“You Are the Apple of My Eye” has taken the Hong Kong and Taiwanese market by storm recently and looks set to take Southeast Asian audiences by storm as well.
If you have loved and lost, attended secondary school, or had puppy love experience, you would feel a pang of nostalgia while watching “You Are The Apple Of My Eye.” It would make you reach for your high school year book and send you on a trip down memory lane.
This debut movie of novelist-turned-director Giddens Ko (aka Jiubadao or Nine Knives) is a fresh and quirky tale of a teenage romance based on his semi-autobiographical novel, The Girl We Chased Together In Those Years. The film is extremely funny though the humour can be very crude at times, with an abundance of risque antics.
The movie takes you through a journey chronicling the highs and lows of the lives of a group of young Taiwanese students as they grow into young adults.
The naughtiest boy in class, Ko Ching-Teng (Ko Chen-Tung), is made to sit in front of the Shen Chia-yi (Michelle Chen) on whom all his pals have a crush. Therein begins the boy-meets-girl story: Boy saves girl, girl tutors boy, boy starts liking girl and a nascent relationship blooms (set against the backdrop of horny school boys, late night study sessions and the looming high school graduation). As the pair and their friends head towards university, it means meeting the harsh realities of growing up and growing apart.
The characters, played by a slate of fresh-faced, likeable and believable cast, are also given time to develop their characters. Ko, in particular, stands out for his portrayal of the impetuous rebel made good, garnering him a Golden Horse nomination for Best Newcomer.
28 year old Michelle Chen (陈妍 希) gave a very good performance portraying 17 year old 沈佳怡 (the love interest of Giddens when he was in high school), earning her a nomination for the 48th Golden Horse Award for Best Leading Actress.
The last scene at the wedding banquet could have been a painful and laborious one, but in the clever hands of Giddens Ko, it is thoroughly entertaining and engaging, creating a fitting ending for the film.
Be warned, though – the ending is not what you may expect. And remember to stay until the credits end for a secret scene. It’s worth the wait!
Enjoy the trailer for the movie and the theme song of the movie in the following videos:
i would love to meet the real lady,.and tell her how much majority of us envy her.. If ever anyone wrote abt loving me.. i think that sounds life is partially fulfill..i dont have this kind of life at all..parent were too protective..