A moving title with room for improvement in the editing department

I am left conflicted after watching this movie.

This is a universal story, a tale of forbidden love and the path to self-acceptance. Even being set mostly in the period right after Taiwan's martial law was lifted, the movie depicts the reality of many queer experiences around the world. If you are part of the community, the story of Jia-Han and Birdy will likely resonate with you at some level.

The cinematography was beautiful, and the story was intimate and realistic, with a message that moved me. However, I am not particularly fond of the forced/chopped transitions that were a bit confusing. The timeline jumps all over the place: there are several places in which the story jumps to a conversation Jia-Han has with the priest and back again. This conversation, although pivotal for the plot, interrupts the pacing of the movie. By the tail end of the film, we flash forward to 2020, but we jump back to the 80s and forward to 2020 again. Some scenes are a bit dragged out with silences that do not always manage to convey any emotions.

Overall, even if the editing didn't sit with me particularly, I would say that the story is worth a watch.

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