In a funny way it becomes a myth by replaying the ancient East Mediterranean myths. While Sanlian is Chengxi’s biological mother, and Ah Jie begins to assume a fatherly role in Chengxi’s life—neither is particularly good at parenting. The explanation of this film is so obvious it makes the movie plot a bit dull (otherwise the movie is great: filming, acting, scenes, atmosphere). Chengxi’s closeted homosexual father recently died of cancer, and his mother Liu Sanlian learns that Chengxi’s father named his male lover Ah Jie as his life insurance beneficiary, instead of her or Chengxi. Though therapists regularly appear in mainstream Western media, you’ll almost never see them in Chinese, Korean, or Japanese movies. THE GENIUS OF MULHOLLAND DRIVE. When Sanlian’s ex-husband passes away, she discovers he has altered his insurance policy, cutting out their son in favor of a stranger named Jay. Yet at crucial moments, they tamp down the film’s excess drama quotient with strategic cinematographic choices. Caroline is an undergrad at Harvard by day, meticulous watch-list curator by night. This perhaps reflects Taiwan’s continuing reputation as the most LGBT-tolerant nation in East Asia. Like I’ve already said for the TV series On Children, The Teenage Psychic, and A Taiwanese Tale of Two Cities—it’s great to see more authentically Taiwanese fare on global streaming platforms like Netflix. Dear Ex is the first Taiwanese feature to join their ranks, and it’s a solid performer that’s already getting lots of international buzz. Though Taiwan isn’t immune from these stigmas, the fact that a mainstream movie like Dear Ex (and also the Netflix-distributed show On Children) depicts psychotherapy in a constructive light hints that Taiwan may at least be ahead of its neighbors. After all the creepy revelations in Jordan Peele ’s Us, he saves one more for the final moments of his latest horror film. One of Taiwan's best films of 2018, "Dear Ex" offers an emotionally complex look at a modern family. Join our 20K+ followers on Facebook and Twitter. By transcending many of Sinophone cinema’s usual romantic cliches, Dear Ex offers a strong performance that makes it one of Taiwan’s best films from the past year. The movie was short and simple but touching. ... L I S T E N this movie fucking shattered me into a million pieces i ,,, i don’t even know where to start,,, the way the story unfolds is so beautiful and the ENDING oh my fucking god i’ve never seen a more simultaneously heartwarming and heartbreaking ending, i was absolutely sobbing. Though Chengxi is the film’s narrator, we don’t actually learn that much about him as an individual. Meanwhile, Jay and Cheng-xi become surprisingly close in their cohabitation, and Cheng-xi’s loyalties grow unclear: “He’s the bad guy, right?” he wonders to himself. Animated hand-drawn doodles appear, superimposed over the real world at Cheng-xi’s moments of flux and crisis. The screenplay was adapted by Mark L. Smith, and, though some may see the twist ending coming from a lightyear away, others may be too wrapped up—pun intended—in present-drama to notice. Where’s Your God Now: Best Pictures Of Bears Killing Kids In The Bible. Dear Ex is a very mainstream movie, and it topped Taiwan’s box office upon its initial theatrical release in November 2018. Here are some answers to … This is the sort of narrative feat for which Chih-Yen and Mag need neither bells, nor whistles. Dialog in Mandarin Chinese. Dear Ex (誰先愛上他)—Taiwan. Outraged, Sanlian decides that she and her son will confront Jay, but Jay proves … As the movie opens, we see Sanlian barge up to Ah Jie’s apartment and rage at him. Mixing flashbacks with present day scenes, the film weaves an intricate picture of each characters’ motivations, identities, and pasts—at least for Sanlian and Ah Jie. Indeed, the directors display a unique knack for rendering human subjectivity with the most basic tools in the toolbox: As the story belongs less and less to Cheng-xi, the visual graffiti of his world gradually falls away. 30 Years Later, Science Fiction Still Owes A Debt To AKIRA | Birth.Movies.Death. He sees Savannah one day and finds out that she married Tim and has been living with Tim and his brother Alan, who suffers from Autism. When the husband who left her three years previously finally dies from liver cancer, Sanlian (Ying-Xuan Hsieh) is forced to confront the realities of her relationship. He’s fed up with Sanlian’s tiger mom-ing, and takes this opportunity to rebel and move in with Ah Jie—much to both adults’ annoyance. All rights reserved. Mysteriously, her son moves in with him. The most obvious sign of this is its direct depiction of LGBT characters and themes. A gem hidden in the depths of the Netflix vault. Us’s Jason/Pluto theory, explained and debunked; Us’s big plot twist, explained; Jordan Peele’s Us — and its ending — explained. Annihilation Ending Explained. Movie Info A teenager becomes trapped in the middle of a bitter feud between his mother and a free-spirited man, who is both the lover and insurance beneficiary of his recently deceased father. When he returns home a lady he's been sleeping with finds out he used memories of her ex-boyfriend to spy on her. When Sanlian's ex-husband passes away, she discovers he has altered his insurance policy, cutting out their son in favor of a stranger named Jay. Part III John's father dies after suffering from several heart attacks. Dear White People season 3's ending revealed more details about the mysterious Order of X, as well as the real identity of Giancarlo Esposito's enigmatic Narrator. But did you know the movie almost had a completely different ending, with the new one being shot just days before the film hit theaters? “At least call me a male lover.” Yet as Chih-Yen and Mag tease out the origin stories of their romance, neither story affords more sympathy than the other. A psychological thriller that deals with philosophical themes, such as the nature of good and evil, as well as the tension between hedonism and nihilism, there's always something to further explore in Naoki Urasawa's magnum opus. When she’s not bingeing Netflix and working out as an excuse to watch reruns of Brooklyn 99, you can find her "reading" (i.e., drinking an overpriced latte while people-watching) at a café near you. Ending / spoiler for The Final Cut (2004), plus mistakes, quotes, trivia and more. “I hate how she’s so pitiful,” Cheng-xi (Joseph Huang) confesses to his therapist when discussing his mother. Beyond a gripping, thought-provoking story filled with compelling acting—Dear Ex also feels like a movie that couldn’t have been made anywhere in Asia except Taiwan. 'The Killing of a Sacred Deer' Ending Explained: Fate, Uh, Finds a Way. Starring Roy Chiu, Hiseh Ying-Hsuan, Spark Chen, and Joseph Huang. She throws homophobic slurs and exhorts how she needs money to send Chengxi abroad to study; meanwhile, Chengxi sulks in the corner silently. We can define a boundary for right and wrong but most of the time, it is just grey. Sort of. “You shameless mistress,” Sanlian says, accusatory. Like Sanlian, directors Chih-Yen Hsu and Mag Hsu steer Dear Ex dangerously close to melodrama. Admittedly Taiwan, with provisional same-sex marriage legislation in place and the second-largest pride parade in Asia, represents a comparatively liberal beacon in East Asia. It also includes supernatural powers. It stars Roy Chiu, Hsieh Ying-xuan, Spark Chen and Joseph Huang.. Dear Ex is, after all, less a coming of age story and more the tale of two ill-fated loves, treated with immense pathos. regularly appear in mainstream Western media, “A Taiwanese Tale of Two Cities” Offers Wholesome Cross-Cultural Connection, Why Anyone Who Cares About Taiwan Should Watch "A City of Sadness". Parents need to know that Dear Ex, a Taiwanese film in Mandarin with English subtitles, is a mashup of emotions surrounding the revelation to a 14-year-old boy that his deceased father was gay and that he left his money to his gay lover. In the last shot of the movie, Alan Hackman looks at himself in a mirror through his own eyes. The True Story Of Annabelle, The Haunted Doll From THE CONJURING | Birth.Movies.Death. As is the case for most teenage boys, this is only the beginning in Cheng-xi’s long litany of complaints about his mother. Released worldwide earlier this month on Netflix, Dear Ex centers around a 13 year-old boy named Song Chengxi. For Truth or Dare, we explore the origin of the cursed game, how the players attempt to break the curse, and what the ending means for a potential sequel.Blumhouse has found a great deal of success in recent years with different takes on the horror genre. It’s a risky decision, too, to depict love stories of different sexualities with such equal sympathy. Aug 8, 2019 The movie opened on October 6, 2006, and was an instant hit. Running time 1hr 40 min. It’s a metaphor, full of confusing symbolism and layers. Hating something and having no power over something are two different things.”. Dear Ex is a very mainstream movie, and it topped Taiwan’s box office upon its initial theatrical release in November 2018. The film received generally positive reviews from critics and was selected as the Taiwanese entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 92nd Academy Awards, but it was not nominated. Another small detail that stuck out from Dear Ex was how many of its flashbacks stemmed from Chengxi talking with a psychotherapist. © 2014-2021 Cinema Escapist, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. "Dear John,” the surprise hit romance that opened over the weekend, might not have been as big a hit if it had the original ending.. “I’m still a guy,” Jay counters. “I hate that she loves money so much.”, His therapist interrupts gently. Occasionally, this lends itself to some narrative confusion. So too do the notes of melodrama, as screenwriters Mag Hsu and Shih-yuan Lu ease Jay and Sanlian from their respective stereotypes — callous rascal and hysterical, overbearing housewife, respectively — and flesh them into a fuller, more human depth of experience. Despite certain setbacks for LGBT rights during Taiwan’s recent elections, Dear Ex‘s mainstream success both validates and further increases Taiwanese tolerance for LGBT individuals. Sanlian begins the movie adamant that she was “first” in her husband’s heart, but meeting and learning more about Ah Jie (whose ringtone is actually Sanlian’s husband saying “husband, pick up the phone”) forces her to question that reality. In 2017, M. Night Shyamalan returned with Split, Jordan Peele released the now-Academy Award-winning … Meanwhile, having to care for Chengxi also compels Ah Jie to empathize with Sanlian’s situation. Dear Ex then alternates between the three characters’ perspectives. Since Chengxi is the living legacy of the man they both once loved, they discover that starting to truly “love” might be the best way to memorialize their deceased lover. However, that de-emphasis may be intentional—while Chengxi and his father both function as sources of tension for Sanlian and Ah Jie’s tug-of-war, it’s Sanlian and Ah Jie that Dear Ex really wants us to learn more about. Dear Taylor. Review: "Ten Years Taiwan" Reminds Us How Taiwan Has Problems Besides China. Of all the characters, Sanlian has the most at stake when it comes to family, and consequently has the most intriguing transformation—enhanced by superb acting that won actress Hsieh Ying-hsuan a 2018 Golden Horse Award (Taiwan’s Oscars) for Best Actress . Are the Huangs in "Fresh Off the Boat" Chinese or Taiwanese? As Jay and Sanlian’s relationship morphs from competitive jealousy to outright animosity, it eventually evolves poignantly into something much more profound: A strange, mutual sympathy for the grief of losing the same man, in ways both very different and very similar. When Sanlian's ex-husband dies, she learns he cut their son from his insurance in favor of a stranger, Jay. Dear Ex (Chinese: 誰先愛上他的) is a 2018 Taiwanese comedy-drama film co-directed by Mag Hsu and Hsu Chih-yen. Dear Ex ; Where to watch. Without giving too much away, the movie’s main narrative struggle and character development arc centers around familial reconciliation, not getting over breakups. “Are you sure it’s hate? Yet traditional attitudes of patriarchy and the domestic union still abound, as evidenced by Dear Ex: Jay faces casual usage of gay slurs and misgendering, especially in at the height of Sanlian’s retaliatory rage. Here, doodling delves into the interior consciousness of a character too closed-off to access otherwise. To help you better understand each revelation in the film's final minutes, here's the ending of I See You explained. Christopher Nolan's latest time-twisting movie can be mind boggling. Cheng-xi’s mother Liu Sanlian (Ying-Xuan Hseih), desperately tries to reclaim her late husband’s money, in order to afford her son’s tuition and the family’s cost of living — a process that alternately entails coercion and attempted blackmail. The Time The Wicked Witch Of The West Was Too Scary For SESAME STREET, Film Crit Hulk Smash: HULK VS. She shoots Bannister's chip. MEGHAN Markle and Prince Harry have told the Queen they will never return as working royals, it emerged today. Visually lush color palettes paint a vividly imagined world: a kitchen, bathed in emerald light; vibrant scarlet wallpaper; the angry red tinge of a drunken bender. In a real-life twist, the movie … Especially in the West, the film’s exploration of modern family and LGBT issues should make it a hit among mainstream audiences. Yet, in spite of its unfortunately translated English name, this Taiwanese movie is neither of those genres. If you judge the movie by its title, Dear Ex might seem like yet another coming-of-age tragi-romance or romcom set after somebody’s breakup. I See You begins with a … This is because most East Asian countries stigmatize mental healthcare, and thus therapists just aren’t that common in real life either.

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