OUR TIMES (MOVIE REVIEW)

After getting along well with Darren Wang's acting in Fall In Love at The First Kiss, this time, I will be watching another Darren Wang film. However, we have to rewind a bit to 2015.

Talking about teenage films that are full of first love, maybe we can remember the Crazzy Little Thing Called Love that was very booming at the time. Not to mention the beautiful Mario Maurer was paired with Baifern Phimchanok. Another story with an unsatisfactory ending is On Your Wedding Day. Although most of the stories are clichéd, of course adolescence and love stories will always be sweet and memorable whether we like the ending or not. The same goes for the film I just watched.

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OUR TIMES

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• ORIENTATION

The story begins in the present day with a successful office worker, Lin Truly (Vivian Sung) having achieved all her dreams as a teenager. However, there was something that made her feel that she was not treated properly by her boss and made her decide to resign and be temporarily unemployed.

Then, during her break, Lim Truly was thrown back to the time when she was still in high school.

Lin Truly is definitely an ordinary girl. Not a beautiful lead actress with a myriad of achievements and fans. Lin Truly grew up as an awkward teenager. Not beautiful, not smart, not skilled, nor was she in the spotlight at first.

Until one day she received a chain letter that required her to forward the letter to others so as not to be jinxed. One of the recipients of Lin's letter is Xu Taiyu (Darren Wang). The reason why Lin wants Taiyu to get jinxed is because Taiyu is bothering the person he admires, Ouyang Eifan (Dino Lee), a handsome school star, basketball player and first in his class. In addition, Taiyu is also known as the ringleader of all school riots. He is known to have enemies from other classes and likes to fight. Therefore, Lin wanted Taiyu to have bad luck.

Unfortunately, Taiyu knew who sent him the unlucky letter. Finally, Taiyu made Lin his slave. While at school, Taiyu always bothered Lin until gradually they got used to being together, and established a platonic relationship. They also build a scheme so that Lin can get Ouyang and Taiyu can get Minmin, the beautiful school idol.
However, is the friendship between Lin and Tiyu really forever? Or will the platonic relationship develop into something.

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It reminds me of Shakespeare's quote, ‘A boy can never be a girl's friend, for there will always be physical feelings and desires.’

• CHARACTERISATION

• Truly LIn (Vivian Sung)

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Actually, Truly Lin's character reminds me of Nam from Crazzy Little Things Called Love, only this time, Truly Lin's character is better. LOL. As an Andy Lau lover, she seems very loyal, because until she became an adult Truly Lin, she still likes Andy Lau and hopes to meet her idol until the end. Consistent. In addition, Lin is very hardworking, and fair. The scene when Lin defends Taiyu who was treated unfairly by the principal makes him look like he has an extraordinary leadership spirit. However, Lin did not know at the time that his courage in defending the truth was what made him admired by many people including Ouyang and Taiyu.

• Xu Taiyu (Darren Wang)

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Although I have only watched Darren Wang twice, I see Darren as a good actor. There are no awkward or stiff gestures that I see when watching Darren Wang's films.

Xu Taiyu, has a caring character even though his outward appearance is often considered a school thug. Darren is also the type of man who keeps his promises. One more thing, he is as loyal as Truly Lin.

• INTERPRETATION
  Although the conflict of this film is light, the specs of the love story and adolescence, this film has enough moral themes, such as: power hierarchy, friendship, moral school discipline, and loyalty values.

• SUMMARY
  Perfect if you want to relive the sweet story of high school. It's light and entertaining. It's also perfect as a weekend watch with friends, girlfriends, or family. Even though it's been nine years, I don't feel that the cinematography and other aspects have fallen off. Everything is still good and worth watching. So, enjoy your viewing!

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