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17歲的夏天 (2005)
A Side, B Side, Seaside


Reviewed by: dandan
Date: 04/23/2006
Summary: the title was one of the reasons i bought this...

chang wing-chui returns to directing, after a twelve year break, with a film of two halves. or should that be sides?

'a side' is the story of four girls who go to spend the weekend on the small island of cheung chou. the four have just finished school, honey (kong ling) is heading to study in beijing after graduation and the thoughts of the four girls are on the future.

'seaside' is the story of baby (dolphin chan), a girl from cheung chou, who returns to the island for a holiday, after three years of living in hong kong. she spends her time with two boys, to and fu, whom she spent her school years with. the time away from the island has changed things.

'b side' acts as an epilogue...

now, i did read a review of this that gave it 0/5, which is extremely harsh indeed; i guess the reviewer was just rubbed up the wrong way by this film. on the other hand, i really enjoyed it; essentially it's like two coming of age films rolled into one. the first story suggests the loss of innocence, the anticipation of adulthood and the gaining of responsibility. the second story is more about accepting that childhood is over and a reluctant acceptance of your life as an adult.

the film has a gentle pace (although not 'a scene at the sea' paced, a film which plays a supporting role in 'a side') to it, the acting (particularly in 'a side') has a charming realism to it and, all in all, cheung chou is a very pretty island.

not great, but definately good...