L'été de mes 17 ans

As a Taiwanese, I am very proud of this production. I saw it when I was in Taiwan and loved it. A very funny comedy of a gay utopia in Taipei. No women can be seen in this movie. No aids. No difficulties of coming out. No one dying. Just a gay comedy. Makes everyone happy. I just got the DVD. watched it with my German friends and we all loved it. Sweet and loving. The two leading actors are actually straight. But they did a wonderful job.

Being gay and 17 can be a fabulous thing. And this movie is a great happy statement saying, "I am fag and fabulous!"

I have recently seen several "Asian gay dramas". Formula 17 is one of the best.

An observation I have made is that several of the Asian gay dramas are full of guilt. This is nothing unique to the Asian gay dramas, just think of Brokeback Mountain. But I have seen a few too many films that end in death and general misery, where the conclusion seems to be that being gay is just pain, suffering and misery. Perhaps this is a realistic description in some of the more conservative Asian societies, but if suicide is the only way out for the protagonist of the film, then that is a bad film in my opinion.

Formula 17 is a much more hopeful film. The protagonists have their struggles and problems to deal with. However, these problems are in good sense more everyday. The characters cover a wide and not too subtle spectrum of being gay, and the story is both fun and cute. Yes, it is a bit sugar coated, but why not? Also, the film offers some nice photo of Taiwan. After I saw this film, I wanted to go there.

Highly recommended, especially if you want to see a good Asian gay drama with more fun and less depression.

Director Chen Ying Rong debuts in an all-male movie that exposes a unique view of gays in Taipei. Perfectly cast for the role, Tony Yang Yo Ning plays a naive, 17-year old teenager (Tien) who ventures off to the big city in search of "true love". Courageous, honest and innocent in chasing his goal in love, Tien gets attracted to the popular 30-year-old playboy Pai (Duncan Lai) – who Tien fantasizes about giving his first intimately kiss to. A thoughtful movie that takes you into the streets of Taiwan, showing you its exciting nightlife into the famous gay bars Funky and Fresh. Formula 17 follows the success of the gay-themed movie Lan Yu - which won international awards for its artistic and realistic portrayal.

This movie starts with the naive countryman Tien. He goes to Taipei to meet his friend who he met online. Believing in "true love", his friend really disappoints him by saying that he would like to have sex with him. "How can we make love if there is not love between us?" Tien asks.

Then his 'the one' appears. This stud (Nan) was hurt by his ex-boyfriend, and thinks that he will never fall in love again. But later, he discovers that he's fallen in love with this cute guy. Scaring of getting hurt and hurting Tien, he decides to leave Tien after the romantic night. In fact, this can do nothing but hurts both of them. At this time, Nan knows he has to overcome his fear of intimacy because he has fallen in love with Tien. He prays to God, hoping God can give him one more chance, and getting Tien back. Then the miracle happens, and they two finally get together. This movie also records the pride parade held in Taipei in the late 2003.

Innocent boy sees then meets jaded boy. Jaded boy becomes unjaded. Familiar story but with a sweetness that can make even a tired old queen believe (again) in the power of love at first sight.

The supporting characters are truly funny and resemble many I've met in Asia. Even though the version I saw had 15 minutes of lost subtitles (?!?!?!?) the message was still clear.

I saw this at the Miami Gay and Lesbian Film Festival. There was an error in the program. This movie is from TAIWAN not Thailand. But a lot of the charm that was part of Iron Ladies (from Thailand) can be seen in this film.

Not a deep film but certainly worth a see.

The cast of characters, who are exceptionally attractive and/or genuinely lovable, would probably make this movie worth watching in any case. Fortunately, in addition to the eye-candy, this movie involves quite decent acting and very well-orchestrated humor. It's based on the usual run of misunderstandings that thwart the quest for true love, but done in a way that pokes fun at the whole overly dramatic, soap-operatic response often used in other movies, especially in terms of peer support and psychoanalytical "therapy." Quite often in Asian language movies the English subtitles can defeat the dialogue but in this case the subtitles were obviously done by someone with an excellent command of English. The only bizarre issue was that every letter J was turned into a K. So the main character is looking for a summer "kob" and denies feeling "kealous." Not something that really matters, but strange nonetheless.

I think I missed the "formula 17" meaning,unless it refers to the one boy's age, but there is a trigonometric identity featured for fans of mathematics.

If you want a light, feel-good experience, this movie is well worth watching. No ponderous morality or gut-wrenching tragedy, but you do get a lift to your spirits.