Your Name Engraved Herein (2020)

My Favourite Film of 2020 So Far...

I've been waiting for this film ever since it was first announced to be coming to Netflix worldwide on December 24th. Being a gay Asian male, this film was one of my most anticipated of the season, alongside Wonder Woman 2 and Soul. And I was not disappointed! My heart was full by the end of this touching story of two teenagerso fall in love and then, reunite as adults several decades later. Though there were some structural issues, such as the unnecessary flashback scenes, and some head-scratching plot points, such as the random inclusion of a French Canadian priest or the way-too-convenient reunion at the end, I still LOVED this film!

On a side note, as a Canadian, it was weird seeing Ji-an visit Niagara Falls as if it was located in Montreal lol.

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The Love Of Chang Jia Han

This movie is Like one of the Best Movie That i ever watched

I liked the way jia han loved birdy its awsome
Even birdy loved him in the same way
I can see how birdy is saving jia han from trobules like if he loved him in open the both

would have been in trouble its precious
And i felt bit incomplete about the adult story line of the birdy and jia han they could have told us more

The music in this movie is perfect

I liked they way birdy is not letting go of jia han its so precious and pure

Totally this movie made me cry and rewatchable worth is 10 on 10

If you want love you must watch it

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"is your love bigger than the love i give?"

just let that sentence sink in for a moment...

"is your love bigger than the love i give? tell me, what's the difference between your love and mine?" no sentence has ever made me feel more than this sentence did. i am an avid reader, i've read more than 300 different books since 2020. on top of that, i usually go for whatever will break me the most - and yet i've never been more impacted by a sentence than this one. i think that says a lot, about this movie (or perhaps about me).

i watched 'your name engraved herein' for the first time, the day it was released - i had been sitting waiting for it to show up on netflix, and i was not disappointed when it came - quite the opposite actually. i watched it three times within the first week, just because i loved it to a point, where i wanted to make sure that i had seen it all. i think i've watched it 5 times since then (probably more), and i still find something new to unravel every time.

i can't tell you just why this movie means everything to me, but perhaps, it's because i see parts of myself in it.

i showed the movie to my best friends just a few days after it came out, on new year's eve - and i was bummed to say the least, when the only scene they found interesting was the shower scene one .-. i think it saddened me how they missed the whole point of the movie. they saw it as something light, something that's easy to forget (which i don't blame them for), i just wish they had looked more into the depth, and realized that this movie isn't just about two boys getting together, it's about the struggles of humans, finding your identity - and being free to express the said identity. it's about religion - and the question of who's right when humanity and your beliefs collide.

also, the way my heart broke every single time jiahan had a scene with the priest - the way jiahan was so DESPERATE for birdy to accept him back - not because of the physical intimacy, but simply just because he loved him to pieces. especially the way he was just so desperate, and longed so much to be accepted, to feel normal that he literally said " help me go to hell, i'd rather go to hell now - don't all homosexuals deserve to go hell? maybe more people would UNDERSTAND me in hell." how heartbroken does one have to be, to wish hell upon themselves? how heartbroken does one have to be for a RELIGIOUS person to prefer going to hell? because that way, there might a slightly bigger chance of acceptance?

i cried as i wrote this, i don't think i'll ever be able to leave this movie behind.

thank you, if you read to this point - i hope you enjoy/enjoyed the movie <3

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What a masterpiece

This movie is so beautiful. What a masterpiece, every scene was just wonderfully executed. Definitely a must watch. I still can’t move on after watching this, my hear still aches and torn to pieces. Especially in the telephone scene I can feel the great pain they both endured. It’s sad that you can’t always get the happy ending you wanted, no matter how much you like each other. Their love for each other transcends that even if they don’t say it out loud their action speaks for themselves

The acting was excellent Edward and Jing Hua portrayed the characters magnificently. The music is beautiful, magical and nostalgic, it will give you all the feels.

Kudos to Edward Chen, Tseng Jing Hua, to all the actors, director Liu Kuang Hui and to everyone who made this movie happen for a job well done. One of the best, if not the best, lgbt movie out there. Thank you for this movie

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A story of longing and yearning from the Days of Disapproval !

Though this movie was released in 2020, it's reminiscent of a classic 1900s film, portraying the struggles of a queer relationship amidst societal repression and how homosexuality was not to be accepted by family and the society in the social unrest period.

The story follows the intricate relationship between Birdy and Jia Han.
 It was complex and intriguing at the same time. The depth and vulnerability of both the characters were heartwrenching and was portrayed beautifully.

The story is set up in an 'All boy's school' with Jia-Han and Birdy meeting and bonding immediately. There are subtle hints of their intimacy at the start. Even with the obvious hints, I liked how the romance was not rushed delivering a believable chemistry.

Ji-Han's struggle in trying to come out in a homophobic society contrasts with Birdy's attempt to suppress his feelings and be accepted into societal norms. (The famous star-crossed romance).
The acting was phenomenal by both the leads. The craving, the yearning, the constant push and pull for each other. Holding each other and crying during the shower and the telephone conversation scene were the peak for me.
The editing of this drama is also noteworthy. I like how the narration is done by Jia Han and how the scene seamlessly goes into flashbacks so effortlessly to tell us the story.

The story felt more of Ji Han's point of view and I would have liked more context of Birdy's thoughts. I felt his character was bit under developed. His decisions here and there defied reasoning.

However,  the ending was too abrupt for me. Abrupt won't be the correct word- Unsettling maybe. It serves as a realistic, sad and overpowered portrayal of lingering feelings and effects of societal repression. You can feel the tension, suffocation and smell the regret.

It could be considered a sort of a happy ending in the grand scheme of things.  It does show and give a glimmer of hope for the future generations.

This movie is like a harsh reminder of all the struggles faced by queer community and I do recommend this despite its minor flaws

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One of the deepest BL's I have ever seen

Just finished watching the movie and altough I haven't had any expectation, I was deeply satisfied by the story.
ACTORS: Edward Chen rock it! Literally the best representation of feelings. Trought all of the movie, 120 minutes, his acting was perfect. I believed every single word that came out from his mouth and every scene without having to say a word. Will surely watch every movie he will be in. Tseng was very good too, but I kinda dislike his role.
STORY: Don't wanna give spoilers, but I was hoping for a happy ending and a smooth delivery of it. Always will be a good guy a bad guy, altough here none of them was bad. One is a dreamer in an unperfect world, the other one is a realist guy. Everything fit perfectly in the story: the music, the places, the actors, everything.
REWATCH VALUE: For me is a 11, not a 10. I will rewatch it for sure for a couple of times.
I would recommend it for BL/LGBTQ+ fans. This has to be in their portofoliu of watched films.
Maybe to realistic? That is the single point I hated it. I stand freedom of choice in sexual preference and hate it when there is discrimination. But in this movie it suppose to be this way. I understand the point of Birdy and why he made that choises, but I loved Chang determination and desire to step on everything for his love. A forever love I would say.
I don't have gay friends, but I would love to, for me to understand the depth of relationships between them.

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Truly don’t think this movie is worth the watch.

I’ve just finished this movie a second ago and I’m currently typing this review as the credits are rolling. There are so many flaws in this movie and these are flaws that don’t make the movie beautiful in any way. I’d advise you to watch another movie and just skip this one because you’re never getting back those 2 hours.

First, they could have really done a better job with the casting. Nothing’s wrong with the actors individually, but something was definitely wrong when you placed them both together. It took about 30 minutes for us to realise who was Lead 1 and Lead 2 (or more specifically, it was only when one of them grew their hair out that I realised it) because they literally looked the same and should’ve passed off as siblings instead. By the way, I am Chinese too and yes I find that they looked ALIKE.

Second, a lot of the scenes in the movie just didn’t really make sense. It felt like the director decided to just lump a few RANDOM scenes and make it into a movie. Some parts of the movie just... didn’t need to be there because it contributed to nothing. It just felt like an amateur had produced this movie and nobody’s questioning it. Most scenes weren’t even interesting and I felt that I had to force myself to sit through the whole thing.

Third, I guess this is just how teenage boys act, but half the time I’m just seeing angsty teenage boys screaming and yelling at each other. Like yeah I guess that’s reality but please don’t over add it into the show. It was so tiring to watch it.

Fourth, ending song was beautiful and I would’ve given it a 10/10.... only if they also didn’t mess up the rest of the soundtrack. Nothing wrong with the music, but something was real wrong with the way it was put into the show. Half the show was just intense classical music in the background to add on to the dramatic atmosphere of the show. What for?!?! It wasn’t even needed! Please do a better job and don’t overdo it.

I’m just kinda speechless right now as to what have I just watched. Was pretty excited because it seemed like it would be promising but this movie really doesn’t deserve a good rating. Nothing was satisfying about the show (not in terms of ending but in terms of how everything was pieced together) and it’s one that will easily be erased from your memory.

Big question marks everywhere..........

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Is this BL?

I like this movie a lot, even though I'm not wild about the ending.

I think it is an excellent piece of queer cinema, although not necessarily BL. It doesn't use any of the tropes, archetypes or narrative beats I would expect from the genre.

I would recommended it as queer cinema. Beautifully filmed and acted, thoughtful and thought provoking. Although it is more likely to make you cry than smile.

It's one of Taiwan's few queer film pieces of this type, and stylistically it owes a lot to early Japanese queer cinema. Which, in turn makes me think of the new Japanese stuff we've been getting that harkens to those roots like Restart After Come Back Home or His the movie, but less cerebral as it has Taiwan's signature excellent chemistry and visceral passion.

Your Name owes a lot to its sibling source (?) project 2017's Red Balloon. So If you enjoyed YNEH then you should track that one down, it shares a main actor. You'll probably find it worth watching. Korea's Just Friends? also tackles enlistment but is way more BL.

I feel like if you're a big fan of YNEH then you probably also enjoyed (or would enjoy)

Love of Siam (Thai)
I Told the Sunset About You (Thai)
Present Perfect (Thai)
Life: Love on the Line (Japan)
Junjou (Japan)
Does the Flower Bloom? (Japan)
Cornered Mouse Dreams of Cheese (Japan) v. explicit
Gaya Sa Pelikula (Pinoy)
Papa & Daddy (Taiwan)
Goodbye Mother (Vietnam)

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Se eu dissesse que não esperava nada estaria mentindo, mas é porque vi muitas pessoas falando sobre esse filme e até fui para a Netflix. Gostei muito da experiência de assistir, mas foi um pouco longa e cansativa, talvez eu não goste de dramas, mas acho que deveríamos sair da nossa zona de conforto às vezes, então aqui estou.

Sobre a história foi triste, mas ao mesmo tempo tão bonita, uma linda história de amadurecimento com personagens LGBT, saber que era baseada em fatos reais tornou o filme ainda mais verdadeiro. Eu amei o formato em que a história foi contada de certa forma tornou o filme mais real? Porque normalmente a maioria dos filmes foca em apenas uma parte da vida dos personagens e nos faz pensar que fim eles levaram, o que aconteceu depois desse período conturbado da vida deles? Acho que de certa forma Your Name Engraved Herein nos trouxe uma resposta para isso.

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Geography 101

I was wondering why Father Oliver talks about his past in Montréal because the actor is French (he says a few french words and his accent gives him away). It finally made sense to me in the credits : the film is dedicated to the memory of "Father Père Robert Massé" (since Père means Father, it's like saying "Father Padre Gonzales" for a Spanish priest). This French-Canadian priest, born in 1941, belonged to the Clerics of Saint Viator congregation and spent many years in Taiwan where he taught music (many other Viatorians taught music). He was born in Saint-Barthélémy, a small city 80 km from Montréal. He did go back to Canada later in life but probably not to live with his lover since he was active as a priest until his death in 2013. You can see a picture of him at https://viateurs.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/messe-commemorative-robert-masse.pdf

(Other linguistic detail : as a French-speaking Canadian, the priest's name would be Olivier instead of Oliver. )

I smiled at some details from the Québec sequence at the end of the movie. Chang Jia-han visits a gay bar in Québec City during daytime, then visits the Niagara Falls and is back at the gay bar in the evening (OK, probably not the same evening because he's not wearing the same shirt). He must own a supersonic jet because the Niagara Falls are 900 km away from Québec City. We also see two lesbians who seem to spend all their time at that bar because we see them in both sequences. And why does the manager ask Chang Jia-han to leave because he's about to close, while other customers are still at the bar ? The last scenes were filmed at the Place Royale in Old Québec where a short scene from Steven Spielberg's Catch Me If You Can was also shot (though it is supposed to depict Montrichard in France).

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