Jon Ryberg It is mostly Asian films that take me were this lovely low key love story go. Composed of everyday moments and sentiments. Tempered in tone of voice and in lighting.Note: As I grew up on french love drama as "Un coeur en hiver" and the like of it, I used to think of love stories as earth shaking and tragic affairs and longed for just that dark kick.But lately I think that it is evident that the assuredness that the characters convey in this movie, in being shy and unsure but in being true to this they and the movie convey this: they doesn't exclude me from their universe, their life is like mine. They are like ordinary people, they just do it very beautifully.For me the story is carried by Meng Kerou's (in a sense not fully completed) coming-out, as a hb-person, process. In comparison to European variants of this theme, and I've seen quite a few this last week, I am truly grateful to the auteurs and actors that the movie is so light, in that it doesn't focus severely on guilt or shame, but on the life and sense of life in its characters.After seeing it i feel very warm, although not totally hopeful, and kind of wish that I were Kerou in her coolness, sharpness and quiet honesty. See it, and see it again!

Bigprisc Do you remember what you have done when you are 17? If it is similar to how i remembered mine, then this movie would invoke alot of memories. Isn't life like that: simple, un-eventful, yet confusing and full of uncertainties?I applaud the way the director handled this coming-of-age movie. He managed to touch a really heavy topic like homosexuality without throwing it into our face. He had managed to keep everything simple, with no dramatic ups and downs, but accurately reflect the lives of 17 year olds. The lead characters may seem too sweet and innocent, but pretty accurate to people in Asia.To keep the movie real, the director went to the streets and got the male lead Chen Bo-lin (Zhang Shi Hao) and the female lead Gui Lun Mei (Meng Ke Rou) and all of the other cast. And knowing that they were all first time actors really lifts up the mood of the movie. I say they did a great job. By the way, the name 'Meng Ke Rou' means 'fierce subdue the gentle' (although not the exact words, the pronunciation is similar), which to me is a subtle undertext to her character. The biggest applause goes to Gui who did a great job portraying in Meng's confusion and awkwardness, and her struggle to conform to society's standards.Watch the movie for its simplicity, if you are looking for a plot heavy, technically driven movie, this is the wrong place. One of my fave movies of all times.

Harry T. Yung Some spoilersMaybe it's because I had an over-dose of Korean romances in the last few months, it was exhilarating to watch this Taiwanese gem about coming of age, which I found to be exceptionally refreshing.Very briefly, the story explores the development of the relationship between two high-school kids. She tries to act as the messenger for her best friend who has a crush on him while he is interested rather in her. Then, it gradually comes out that she is troubled by uncertainty of her own sexuality, of whether she is lesbian and in love with her best friend.During the earlier part of the film, it is easy to be fooled by its apparent simplicity and the nearly moronic dialogue. Then, it gradually becomes evident that what the filmmakers have tried to do is to create a very realistic juvenile world. It is then when the film starts to resonate with experiences that we all had once, some recently, some much longer ago.Through completely honest depictions, the characters all of a sudden become very alive. We are also touched by the director's attentiveness, in small things such as the girl nearly tripping over a chair on one of the occasions when she on her way out of the house, something that does happen in real life very often. Two scenes I particularly enjoyed (which is probably also many others' choice) are the `shuffle' scene and the telephone call. The first cleverly shows the mental confrontation and subsequent reconciliation of the two in disruption and subsequent re-arranging of some of the chairs in the assembly hall. The second one, at the beach bon fire at night, shows for the first time deeper emotions of the girl as she weeps over words spoken by the boy not heard by the audience.Behind the superficial simplicity is a great deal of subtlety. The film is open-ended, provoking rather than dictating thoughts, and the ending is delightfully upbeat. In the end, whether this is friendship or love between the two doesn't really matter. With their youthfulness, there will always choices and possibilities.An amazingly wonderful film to watch.

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.