Your Name Engraved Herein was a masterpiece for the ages
Such a beautiful story between two adolescents. The ambiance, the acting, and the pure love between them set the scene nicely as we follow their hearts and actions. Though this was a sad movie to follow as they battle with internal homophobia and oppression, their reunion settles a sweet ending as their young souls finally find peace in their aged bodies, reminiscent of the innocent love they once had.Definitely a rewatch for me, and also a sob fest!
Much love to all of those with similar stories as Jia-han and Birdy, and to the old bodies with innocent souls. Queer love is never easy (written from a queer person). But those two had bravery and love, even if it failed at some moments
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Don't Watch If You Cry Easily
Maybe I'm scoring this so high because I'm emotional right now, but all I want is an ending where Bridy and Jia-han end up together ㅜㅜ! Though it takes a bit to get me crying, I got misty-eyed for a little with this movie. The soundtrack was great, and the movie was amazing! It was a little hard to follow at times, but when I got confused, it was explained quickly. When Jia-han called Birdy and played him the song through the pay-phone, it was heartbreaking yet so tender. I was often talking to the characters as if they could hear me, and the scene with the old man and Jia-han made the protective older sister in me scream! In the bit where the boys were sitting on the rock together, the narrator says, "We agreed to study for the entrance exam, and then never saw each other again." It had me yelling at my laptop, "No, let them be happy!'. As a Canadian, it was cool to see the ending bits be in Montreal(?)! (Even though I'm from BC). And at the end when Jia-han invites him up for a drink at the place he was staying at and then birdy declines; just heart-shattering. I kept saying, "Don't run away again!". And then when they kept saying 'Goodnight' and I remembered when that other girl had said it meant, I (wo), love (ai), you (ni), love (ai), you (ni), I gasped out loud. The first 15 minutes with Jia-Han's friends beating up that other boy made me pause the movie and say out loud to myself, "I don't know if I'll be able to make it through this." But I did. In 1987 I know it wasn't uncommon for things like that to happen - hell, it probably still happens now - but it still kinda shocked me. I would 100% recommend this movie to people!Was this review helpful to you?
How does one even objectively review such a movie?
We are dropped into mid-conversation an injured high school student is having with a christian father about his “love quarrel”. And yet that conversation isn’t just between these two characters; that conversation, playing out throughout this movie, is between this movie and the audience.“Why is it a sin to love someone?”
“So you can like girls, but I can't like boys? Is your love bigger than the love I give? Tell me. What's the difference between your love and mine? Tell me the difference!”
“Help me go to hell then. I'd rather go to hell now. Don't all homosexuals deserve to go to hell? Maybe more people would understand me in hell.”
With this conversation alone, the movie critiques society, religion, and our heteronormative understanding of “love”.
Set in the 80s, every time Birdy and JiaHan are alone, you too start worrying for their safety, hoping for their happiness, and mourning their love. Just like they don’t dare say their feelings out loud, the movie too, for quite a while, doesn’t explicity announce them as more than friends. But you, as a viewer, notice it so easily.
“When I looked at her (him), she (he) was already looking at me too.”
“If what you give me is the same as what you give to others, then I don't want it.”
You notice, as they themselves come to terms with their feelings, and then decide to hurt each other in order to protect each other. And oh, it is devestating.
And then, you smile as you hear them tell each other “wanan” at the very end of the movie, again and again, because “good night” (晚安/wanan) would never mean the same again.
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Real. Beautiful. Heartbreaking.
"The tide kept rising. I really hoped this would be the end of the world."In a time of turmoil and a world that is starting to change, Jia-Han and Birdy start to discover themselves and their feelings for each other. Predominantly based on the director's own experiences, it's a story about love and heartbreak. A story about discovering who you are in a world that doesn't accept it. A story about a first love, that is both heartbreaking and beautiful.
When emotions were running high, what really tied everything together was the music. Titled "Your Name Engraved Herein," just like the movie, it is a beautiful song that is perfectly interwoven into the story.
Before I go, I would like to add a small note about something I read in the director's interview. The director, Liu, whose life the movie is based on, did not play the trumpet like Jia-Han did, he played the flute. They made the change, because "the trumpet has a sound quality of wanting to say something, but not being able to get it out."
I absolutely loved this movie. So watch it and I hope it moves you the way it moved me.
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10/10
I don’t know why this does not have a 10/10 rating … the rating do no justice to the movie … totally a must watch. Not only for bl fans but for movie watchers in general .. if birdy and ji han do not make your heart hurt ..you’re heartless 🩷Everything I say from here is bullshit coz I needed 300 words to publish review
The pacing of the relationship was a little different than your typical BL, and the acting was on point. There are a few different reasons why I wouldn't consider this a BL, the most prominent being the absence of clear seme/uke (masculine/feminine) roles. The two lead characters are well-crafted, and the emotional complexity of their relationship far transcends most BL story lines. I would even consider going back to the theater just for one particular scene; which, although technically a sex scene, accomplishes everything without showing anything. I've been thinking about the passion and emotion of that scene all day.
I feel like this film includes all the great elements of a BL series, but removes the saccharine and adds a plaintive historical setting. The music includes a classic Taiwanese pop song as well as a new song, which includes the film's title. The inclusion of both neatly represents the time jump of the story. This film is a must-watch, and I hope it gets the international attention that it deserves. Both BL and cinema fans alike will enjoy it.
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Geography 101
I was wondering why Father Oliver talks about his past in Montréal because the actor is French (he says a few french words and his accent gives him away). It finally made sense to me in the credits : the film is dedicated to the memory of "Father Père Robert Massé" (since Père means Father, it's like saying "Father Padre Gonzales" for a Spanish priest). This French-Canadian priest, born in 1941, belonged to the Clerics of Saint Viator congregation and spent many years in Taiwan where he taught music (many other Viatorians taught music). He was born in Saint-Barthélémy, a small city 80 km from Montréal. He did go back to Canada later in life but probably not to live with his lover since he was active as a priest until his death in 2013. You can see a picture of him at https://viateurs.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/messe-commemorative-robert-masse.pdf(Other linguistic detail : as a French-speaking Canadian, the priest's name would be Olivier instead of Oliver. )
I smiled at some details from the Québec sequence at the end of the movie. Chang Jia-han visits a gay bar in Québec City during daytime, then visits the Niagara Falls and is back at the gay bar in the evening (OK, probably not the same evening because he's not wearing the same shirt). He must own a supersonic jet because the Niagara Falls are 900 km away from Québec City. We also see two lesbians who seem to spend all their time at that bar because we see them in both sequences. And why does the manager ask Chang Jia-han to leave because he's about to close, while other customers are still at the bar ? The last scenes were filmed at the Place Royale in Old Québec where a short scene from Steven Spielberg's Catch Me If You Can was also shot (though it is supposed to depict Montrichard in France).
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The movie set in 1987 as martial laws in Taiwan had ended. The movie perfectly captured on how LGBT relationships in the 80's would have looked like. Jia-han and Birdy battling in a homophobic society when at that time not everyone (especially same-sex couple) was allowed to express their love and affection. This is why I felt so attached with them. Their relationship might not always about happy moments, but we got to see their struggle, confusion, and suffering. The acting and the chemistry between them are the strong points of this movie. As for the plot, some parts felt like out of the place. Especially with the constant jumping between flashbacks and current time during the first and second act. I felt some scenes were being cut, so it resulted for some parts were confusing. For favorite scene, it would be the phone scene. It was phenomenal. I felt hurt. You could felt the pain. The acting between them on this scene was incredible. The music theme was also my favorite thing of this movie. And for the final act? I don't know, from second act to third act was kind of boring, but the execution of the ending was beautiful & bittersweet. It reminded me of the ending of Wong Kar-wai's Happy Together. If you have watched Happy Together, you might know this ending was very similar to it. What is it with Niagra Falls and LGBT-themed movies from either Hongkong or Taiwan??? Not only the ending scene that reminded of Happy Together, but also the cinematography and the color grading. But don't get me wrong, I like both aspects (the cinematography and the color grading) on this movie despite on how similar to Happy Together.
Maybe I will re-watch this again after I read further about Director's story because this movie was based on his real experiences.
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This story engraved in my heart...
This movie really engraved deeply in my heart like a tattoo, that no matter how many more years or how many more BL i watch, there's nothing can compared to it. Call it a BL is not justify it genre, instead of BL, i would call it a genius piece of Queer media, since it doesn't just talk about love between two boys, rather its show us the reality of how difficult and heartbreaking society make queer people go through just because we want to live as the way we are. People that brave enough to express who they are get push to the ground and those that hid themself among normal people ended up hurting everyone around them and get to lived their life with regret.I still ended up crying every time hearing the OST, its such a beautiful song, 10/10.
And also the movie seems like its manifested on the actor themself since after the promotion period ended they are not keep in touch for a few years already, i don't know what going on with them but as a fans i really hope there will be a day that i see these two people together again. TAT
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Life
I watched this movie for the first time 2 years ago and t has been my favorite movie ever since. I am so sad that the movie isnt that famous internationally as it shows such an important moment of history. It shows the struggles of teenagers, the excitement of youth, love, fear and so much more. I cant even put into words how much this movie means to me and has affected my life. I think everybody should watch the movie atleats once in their lifetime.The music alone is so beautiful it pulls you in instantly and makes you feel nostalgic and emotional. The cinematography itself gives you a feeling that you experinced everything that happens yourself.
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I'd say real story of gays
Every single thing about this film is beautiful. It’s heartbreaking and I think there’s a few films that just stay with me. it speaks to how well written and how powerfully acted it is because the storyline is not complicated. But you feel every emotion of the characters.the lines from this movie are gut wrenching. when jia hang said "so you can like girls but I can't like boys, is your love bigger than the love I gave?" after that i started thinking about my life and yeah obviously we gay can relate w him.
The phone box scene is just awful. When one of them says “how was I to know what the world would be like” it just hurt my heart. I love this film and it broke my heart but still I rewatch it over and over
I'm glad to see people are still finding this movie.
FUN FACT : this film based on the true story and real-life experiences of its director, Patrick Liu, particularly his first love at a Catholic boarding school in Taiwan during the late 1980s.
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The face that this is based on a true story makes the story even more sad. To make matters worse, they never meet again (unlike the movie). You know this movie made you feel numb after watching it when you spend 3 hours discussing the plot and your opinions of the movie with your bf (and force him to watch it so he can feel the same sadness you had to endure). The cinematography was amazing and the original song was amazing in terms of summing up the whole angst scene. My only dislike was how even in the end birdy was so nonchalant idk. Was this review helpful to you?
A moving title with room for improvement in the editing department
I am left conflicted after watching this movie.This is a universal story, a tale of forbidden love and the path to self-acceptance. Even being set mostly in the period right after Taiwan's martial law was lifted, the movie depicts the reality of many queer experiences around the world. If you are part of the community, the story of Jia-Han and Birdy will likely resonate with you at some level.
The cinematography was beautiful, and the story was intimate and realistic, with a message that moved me. However, I am not particularly fond of the forced/chopped transitions that were a bit confusing. The timeline jumps all over the place: there are several places in which the story jumps to a conversation Jia-Han has with the priest and back again. This conversation, although pivotal for the plot, interrupts the pacing of the movie. By the tail end of the film, we flash forward to 2020, but we jump back to the 80s and forward to 2020 again. Some scenes are a bit dragged out with silences that do not always manage to convey any emotions.
Overall, even if the editing didn't sit with me particularly, I would say that the story is worth a watch.
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