is studying at night with Shane lying drunk on the bed and the latter, (it is a little bit hard to describe an obscene act with polite words, but since foul language is prohibited if you want to write a review on IMDb..) literally FORCES HIS WAY INTO HIM, in other words, RAPES HIM: a proof is that Jonathan's scream at this moment is definitely not a scream of pleasure, but a scream of pain. And what stuns me the most is that the following morning, they so ridiculously express their so-called 'feelings' on the beach, as if nothing had happened. What is all the more disgusting is that if Shane had done the same to Carrie, the female character, everyone would have yelled 'RAPE!', but here, it seems to be perfectly admitted, and the only conclusion that can be drawn is that it is a filthy homophobic message, that is to say: 'Oh, this is not surprising, since they are engaged in a homosexual act, it happens all the time, all of them are more or less rapists!' However, as far as I know, RAPE id a CRIME in the vast majority of the countries of this world, liberal or conservative.So, fundamentally, this crap of a movie, and the fact that it was so well-praised, is only the not-so surprising reflection of the fact that, contrarily to what the politically correct speech try to brainwash us with, in recent years, homophobia has become more and more pervasive and is increasing.Thsi is the reason why, after having initially given a 10 to this crap, I changed it, and gave it a 1. which I think is far more appropriate...

TOM O'LEARY In a perfect world actor Hsiao-chuan Chang would be a star. He is the most subtle and sexiest actor I have seen in decades. His face is a knockout---especially his perfect lips. But the innocence he brings to his character is heart stopping.Eternal Summer is a subtle and sexy Taiwanese movie that is beautifully directed and written by Leste Chen. Every scene and camera shot is perfection.I found myself going back and watching scenes over and over again---especially, of course, the highly erotic love scene between male actors Bryant Chang and Hsiao-chuan Chang.Gorgeous. Sexy. Subtle. True.Bravo.

Glenn I agree with the other review that this film is very moving. It is not a perfect film but I enjoyed it very much. The music is rather syrupy which lends to the film's tear jerking nature. But the story is very well done and the performances of the leads are very strong and they do have very good chemistry. I'm not sure that the sex scene really made a whole lot of sense to me and there seemed to be a fair amount edited out of the story which might have made the film better and fleshed things out a bit more. I think the characters are rather relatable for most gay guys. I certainly had my share of straight friends who I was in love with over the years. And I liked the way the story is told from the beginning of their friendship. I wasn't sure if Carrie was supposed to be the same girl as the one at the beginning who gets her hair cut by Shane. Definitely worth seeing.

ken_lee54 Movie Review: Eternal Summer (2006) By Ken LeeThis movie was a box office success in its native Taiwan when it was released late last year, garnering 4 nominations in Taiwan's Golden Horse Award along the way, and an eventual win for one of its male leads (Bryant CHANG Jui-chia, or ZHANG Ruijia in pinyin, who plays Jonathan KANG Zhenxing in a nuanced performance repletes with all the requisite repressed troubled mood), though a nod for its other male lead (Joseph CHANG Hsiao-chuan, or ZHANG Xiaoquan in pinyin, who plays the other-worldly Shane YU Souheng with tremendous vigour and enough *bling*), for the role of the high school jock and the object of desire of Jonathan, will be just as pleasing. But the movie's success is less sterling in HK, where it just opens, presumably because movie-goers here typecast it with yet-another-melodramatic-Taiwanese-film association, and one with GLBT-theme at that, which is a shame, for it deserves a wider audience, even as it's one that isn't without minor flaws of its own, as befits the fate of most coming-of-age films helmed by relatively young directors (in this case, Leste CHEN, all of 25).The plot is decidedly simple, and the narrative mostly linear, tracking the friendship and love of its 3 main protagonists ("best friends" Jonathan, Shane, and Carrie, played by Kate Yeung who shines in limited screen time) in their youth, from age 11 in a school in rural Hualian (in 1991) to age 18 (1998) to the college year in Taipei (2005), with all of their ensuing majesty, glory, anxiety, complicity, confusion, pang, angst, and a dreamy quality thrown in. The film will benefit from some minor editing for a more even pace. Original music by Jeffrey CHENG is intrusive at best. These minor quibbles aside, cinematographer Charlie LAM's rendering of the rural locations is thing of pure magic and the theme song by Ah Xin (of the "May Day" rock band fame) blends in magnificently with the direction to which the film eventually takes. A friend asked if this is a tear-jerker to avoid at all costs. My answer to which is that hot and bitter tears may flow, not necessarily because of the inherent sadness of the human conditions, but may be because it deepens our understanding of those who are perceived to be "different" and living on the fringe. And if the measure of a film lies in whether the audience connects with the characters towards the end, and whether it leaves you with the sudden urge to be young and fell in love all over again, then it isn't to be missed; and so it seems "Eternal Summer" is a welcome addition to the growing list of Taiwanese films with GLBT content. Recommended.