This review may contain spoilers
A Love That Gently Breaks You: Under the Hawthorn Tree
Watching Under the Hawthorn Tree was a deeply moving experience. The performances by Zhou Dongyu and Shawn Dou were absolutely phenomenal — there’s nothing to criticize. Their appearances suited the characters so perfectly. Shawn Dou especially stood out with his warm, honest smile and bright, youthful eyes — he embodied the kind-hearted, genuine boy that Sun Jianxin was meant to be. His presence was both beautiful and quietly powerful.
The cinematography and direction were simple, but that simplicity worked in the film’s favor. The framing, the stillness, the restrained camera — everything felt intimate and sincere. The director did a brilliant job bringing subtle emotions to life.
This is the only Chinese romance film that has made me cry this much — and not just quietly tearing up, but sobbing. The scene where Jing Qiu and Sun lie together in bed, talking softly, was unforgettable. Sun tells Jing Qiu that one day she’ll have a child, she’ll be a mother, a grandmother. Jing Qiu asks, “What about you?” and he says, “If you live well, then I live well too.” That broke me. I cried. And when the final scenes came, I couldn’t hold it back anymore — I cried out loud.
Their love story was “just enough” — never overdone, never exaggerated. It felt real. It was tender, grounded, and delicately portrayed. I especially loved how Sun loved Jing Qiu — in every little way. How he couldn’t help but sneak out with her behind her mother’s back. And then, when Jing Qiu finally tells him she’s thought it through, that she’s ready to do whatever he wants — Sun, like any man deeply in love, of course wants to take that step. And it was one of the rare moments of raw honesty that Chinese romance films don’t often portray — that desire rooted in love. But then… he sees she’s not quite ready, and he stops. He respects her. That moment felt so human, so gentle, and so powerful.
Sun’s love for Jing Qiu was quiet, careful, respectful, and utterly genuine. Even in his final days, he gazes at the photo of them that he’d taped to the hospital wall — clinging to that last thread of love.
Sun passed away. And Jing Qiu would go on with her life. Life must go on. No matter how beautiful or tragic a love story is, it too will sink into the river — just like the hawthorn tree, and the land where they first met.
The cinematography and direction were simple, but that simplicity worked in the film’s favor. The framing, the stillness, the restrained camera — everything felt intimate and sincere. The director did a brilliant job bringing subtle emotions to life.
This is the only Chinese romance film that has made me cry this much — and not just quietly tearing up, but sobbing. The scene where Jing Qiu and Sun lie together in bed, talking softly, was unforgettable. Sun tells Jing Qiu that one day she’ll have a child, she’ll be a mother, a grandmother. Jing Qiu asks, “What about you?” and he says, “If you live well, then I live well too.” That broke me. I cried. And when the final scenes came, I couldn’t hold it back anymore — I cried out loud.
Their love story was “just enough” — never overdone, never exaggerated. It felt real. It was tender, grounded, and delicately portrayed. I especially loved how Sun loved Jing Qiu — in every little way. How he couldn’t help but sneak out with her behind her mother’s back. And then, when Jing Qiu finally tells him she’s thought it through, that she’s ready to do whatever he wants — Sun, like any man deeply in love, of course wants to take that step. And it was one of the rare moments of raw honesty that Chinese romance films don’t often portray — that desire rooted in love. But then… he sees she’s not quite ready, and he stops. He respects her. That moment felt so human, so gentle, and so powerful.
Sun’s love for Jing Qiu was quiet, careful, respectful, and utterly genuine. Even in his final days, he gazes at the photo of them that he’d taped to the hospital wall — clinging to that last thread of love.
Sun passed away. And Jing Qiu would go on with her life. Life must go on. No matter how beautiful or tragic a love story is, it too will sink into the river — just like the hawthorn tree, and the land where they first met.
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