My heart wanted to burst
My heart wanted to burst just within minutes of watching this movie! Although it may have been very successful as a drama (with these actors, etc.) the simplistic nature of this movie hit all the feels. It was pure and straight to the point. It wonderfully covered topics on youth, coming-of-age, love, family, and friendship within just a span of two hours.This story is about a girl named Geng Geng who becomes deskmates with a boy named Yu Huai after they meet on the first day. It started with Yu Huai pointing out that his name (on the bulletin board) was next to someone called Geng Geng and together their name makes "Geng Geng Yu Huai," meaning to "take to heart." Turns out it was her that he was talking about. After becoming deskmates, they become friends and they even began taking interest in each other. Nearing graduation however, unexpected news leaves them parting ways. The story mainly follows their youth almost acting as flashbacks from present time but eventually comes full circle with them meeting once again after seven years.
Definitely recommend! In terms of the selection of actors and their acting skills, this movie was very well paired. Again, there were so many moments my heart wanted to just burst because of how cute and pure the interactions were.
Was this review helpful to you?
Let me start off by saying that this is a very satisfying movie for me... it has it's flaws alright and I strongly feel that the ending should have been done in a better way but still I gave this a 10 because for me it was able to depict high school life so beautifully.
1. Story Is very simply told yet all the right elements were there...romances, crushes, school works, youthful foolishness...everything that make high school life both a struggle and super fun. But one thing that I love the most...the message of encouragement and hope it gives especially to those who are not currently excelling in high school that you can still be the best that you can be if you will put your heart and mind to it. Grades does not define you... it is your outlook in life that will make or break you.
I love also how the 2 teachers were portrayed differently...one without patience and the other one as someone kind and compassionate. How the way they treat students affect their lives. They can either be a Terror or an Inspiration to them.
2. Acting is excellent and the transition from youth to adulthood is perfectly portrayed.
3. Music is also good
4. Rewatch value... definitely a yes for me
Note: The only negative thing I noticed was the movement of the camera nearing the end of the film.... during the hospital scene. The camera was not steady and kinda give me a dizzying effect but other than this.... I really enjoyed this drama very much
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
forgettable
This was a bad movie . The story was super bland, the characters were not likable. The only redeeming quality about this movie is Mr. Chen Feiyu. That man is an angel and deserves more than this movie gave him.Story: Never once during this movie was I anticipating what would happen next in this movie. There was no story at all. The plot was very very bland. This movie supposedly tells of a high school romance and what happens 10 years later but there really is not much to tell. I can barely remember a thing that happened in this movie it was so boring.
Characters: The main character Geng Geng was super annoying, I did not like her one but. She just yelled a lot and would heavily breath afterwards for an absurd amount of time. Her friends were forgettable as well, every character peaked in high school no character had any development whatsoever. Yu Hai was just there, I can’t remember him doing much either. None of the characters did much of anything. Chen Feiyu played that role though and he looked really handsome during the time jump.
The chemistry was not there at all, this is because the script and the plot was so lacking. I was rooting for them to not end up together.
The would not recommend this movie to anyone. Only those who are fans of any of the actors present maybe I would recommend it to. For me I watched this for Chen Feiyu and I was not disappointed in him, I was disappointed in the story and script he was given to work with, he did the best with what he was given but he deserves so much better. Hopefully Immortality will get to air soon so we can see him in a role that deserves him and one that he is passionate for.
Was this review helpful to you?
a typical pure and heartwarming school years drama
TLDR;- Would recommend the movie!
- Great if you just want something sweet and wholesome
- Don't expect something super deep and life changing
- Storyline jumps between flashbacks and present day well
- Typical puppy love drama done pretty well
I haven't watched the drama before, so I didn't really have any expectations before watching this movie. I thought the movie was good--yes, it had some of your stereotypical plot lines, but it was still a very wholesome picture of what puppy love can be like. It's not absolutely phenomenal, but I would definitely recommend it!
First off, the leads themselves. I thought that even with the movie (which obviously gives less time for character development than a drama), you could still feel the characters' personalities. They have their flaws and do make questionable decisions (lol), but that makes them human. And real. Behind Yu Huai's nonchalant facade is a kindhearted boy who really has a soft spot for Geng Geng. Geng Geng is naive at times but has dreams, and that's relatable. During the school years scenes, the leads' interactions were very pure and I couldn't stop smiling when I saw them together. I thought the actors also had really great chemistry and the acting was on point. They were able to portray a different person during the time jumps; you could really feel that 2008 Yu Huai and Geng Geng were not 2018 Yu Huai and Geng Geng.
The story, while stereotypical, is still thoughtful and entertaining. It really makes you think about some of the things you experience--or don't end up experiencing--in that time of life. There were a few parts with writing that made me go, "What the heck?", but generally, it wasn't bad.
As for the creative choices of the movie itself, I thought they were very well executed. I personally am a sucker for romance movies that alternate between flashbacks and present day; I just feel like they give a new depth to the story. This movie does that very well: it's not confusing and I felt like just the right details were included. The cinematography is also good; it really helps create that nostalgic school years vibe. I thought the music really fit the scenes well too.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
High quality filmmaking, Solid Acting, Mediocre casting, Storyless Story
Hello,For us Westerners China has this very frustrating style of romantic story telling. I had to go into spoiler mode to explain myself.
In the West screenwriters are aware that a romance cannot be the only plot of the story. In fact it can't be the main plot. You need something bigger and more compelling than their love. In this case it's boy and girl meet, boy falls for girl, boy invests a lot of time and effort to get girl to like him, she finally does, boy mysteriously disappears, boy and girl reunite.
That's not a lot. Consider CASABLANCA. Man tries to run a business during a war and not take a political side. A fugitive shows up and begs for help. He doesn't want to but with the fugitive is an old flame that broke his heart into a thousand pieces. Man tries desperately not to fall in love with her again and discovers that the right thing to do is to set her and her fugitive free, taking a political position because... he loves her enough to let her go.
See the difference? The love story is buried inside a plot full of risks, twists, and turns. BEST SUMMER almost doesn't have a plot. Yes it's a different style of story but young lovers exist within far more compelling plots than simply eyeing each other.
So what makes matters worse for Western eyes is that if you're going to have a movie just be about a couple -- for the love of God -- at least have them kiss at the end. I've since learned that real Chinese people can see 'kissing' as 'sex', which in the West is laughable and ridiculous. Yes, if the two are kissing in a hotel or a lovely bedroom, I get it. But if they're standing in a public park by a tree -- grow up and let them have a kiss.
Regarding kissing, a funny side note here about something that happened in this movie also happened in THE GREAT CRAFTSMAN. In this film there's a kissless love happening and the girl can no longer stand it and LUNGES at her boy and plants one on him anyway. An extremely mild form of assault. CRAFTSMAN did the same thing and had Wallace Huo LUNGE at Yang Mi to offer her an unwanted kiss. Yet that series ends like this film -- without a final kiss.
Sorry but WTF? How does Chinese culture consistently omit a consensual loving kiss but seem A-OK with a kind of rapey kiss? If anything this should be reversed. Am I crazy? Is the rapey kiss allowed because sex won't come of it? Seriously?!?
So, now with all that out of the way, I'd say the actors were pretty good but the production was great. On a limited budget they made this thing look like a major motion picture. The photography was GORGEOUS. And some people don't get photography. They think if they see pretty mountains and sunsets THAT is great photography. It can be, sure, but the real test is filming the mundane in a cinematic way -- which this movie never stops doing.
The score of this film is lovely too. It's just such a shame that all of this skill was wasted on a one ply toilet paper script. The script was so thin you could see through it and watch another film at the same time.
Please don't think I'm mean person. I did love the characters and wanted to see so much more with them. But the idea this story was once much longer as a drama boggles the mind.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
A BORING ONE
For only main actor ,i had seen his two three drama before watching this movie . I like his acting that why i chose this one but a big disappointed. a girl got admitted to a college where she met a boy who was awesome in his study and girl was weak in hers . then he helped her to move forward . Both were enjoying their pace but a incident happened and they had separated . After seven years they met in their college reunion party wher his entry by saying that was she forgot him and they met each other as a casual friend then she asked her why he left him ,was he liked her? and he refused her and left from there . here i don't understand whey he left her . if he wanted to left her then why he joined reunion party with saying was she forgot him . mean what is this ? if you avoid her then completely avoid her. the last part movie was horrible literally.A Big No.
Was this review helpful to you?
Acting wise, all the casts portrayed their roles very well. I cried with them when they bid farewell to their teacher.
And lastly, at the start of the film, I've noticed that the place is Wuhan. I was always thinking while watching, Wuhan is a great place. Modern but peaceful. So glad I had a glimpse of this wonderful city before this virus crisis came about. The last part of the film, where they seem to interview couples from the city, it made me pray and hope that those people have survive and alive.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
irrational and unbelievable
I know that this movie is a remake of a show, so you’d think that I’d wish it was longer? Yet- this movie feels /so/ long.I don’t like romances that are just about two people falling in love. They have to have something that sets them back, something that they are going through to make it interesting. This story doesn’t.
It’s about Geng Geng and her attatchment to her desk mate (Yu Huai). The reality is, this is supposed to be a romance between the two, unfortunately I only believe it’s Geng Geng and her infatuation with Yu Huai . Why do I say that? Well Geng is the main character and you see this through her, and what I see is her character lying to find reasons for herself to hang out with Yu Huai . He is supposed to like her, I see what the story is supposed to be- but I don’t believe any of it.
It’s like this is a recap of something, going back and forth between the past and the present. The past takes up way too much time and is uninteresting as it’s just Geng most of the time either thinking about Yu Huai or talking about him, and when Yu Huai is in the story she is just looking at him. I don’t see any reason why he’d like her, other than her just being the main character so it’s a default. She isn’t rational, she is annoying and unrealistic and does things she doesn’t have to. She expects Yu Huai to like her after one meeting and reads into things, and the most frustrating part is that the story does that too. The story wants to make up something that isn’t there and plainly doesn’t make sense. Why does Geng Geng like Yu Zhuhai?Why does Yu Huai like her? I’d love to see more backstory of him but it’s not there. What is interesting with the dynamic between the two at all? Her life seems to revolve around the fact that she likes him, she studies for college for him and doesn’t have anything for herself at all.
Now talking about the future. I couldn’t pay attention to any scene other than Chen Feiyui being on screen. He is the reason I watched this because he is so handsome and my all time favorite. As for his character Yu Huai.. since his backstory hadn’t been fleshed out I don’t care for him. I found him to be arrogant as a kid and able to do so much because he was smart, what made him likable was the pressure he was given.. since that wasn’t developed enough in the end he was a character I was frustrated with. The motives for him- I couldn’t find any. These characters are together just because they have to be, because that’s what the source material was. They were together there, so they are here
This movie is boring, not a linear plot. It leaves a lot to be desired. BUT Chen Feiyu is such a handsome guy, he’s putting the effort here and has so much charisma outside of what character he was given. Waiting for HYX to see him with a more fleshed out character that’s worth the effort.
Story/Plot: not paced well at all. It goes here and there and to every place but the ones you’d want to see. Focuses on the past too much, I understand it was from the source material but that was a show. Since this is a movie something else should’ve been done, or maybe not have been done at all
Acting/Cast: Chen Feiyu gets all the best with the rating. It would be higher if I cared for the characters.
Music: pretty generic, not too outsourcing but it does it’s job.
Rewatch Value: I was checking the time to see how much was left thirty minutes in, and then an hour in also. It’s a pretty movie, but I don’t care for it. I won’t watch it again. Only would to see Chen Feiyu, that is when he’s on screen.
Was this review helpful to you?
I haven't seen the drama version of this that also adapted by this film. You could say that this review is a perspective of the film.
This film is about youth and romance; I think I have seen a good amount of Chinese films that centers around youth and romance which I am not complaining about, I actually have some of my favorites from them but there were also bad pickles on it that I gave up on watching.
I wouldn't say that I like this a lot but I'm on the neutral side but I can't deny that the film made me smile with the character's moments.
Whenever I watch films that center around being a student, first love, friendships, and youth, it takes me back to my youth too. Reminiscing your first crush, your evil teachers who made you suffer, friendships that have been made, embarrassing moments, school festivals and after school moments.
There are moments in the film that made me cringe but not too much; the conflict in the half act somehow not as deep as it was but it got deepen in the final act. The cast did a good job portraying the characters; I searched up the leads of this film and to my surprise that they are a year older apart from each other and somehow it made me feel old because wow, I never really feel this old while searching up celebs that were born in 19999 or 2000s.
Arthur Chen and He Lan-Dou have this cute chemistry during the flashback in youth but they have this mature chemistry when their characters are in the present time. Yes, the duality, I appreciate it,
Reasons to recommend this?
If you're looking for a sweet youth romance, I recommend this to you. The cinematography is quite good too with the soundtrack; There's nothing really grand about it but if you're open-minded and want to sweeten your film viewing then maybe you could try this.
Was this review helpful to you?
your typical nostalgic youth drama
These days I've been reminiscing my high school years so I've been trying to watch dramas focused on youth and just light movies that won't be too heavily sentimental. This one definitely met my expectations though the storyline felt too quick. (what was i expecting this is a movie haha) but i did enjoy watching this remake --i have not watched the original adaptation so this was new for me. The actors are fairly new actors and i think they did a great job depicting their emotions--im impressed by the guy and the girl was cute. I recommend trying out this movieWas this review helpful to you?
Pretty cute movie
I watched this as I was on an Arthur Chen binge but was pleasantly surprised by the acting of Haha He. The female lead is cute and not annoying, and they really made for a cute friendship couple. The love chemistry however, wasn't really there.The high school vibe is pretty strong (perhaps because the main actors are young and still look like high schoolers), and it did remind me of my own 'summer'. There are also a lot of cute scenes that makes it for a pretty light hearted watch.
I didn't like the twist at the end, though. I felt it was overdone. And the thing that attracted you at the start (the actors being convincing as high schoolers) made it hard to digest when it pans to them 7 years later and are adults. I just felt that they were too young to be convincing as adults, and so at times I was very conscious of how inexperienced they are to acting.
Overall, it was pleasant. A lot of cute scenes. If you like Arthur, you'll appreciate him here. Definitely very much geared towards the teenage audience though.
Was this review helpful to you?
ABSOLUTELY FREAKING ADORABLE!
I have not watched the series so I had no expectations. And I found myself with a huge grin when the leads were in their school days. It was oh so charming.This movie surprised me with its super wholesome coming-of-age love story. I loved how the story unfolded in flashbacks, which kept me on my toes on what happened with the leads at the present time. It starts on the first day of high school of our two leads and right off the bat how they met was so cute. The classroom and homeroom parts were reminiscent of the good ol high school days in the late 2000s. The classmates teasing the pair, the friends helping the girl, the study dates. These parts were so endearing that I had to repeat some parts! I also liked how the story focused more on the leads and how they came to like one another rather than the typical girl/boy-likes-another-boy/girl conflict where they helped each other at first.
I'll be honest I have issues with some of the parts of the story but I can let that all go. Will definitely recommend this if you're in the moody for the nostalgic high school puppy-love story.
Was this review helpful to you?
