Xiao Yang is seventeen years old, likes to eat pork liver soup, and usually rides through his neighbourhood on a scooter. It is striking how many people he sees who are obviously in love. It might have something to do with his older sister’s behaviour, given that she’s preoccupied with wedding preparations and is always humming love songs. Or is it his age? In any case, there’s no one around Xiao Yang who, from his perspective at least, does much else other than flirt, break up old relationships and try to start new ones. That includes his parents. His mother runs a juice bar and noodle stand and spends far more of her day with the owner of the shop next door than with her accordion-playing husband. When his sister is dumped by her fiancé, Xiao Yang takes matters into his own hands, believing in true adolescent style that external forces can actually influence couple configurations. But this belief is really the only thing that distinguishes the teenager from his elders. TIAN MI MI is a film that belies the notion that it is ever possible to be older than seventeen in matters of love. (Dorothee Wenner)
Production: Rediron, Taipei
Screenplay: Chuang Shih-hung, Hsu Chao-jen
Camera: Hsia Shao-yu
Cast: Lee Lieh, Bee Kenny, Sui Sonia, Boya Umin
Format: DCP, colour
Running time: 114 min
Languages: Mandarin, Taiwanese
Photo: © REDIRON Co. Ltd.
