American Girl (2021)

Hits so close to home

The best films are the ones that creep up on you and this did exactly that. It's a slow burn for sure but it never feels that way and every scene hits really close to home. As someone whose immigration journey was the other way around (Taiwan to the U.S.) I honestly expected a little bit of distance between me and the content, thinking that Fen's experiences would be very different from mine.

So imagine my surprise when watching this movie felt like reliving memories; the feeling of being a fish-out-of-water, of missing home, of feeling lonely — I've felt that before. The ugly words that uncontrollably come out of your mouth during a fight with your parents — I've said those before. And at the end of the day still knowing you love each other, that "can you clean my ears for me" or "I cut a plate of fruit for you" means "I love you and I'm sorry" — I lived that too.

This movie is beautiful and I cried my eyes out. I didn't expect it to end when it did, but in hindsight I'm kind of okay with it. The film is a snippet of the life of a family against a historical backdrop and even after the movie ends, real life goes on.

這部影片就是那種會悄悄的走進你心裡的那種。劇情的速度緩緩的，但永遠不無聊，也不停的讓人念舊。因為我的移民方向是反的（臺灣到美國），我錯以為我和女主的經驗會有距離。

看這部電影的感覺反而跟回想自己的回憶一樣。那種不自在，想家，寂寞的心情我感受過。那些失控中說的難聽的話我也說過。那句『媽媽，妳可以幫我掏耳朵嗎？』中的『對不起，我愛你』我也都體會過。

《美國女孩》真的是一部溫馨，令人感動掉淚的電影。結局是有點突然，但越想越有理。畢竟，我們看到的是一家人的一時刻。影片結束了，人生卻不斷持續的。

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