3.5/5 stars
At a time when the genre has become a convoluted mess of high-concept notions looking to reinvent the adolescent love story, this simple tale of a young man exploring his first love’s homeland proves surprisingly effective.
The only curve ball in Fujii’s nostalgia-fuelled tale is that his contemplative protagonist hails from Taiwan, which provides the setting for the film’s numerous flashbacks.
We also learn that, 18 years earlier, Jimmy had a Japanese girlfriend, Ami (Kaya Kiyohara), when working at a karaoke bar in his hometown, Tainan.
Ami was travelling through Taiwan at that time when she lost her passport and was forced to pick up some casual work. Despite not knowing much Chinese, she lands a summer job at a rundown karaoke establishment, where an 18-year-old slacker named Jimmy uses the perfunctory Japanese he picked up from watching anime to help her settle in and learn the ropes.
Over time, the pair develop feelings for one another, but Ami perpetually keeps Jimmy at arm’s length. She claims to have a boyfriend waiting back home and vows to pursue her dream of travelling the world.
Ami also insists that Jimmy fulfil his ambitions, urging him to enrol in university. Something, however, does not seem quite right.
There are precious few surprises on offer here, and even the most inattentive viewer will deduce Ami’s true motivations within the first few minutes of Fujii’s film.
Nevertheless, the writer-director dutifully unspools his reverently formulaic story without clarifying the inevitable until the final reel.
Conversely, it is Hsu, particularly in his younger scenes, who seems incapable of expressing himself effectively. Emotional immaturity, however, is another essential ingredient in this kind of love story, where the lessons learned all too late provide the motivation for all of us to keep on living.
Those willing to embrace, rather than endure, these tropes would do well to keep tissues close at hand.