Dear Ex

My expectation was pretty low and I liked it after the movie progressed a bit. It's a successful movie, though its ends are as expected. The acting, the characters, the story and the emotions made me love the film. It was one of the best Netflix productions I've watched.

I wonder why there is a "Dear" in the film's English title. A confession to the protagonists' past relationships, or a revenge? Or, maybe both.

Hovering in my head for hours and hours after the emotionally powerful film-viewing experience is the main theme named Bali Song, unpretentious background music for a stage drama considered to be the Ex's brainchild in the film. The song is a ballad mixed with a bit folk and some dreamy, laidback and even sexy retro pop, with its arousing opening whistle notes sentimentally visualizing a pleasant and romantic vacation, an ideal escape and an Utopia...for anyone longing for true freedom in his/her same-sex romantic relationships against the so-called social convention. The use of music here is such a gentle and subtle move within the film's melodramatic context and a breath of fresh air out of the "traditional" conventions in the still relatively conservative Chinese culture, or even in most Asian cultures. To my surprise, though, the music and lyrics of Bali Song also work as a nice replacement (instead of a compliment) to the mediocre stage drama that it's echoing in the film.

At times, this film quietly reminds me of works from Taiwan New Cinema spearhead Edward Yang, while its music, its character-driven plot, and somewhat overacting with surely a purpose breaks my illusions immediately. It is a sharp reflection as well as honest observation of life in Taipei, for the first decade of the 21st Century or so, not of life more than 25 years ago, when Ang Lee's Wedding Banquet came out.

The film is never comfortable to watch. Literally, it is a love confession (-starting with Dear) to whoever has once been either an annoying adolescent or adult ( a.k.a. the most stupid creature on earth ). So, get your tissues ready if you wouldn't mind taking a HOME-bound emotional roller-coaster with the family drama, and then...getting bombarded by that song!

The cinematography is so beautiful in this film and the journey of the main characters is a subtle learning experience so well crafted. But the most amazing part of this film is Roy Chiu who settles into every scene so perfectly. Truly a stellar performance.

Superb acting, especially by the female lead. Her portrayal of emotions and tone are done excellently, while other two leading actors were performing well too. The plot and editing are slightly slow-paced but very intriguing.

Unlike some other recent taiwanese films which tend to be cringey in their dialogues or acting, Dear Ex is rather an enjoyable movie with some zest. The jokes are funny! It's refreshing to watch as it showcases another perspective of a gay's life. If queer films aren't your cup of tea, fret not as the film focused more on how one's life/family is affected by one's bisexuality and doesn't really try to promote LGBT or anything.

As an asian I can said that many moments in the film were very relatable. This is actually my first time reviewing on IMDb. Highly recommend this film!

Dear Ex must be best film produced in 2018 in Taiwan. Both actor and actress showed incredible performance in the movie. Yhe plot really makes you think over and over again after coming out of the movie theater. it's one of those movies that will make you want to see at least 3 more times and collect its DVD