Almost Love (2022)

Bittersweet-romance type (tissues!)

'On Your Wedding Day', 'Classic Again', and a little bit of 'Twenty-five, Twenty-one'. This film gave me all of that. It has that same bittersweet taste of love that just lingers around as we hope and pray for a happy end.

STORY: The writing was great. I was expecting a lot of clichés and twists, but instead, the movie felt like a pure piece, like it was written off experience. The realism in how the story developed felt oddly satisfying and simply left me awestruck. Of course, I know for a fact that tons of people head to watch movies and shows for comfort (and not to be disappointed) and I, too, watched this for that. Instead, it left me hanging. Watching Zhou Can text Jiaoyang he was getting married felt like a blow to the face. Until the end I wanted to deny it, hope it wasn't real and that they were going to end up together. After so many years? I wanted to get angry, cry, and protest but then realized that Jiaoyang must have felt the same inside. But that's life. And it just goes on. Wanting to stay frozen in sadness will only make you lag behind, and before you know it, you'll be left alone.

>>(SPOILER ALERT!! EDIT: I personally think the ending wasn't Can's choice. During the wedding, we could see both his parents at the front seats, and his mom cheering for them excitedly while Can doesn't look as happy as he would if it was with Jiaoyang. From the beginning, Can's mom didn't approve of Jiaoyang, even just as Can's friend, so what more could it have been when they were dating? I don't know, it just feels unreal that Can would have moved on so quickly in a span of two years after what happened last with them. And the fact that he let her know about it low-key gave me a feeling that he was hesitant. From the get-go, I think the wedding was his mother's decision. Just my opinion though, or I could still be in denial of the sad ending. ??)

ACTING/CAST: Prior to watching this, I've never seen a film or show with neither of the leads, so this is a first for me. At the beginning of the film, I thought that the acting performance would just be so-so, but as the story progressed, the chemistry grew to be something I admire them for (it actually felt like it was THEIR story, not them ACTING a random story). The casting was just superb -- sometimes it's obvious and clear that the actors are 'acting', but this is one of the rare ones where the actors are 'living and embodying' their characters. Both of them, especially as they processed Jiaoyang's grandmother's passing, showed emotions that were so real and hurting. Props to them, really.

MUSIC: Hands down, the music was unbelievably made the scenes come to life. Especially the scene where Jiaoyang and Can meet again after Jiaoyang moved away, when she ran to hug him in the middle of the highway overpass -- that scene was heart-shattering. The music just made it worse (in a good way).

REWATCH VALUE: Personally, I wouldn't want to watch this film again because of its ending. But truthfully, I would, for how their relationship went before they decided to give it up. But I wouldn't want to get hurt again by watching it, so I guess I'll watch it every year on Valentines. (??)

OVERALL: It's a wonderful film. Some people say its similar to 20th Century Girl, but I think this is quite different, on its own. None of the leads passed away mysteriously, nor did they disappear without saying. Instead they were there, but denied their feelings and gave in to their pent-up emotions instead of dealing with it -- leading to their fall. Ugh, I should watch this movie again right now ?!

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Almost Love or was it?

I started out loving this show, it has all the makings for a great show! They were young and grew up together. All relationships have their ups and downs, but I thought the way it started would stand the test of time. He worked a lot and had a dream he was trying to accomplish to make their lives better and end the end she felt neglected. Instead, of doing the adult thing and talking about it you act out. Instead of accepting or trying to work things out you choose to put up a wall and hold your ground for what? To end up alone instead? I don't want to hear anything about it is good to have once love mess. Be an adult and don't play games if you love a person talk to them. Communication has been and always will be the key. To me it was never love if they were not even worth the time to communicate with. I would not rewatch this at all I felt my time invested was wasted. There was no lesson to learn just disappointment, I can live without that in the show.

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