heera

Handong: "What is the point? Death is Death. Everything's over."
Lan Yu: "It's not really over as long as there are memories."

I suppose I wasn't entirely drawn into the script at first, but so many of the frames are just too beautiful and nostalgically mesmerizing. It felt practically given that Handong would leave Lan Yu. Still, it was deeply tragic to look at things from Lan Yu's perspective—being shut out by a non-committal relationship that ultimately leads to such drastic outcomes.

I enjoyed the second half of the film the most, as it delicately highlighted the fragility of their bond. Those shaken, pining eyes, and that lingering, "don't-want-to-take-my-fingers-off-you" touch on Lan Yu beautifully shimmered with Handong's vulnerability and brimming affection.

While the ending felt so inevitable that I wasn't able to feel much about it in the moment, the subtle, deep-seated angst is what totally made the story so poignant.

"When two people get to know each other too well, it's time to separate."

Liu Ye’s brilliant performance elegantly captures Lan Yu's ingrained anxiety and the constant, heartbreaking fear of being pushed aside and treated as a temporary third party in Handong's life. The acting and cinematography were just so charming.