Us and Them

ian will always love kelly

Out of curiosity i had watch this movie due to Netflix’s suggestion - without knowing that this film will be my fave sad romantic movie ever..Jing Boran and Zhou Douyou amazingly portrayed their characters Jian Qing and Xiao Xiao perfectly..even the soundtrack was also amazing and adds up to the buckets of teard i’ve cried especially when Xiao Xiao read the letter made by Jian Qing for her before he passed away. Im
lost for words on how good this movie is…Will watch this some time again and would definitely recommend this to everyone who wants to know the real meaning of LOVE.

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Of What Could Have Been

Jing Boran is hot on my list now due to his on-going release drama Road Home with Tan Song Yun. Whilst awaiting each episodes release, I decided to look at some of Jing Boran past work and chose a 2018 movie title "Us and Them" and I was not disappointed.

Us and Them tells a poignant love story between Jianqing (Jing Boran) and Xiao Xiao (Zhou Dongyu) who met on a train on the way to Beijing. Two young individuals facing challenges living in the big city. Jianqing eager to make it in the game-maker industry and Xiao Xiao just broke off with her ex-boyfriend. When two vibrant souls meet, all sorts of energy ignite. Of kindred spirit, happiness, company, joy and love. I liked the chemistry of the two main leads, the mood of their love was felt when it was at it's peak and I also felt their pain when their relationship was struggling. This couple happens to be one of those who carried different perspectives when it comes to love in their early 20's. Jianqing equates love to money and success. He thirsts to leave his village and take his father away from the poverty spectrum. He dreams to make it big and shower Xiao Xiao with all the material things like car, houses and comfort of life. At her age, at that time, Xiao Xiao equates love to him being 'present and available' when it comes to giving attention to their relationship. She did not care if he had money or not. She cared more for his sanity, his well being. Eventually, everything implodes. They break up, and neither having understood nor make it clear, the reason to the other party.

In my deepest hope, as I watched, I wanted them to reconcile when they met each other again years later. But, it appeared he has moved on. Married and with a son. The timing of it all. He has made it in life, but at the cost of losing his deepest love. She yearned to have been properly loved and in the end found out that he had always loved her (even when at times, he does not seem to show it) .... seen in the ending of his game.

This is truly a story of, "fated to meet but not destined to be together". The story and the acting was very good and I enjoyed this movie thoroughly. But, will not be re-watching it again.

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can we just appreciate true love

Just a beautiful movie that shows what true love means and what forms it can take. That it's not only romantic, but also love in a friendship, between family members, or ex-lovers. That as you grow older, you realise, some relationships were meant to be temporary, leaving that bitter-sweet aftertaste, not necessarily meaning that there is no love left.

A well-structured storyline and amazing acting! I loved how easily I was dragged into the world of the main characters, to the extent that I sometimes felt uncomfortable, with how closely I could see their day-to-day lives and struggles. Almost, as if I was there, next to them, watching from metres away.

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Perfectly imperfect.

I am blown away. I’m not sure if it was because I knew nothing about the film or didn’t know what to expect, but what I found was a true gem.

Us and Them is a bittersweet decades long romance about two people meant for each other but can’t seem to find the way to figure out how to be together and achieve their dreams at the same time. Yes, this is a story of young love but it’s also a story about family and those people who we choose to be part of our lives that changes us forever.

This film is also the directorial debut of Rene Liu, a singer-songwriter-actress from Taiwan. It’s hard to believe this is her first time behind the camera because she manages to tell a multilayered story, of everyday normal people, and the complexity of their relationships with amazing ease.

It helps that film counts with the participation of two of Asia’s raising stars, Jing Boran and Zhou Dongyu, and veteran chinese actor Tian Zhuangzhuang.

While Jing and Zhou bring out the most passionate and restlessness feelings of youth, it’s on Tian to be the steady and unyielding presence of family love. The three managed it with such a deep understating of who their characters are that you can’t help but feel connected to what they are going through.

I don’t want to tell you more because the movie is told in a way, going back and forth through time, where you are trying to figure out how this love story ends until the very last minute. I highly recommend everyone to watch this beautiful story, I promise you will enjoy every minute of it.

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I wish...

I have never wrote a review here, but I felt the need to write a review for this movie.

From the great acting of our two lead actors, to the cinematography of this movie, everything left its mark on me. The end broke me and left me crying like a baby, making me rethink all of the relationships I had until this moment.

I wish to never take for granted any person I have and will have in my life ever again. I wish to give all the love I have in me to the people around me. I wish to never forget to say "I love you" or "I'm sorry". I wish to live my life with all it gives. Even if it's happiness, sadness, love, or sorrow. But I wish to not live with regret anymore.

I hope everyone who will watch this movie will wish the same things as me. Even if you don't like the story, or the actors, or anything about it, I just wish you will at least take this lesson from it.

Also, watch the movie until the end, with the end credits as well.

*I just noticed that this movie was released on my birthday. I'm going to take this as a sign.*

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comforting and depressing

“You missed me too much. So, it was your imagination.”

When grandpa called his wife Xiao Xiao… but his wife isn’t Xiao Xiao…

Grandpa’s letter… I almost made it through the whole movie without crying, but then the letter came… I’m very upset now.

This was beautiful yet heartbreaking and the actors played their characters so naturally and masterfully. Time moved so quickly while watching this movie, which means a lot in my book because I'm not a movie person at all. This felt comforting and depressing at the same time, and I liked how his game was represented in the present timeline. The scenes were in black and white because they didn't end up together. I guess the end becoming colorful meant they found peace in their breakup because their love for each other still persisted even if they aren't together? Whatever it is, this movie was beautiful, but I will NOT watch it again😭💗

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what could have been

It's just a simple story that probably happened to millions of people on the planet, but it manages to make my heart aches. Wondering the what could have been or regretting things that have been done. IMHO, The way they pictured a coloured world when they were together and a colorless scene when they are not together, it's a very nice touch. The last scene with the dad's letter is also making my heart aches. Last, the scenes when they are crying and laughing in the car wondering and regretting what could have been, what should have been and the if only scenarios, it's just perfection. Good acting from both of the leads too.

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Desde o primeiro instante, o filme te leva para o túnel de sonhos e realidades de Jian Qing e Fang Xiao Xiao — dois jovens carregados de ambição, esperança e saudade, que se conhecem num trem de volta pra casa no Ano-Novo Chinês e, pouco a pouco, vão construindo juntos um mundo que parece infinito.

As cenas do passado, filmadas em cores, se abrem como um álbum de memórias felizes: os dois rindo juntos, dividindo quartos apertados, sonhando com algo maior. Já o presente, em preto-e-branco, empresta à narrativa um peso de silêncio, de tudo o que ficou no ar — as oportunidades perdidas, os ressentimentos não ditos, o amor que demorou a se reconhecer.

O que me deixa ainda mais abalada é como o filme entorta o que a gente normalmente espera de “amor para sempre”. Aqui, o amor existe — existe de verdade, intenso, palpável — mas não é suficiente. Xiao Xiao e Jian Qing se amam, e esse amor molda partes deles, mas também se desgasta diante do peso da realidade: o trabalho duro, a mudança de cidade, o valor de uma moradia, o pai que cobra, o sonho que vira rotina. É doloroso porque a gente se reconhece nesses dois — quantas vezes deixamos de falar “eu te amo” ou “me desculpa” porque achávamos que dava pra esperar? Quantas vezes deixamos o silêncio crescer onde deveria haver diálogo?

A direção visual é de cair o queixo e também de rasgar o peito. A escolha de cores, o contraste entre passado feliz e presente sombrio, a sensação de espaço apertado em apartamentos baratos e o horizonte grandioso de Pequim contribuem para que você mergulhe de cabeça no mundo interno dos personagens. E não é só paisagem: a atuação de Zhou Dongyu (como Xiao Xiao) e Jing Boran (como Jian Qing) é crua, autêntica — há um tormento escondido atrás dos sorrisos, e você sente cada vacilo, cada afastamento, cada “tentativa de conversar” falhando.

Uma das cenas mais marcantes — e que resume toda a essência do filme — é o momento em que Jian Qing joga seu videogame e vemos Ian, o personagem que ele criou, tentando desesperadamente encontrar Kelly. É ali que o simbolismo atinge o auge: o jogo é o reflexo da própria vida de Jian Qing, um ciclo de tentativas de reencontro com algo que já se perdeu. Quando ele diz que, se Ian não encontrar Kelly, “tudo será sem cor”, entendemos que o preto e branco do presente é a metáfora perfeita para a ausência de amor, arrependimento e desconexão. Essa cena transforma um simples jogo em um espelho emocional — um lembrete de que, às vezes, passamos a vida tentando reprogramar o que não tem volta, buscando um “final feliz” dentro de um código que já foi escrito. É poético e devastador ao mesmo tempo, e faz a gente pensar em quantas vezes tentamos “editar” o passado, quando o que realmente precisávamos era aprender a dizer o que sentimos enquanto ainda havia cor.

Mas – e esse é o ponto que eu mais quero que você sinta – o filme serve pra nos lembrar não esperar demais para dizer que amamos. A vida não espera para comprar ingressos; os sonhos mudam, as pessoas mudam, e o que era cor vívida pode se tornar preto-e-branco se deixarmos o tempo passar. “Se você vir a Kelly, diga a ela que sinto muito” (adaptando a frase pra o nosso contexto) – esse “sinto muito” é tão poderoso quanto um “eu te amo”. É urgente. É agora. Porque talvez amanhã já seja tarde.

No fim das contas, Us and Them não nos dá uma conclusão óbvia ou um “felizes para sempre”. Ao invés disso, nos dá algo mais real: o amor pode ter servido para formar quem somos, não necessariamente para manter-nos juntos para sempre. E isso não é menos belo — é mais humano. É uma despedida, uma compreensão de que, às vezes, amar é deixar ir, ou amar é crescer além do “nós”. É agridoce, sim. E dói. Mas vale.

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