Your Name Engraved Herein is a 2020 film directed by Kuang-hui Liu and written by Yu Ning Chu. The story are based on true life events of young gay people during the eighties in Taiwan after Mainland China's Martial Law ended over Taiwan. The film stars Edward Chen(Red Ballon), Tseng Jing Hua(Detention), Leon Dai(who is a Golden Horse winning director and actor), and Jason Wang. Neflix premiered the film toward the end of last year and the film would go on to become the highest grossing LGBT film in Taiwan. The Golden Horse Awards also awarded the film for best original film song and best film cinematography which I personally believe were well deserved.
THERE MIGHT BE LIGHT SPOILERS SO BEWARE! I TRY TO GIVE SPOILER FREE THOUGHTS IF I CAN.
A Catholic school student attending an all boys school struggles with his feelings for the class outlaw in the year 1987. Their bond would continue to span many years..... Beyond time.
I found out about Your Name Engraved Herein after seeing the shower scene clip.... Those of you who have seen the film know what this scene entails but I also found out about the film because of the heavy promotion of the main theme song that was so popular, that famous Taiwanese singers and Youtubers alike have covered the song titled after the film. I then said that I had to see what all the buzz was about. Seeing the story plot should already prepare you for this film not being the normal happy ending kinda of story. I mean come on..... These relationship was set in the eighties: where nowhere in the world accepted homosexuality. So I knew what I was about to watch would be a bumpy ride through my emotions. Believe me that it was and more. A passage from Solomon opens the film to signal that you are dealing with religion. However, the passage showcases A-han's inner battle with his feelings while looking to his faith. Plot lines from there take no time at all to form their way out onto the screen. I would actually think that the two boys had a bond off the screen looking how realistically fast they connected. Engraved defiantly doesn't hold back any punches pertaining to whats going on in the world around them. There's constant issues with lack of information about homosexuality. It's to a wild degree where the ignorance makes you nauseated. I've seen the bullying of gay people in a strong religious environment many times before. You won't see a fun sight and the victim often feels alone. Especially when the guy in the closet is always teasing them relentlessly too. On top of that, China has a very conservative traditional culture where you must start a family by a certain time in your life as a male. If you don't, something must be wrong with you. Upholding family values in order to not bring shame on to your family brings more added pressure. One final pressure as a young person is performing well academically in a faith based education. All of these factors made Birdy and A-han's relationship seem almost impossible. Still, they managed to escape the growing pains of growing up in the mist of having some magical moments. Ok Ok, I'll admit the disfunction was all over their relationship but the movie wouldn't have been heart shatteringly beautiful without that disfunction. Stories that tell the cold hard truth always get props from me.
The Cinematography supports the story full throttle. You get that sense of Birdy's character spreading his wings every time the boys took a bus that ended up in Taipei. The scene when they went to the ocean as the land met the land, made me so sad. I think it's because the acting paired with the scenic shots gave this feel of the true last time the two would every be romantic with each other. The scenes filmed in Montreal Canada were a breath of fresh air as well. I loved the contrast of how Canada looked compared to Taiwan's more countryside looking landscape. Both were well presented in the film.
I became familiar with Edward Chen in 2017's Red Ballon which was another LGBT drama production I enjoyed. His acting go so much more intense that I didn't recognize him here. He shines as A-han in the foreshadowing scenes with the Canadian pastor. The ruin inside his character cause by not understanding how to handle his feelings cause some A-list acting by him. Tseng has this natural quality that makes the camera love him as soon as he comes into frame. Birdy is a character that has a personality I inspire to also have. He marches to the beat of his own drum and stands up for what he thought was right even in a time where being too opinionated outside the norm got you killed. Some viewers say that Birdy and A-han should have fought harder for their love. I firmly believe that both character's fought as hard as they could in that era for their love but outside factor would have never allowed them to be together. Birdy made a huge sacrifice for A-han to live a danger free life. Imagine the huge target that would have been on their backs had they lived out and proud during that time? They would have never known peace. Engraved's ending was one of acceptance in the fact that their love had sailed it's course but they will always have love for each other. The theme song for this film conveyed A-han's love for Birdy perfectly in lyrics as well as melody. Edward Chen's version to me, is the original version. The telephone scene had me bawling.... Crowd Lu sounds more like a professional vocalist in his version while Edward's version has all the emotional connection to the character in his vocals. Let's not forget the jazz version of "Oh Danny Boy" being played throughout the film, adding that sentimental touch.
Your Name Engraved Herein soaks in realism that doesn't pride itself on being the perfect happy every after. You do get a lesson in life not always being fair or sometimes you have to be selfless in love. Other times memories are the best thing that we could ask for. Check out the film on Netflix. You probably could find the film online on an Asian drama site too. I highly recommend bringing tissues. I'm considering buying a physical copy on Blu-ray. This film touched me so much that I broke my rule of not posting about a film until I have the film in hand.... My heart can't deal.
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