17th Entrance (2011)

DongHwa's sensitive review on gaytitulky.info made me want to watch the movie, and I don't regret it. The Taiwanese have shown that they can spin stories of beings who like the same sex, and in other ways. Yes, it can be confusing story-wise at first, but it all works out. Not everyone is so perfect and smart that in their old age they would behave the same as when they were young and old. Love for one being almost made him lose his mind and the actor KIng was rightly nominated for the best actor at the Golden Bell Awards 2011. The music complemented the story nicely. Even those who do not understand what the creators wanted to convey can be old and unjudgmental. Namely, that humans are imperfect, they are not gods, and that's what Chao Hsueh-Ping's character showed...

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Story: It was confusing at first until it became even more confusing. I wasn’t sure whether I was seeing flashbacks of a person’s past or watching two separate lives of people on parallel universes, until I realize later that I was watching a combination of both. Old man Xue Ping reminisces about his past love Ding, who happens to be student A Hong’s doppelganger. So old man follows young man around town, not aware he is coming across as a creepy stalker.

Acting/Cast: I’ve seen Chin Shih Chieh and Ray Chang around in other works, and they are decent, working with what they could of a sub-par script.

Music: Nothing to right home about.

Rewatch Value: No thanks.

Overall: The story of the old man’s past is more interesting than that of the student, which really doesn’t serve any purpose except for reminding Xue Ping that his lover is not coming back from the dead.

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