Watch Girlfriend Boyfriend For Free

Clever, believable, and super fun to watch. It totally has replay value.

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

Ten years after Chih-yen Yee's BLUE GATE CROSSING (2002, 9/10), which is a powerhouse debut for Lun Mei Gwei, who plays a schoolgirl harbors a secretive lesbian love to her best friend, but is also pursued by the boy who is her best friend's object of unrequited admiration. In Ya-che Yang's second feature after the box office dark-horse ORZ BOYZ (2008), GF*BF remoulds the love triangle with a girl and two boys, and ambitiously tracks their life orbit from late 1980s to the present, however, an unerring selling point is the all-the-rage queer leitmotif. From their high school days in 1980s, Mabel (Gwei), Liam (Hsiao-chuan Chang) and Aaron (Vaughan) are three close schoolmates and rebellious to the militarized education of their school, discernibly Mabel has feelings for the introvert but kindhearted Liam, but the latter never make an initiative to chase after her, instead, a more exuberant and hot-blooded Aaron woos her and they become lovers.In 1990, Liam and Aaron are college flatmates, at the heat of a critical social change which demands democracy in Taiwan, the ambitious Aaron is an avid adherent of student movement, and the three reunite as protestants in a sit-down in front of the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall, but little as they know, their future is never how they can imagine. When wine is in, truth is out, during an after-party, Liam finally reveals to Mabel his affection towards Aaron, and Mabel is also devastated to realize she and Aaron can never be together. 7 years later, out of the ivory tower, Aaron marries into a rich family and Mabel is his mistress; Liam, also is a lover of a closet man with a family, they meet again, friendship forever, is just a hollow slogan to save the face, Aaron's attempt to elope with Mabel foils at the last minute in the airport, again Mabel heartbreakingly braces herself to be the bravest one. Liam is the one who knows her best, their train of thought clings to the remembrance of the past, but a malignant tumor will make things easier for them. In the coda set in 2012, a middle-age Liam is the custodian of Mabel's twin daughters, an unheralded Mr. nice guy sacrifices his life to raise the offspring of his best friends one of whom he is in love with and another he is unable to love. A box-office success, and grabbed 7 Golden Horse Awards nominations (encompasses the big 5 with cinematography and a Supporting Actor nomination for the transformative Bryan Shu-Hao Chang as a silver-tongued sissy queen) and won Gwei a coveted BEST ACTRESS trophy for her transfixing performance, who again and again deservingly salvages the film from its dullest and most arbitrary moments, Mabel's tribulations are poignantly presented with a force of impact so powerful and destructive, wonderfully contrasts to Hsiao-chuan Chang's repressed implosion, which is also painful to watch, and it heralds Hsiao-chuan's rosy effort to venture into a wider spectrum as a mature actor instead of a brawny pretty boy who leaves an indelible impression in Leste Chen's ETERNAL SUMMER (2006, 7/10), another ménage-à-trois teen-spirit love confusion. Vaughan, the red-hot British-and-Taiwanese mixed-blooded jock from MONGA (2010) and TINY TIMES series (2013-2014), is a fresh-air but fails to lift the momentum under his belt, his Aaron is the most ambiguous one among the trinity, his comeuppance is never mentioned, but we can conjure up from the context, he is the most pathetic one. One cannot overlook the ambition from Ya-che Yang, who tries to conjoin politics with a youth culture of repression and rebellion extending almost 25 years, but never quite hits the bull's- eye, utilizing conspicuously emotive songs to amp up an atmosphere of grandeur and upsurging emotions also falls contrived and wanting. It is a beautifully shot film nevertheless and the performances are highly recommendable, Lun Mei Gwei and Hsiao-chuan Chang are among my Top 10 lists of 2012 so far.

Of all topics, who would have thought the concept of Taiwanese nationalism would have been such a difficult one to convey on screen? Last year, the ambitious but bloated Warriors of the Rainbow made a respectable attempt to tell the story of the Taiwanese Indigenous and their battle to keep their land against the invading Japanese. In 2012, director Ya-Che Yang travels down a more contemporary path, as Girlfriend Boyfriend recounts the changing lives and persistent love triangle between three close friends against the backdrop of social upheaval, as Taiwan breaks free of its martial law rule and attempts to forge a new identity.Admittedly, this film's political agenda plays a secondary role to the interplay between its three main characters (Lun Mei Gwei, Hsiao-Chuan Chang and Fon Yuen Vaughan), for which it should be commended, but that is where the applause ends. Because for all its promise, Girlfriend Boyfriend simply cannot decide what sort of film it wants to be, and the result is a disjointed cluster of unnecessary side plots and generally melodramatic fare.For a film that classifies itself as a comedy, it facilitates no laughs beyond the opening act, instead gradually descending into a miserable soap opera. That is not to say that its attempt at humour was off the mark; an impossibility due to the total lack of humour in the first place. The film's attempt to deepen the story by throwing in new themes for the characters to intermittently deal with (including adultery, homosexuality and self-inflicted disconnectedness) actually has the opposite effect, as the plot becomes needlessly convoluted. It closes on an ending intending to justify the struggles each character has endured, but the fact that it completely overlooks the fate of Aaron, arguably the film's most relatable character, leaves the viewer wanting more, but also glad that the ordeal is over. *There's nothing I love more than a bit of feedback, good or bad. So drop me a line on [email protected] and let me know what you thought of my review. If you're looking for a writer for your movie website or other publication, I'd also love to hear from you.*

A sad but beautiful triangular love story with Taiwan's student movement as backdrop. How much are you willing to suffer/sacrifice for the person you love? How long are you willing to love even if your love is not requited? What would you do for a friend who loves you but you do not love as much? How close would you like to be with someone you love but were afraid to tell?These are all questions I kept asking myself as the movie went along. Like the tag in its trailer, perhaps everyone has two lovers: one who loves me and one I love. Life would be perfect if these two persons are the same. But life is never perfect. And in this case, the best and the saddest love stories are muddled and linger on for three decades, making it beautiful and sad at the same time.Mabel (Lunmei Kwai) loves Liam (Hsiao-chuan Chang) who loves Aaron (Rhydian Vaughan) who loves Mabel. Only Aaron expresses his love for Mabel after Liam tells him that he and Mabel are not a couple. Both Mabel and Liam did not have the courage to confess their feelings until years later when Mabel found out she was betrayed by Aaron. However, their tragic confessions make both of them even sadder and pave way for their stronger friendship.Another few years pass when they all graduate from college and start working. Liam's love to Aaron and Mabel's love to Liam still linger but Aaron is married, to someone outside this triangle. Their friendship is spoiled when an affair is involved. Perhaps Mabel is involved with Aaron because that would be the closest she can get to Liam: if Liam cannot get close to Aaron, maybe she can do it for him. The sad part is that she finally realizes that Aaron would/could never love her as much as he has promised – ironically he is just like the Pinocchio he tells his son. So Mabel chooses to back off, again. For Liam, no matter it is Aaron or other man or being loved by Mabel, life is painful. Like he said, many sufferings are self-inflicted. Liam finally makes a painful decision to stop loving Aaron after a confrontation following prolonged repression: he has been suffering all his life but he stopped because he saw a mirror image. Mabel could have a choice and so could he. The scene of them in the supermarket is moving as they finally realize they are still very close friends after all these years – and they care for each other no matter what happens. Although his love for Aaron subsides and their friendship spoiled, his love for Mabel exists which sublimes into parental love for her kids whom he treats as his own. This is such a tragic story but you cannot help but like it. It could never have happened without the three outstanding actors and actress where everyone is caught between two forces. Kwai is amazing in playing Mabel, who is caught between Aaron and Liam. She evolves from a bold Tomboy, a daring college student and finally a mature but sad woman. When you see her sad eyes, you want to cry with her.Hsiao-chuan Chang plays the loving yet introvert Liam who spends his whole life suppressing his passion but taking care of his close friend. You will feel so sorry for him and his predicament that you want to hug him tightly.Rhydian Vaughan plays the outgoing, daring and rebellious Aaron. Extremely handsome, Aaron at college resembles a young Tom Cruise and is very pleasant to watch. A very important character is Sean (Bryan Shu-hao Chang) who, opposite to Liam, is honest and open about his sexual orientation. A rational observer of life, he is well aware of what's going on between the trios and is doing everything he can to help his friends. An honest and sincere person, Sean finally finds the happiness he deserves. Bryan is brilliant: he does not appear often but whenever he appears, the character shines. This movie uses very strong film language to express the rich emotions. All details are related to pave way for later development or reflect the character's emotions. Produced with immense sincerity, excellent direction, great script and superb cast, this is worth watching again and again because there are such complex emotions going on. On the one hand, our protagonists seem to be happy and fulfilled; on the other hand, there is always a sad note and painful compromise somewhere. But then if you look from another angle, it may be sad but it is comforting after all. An excellent production. Must see.

"GF*BF" is one of those tragic life experiences disguised within layers of a coming of age kind of youthful romance, but really it is a deep and complicated emotional turmoil about three tragic souls growing up in Taiwan during the 80s period of immense social change."GF*BF" is an immensely difficult film to review, as it is one of those films that is impossible to dislike. It is well directed, stylishly filmed, complicatedly and originally scripted, filled with some truly wonderful and convincing performances, but somehow, it doesn't totally go the distance. In saying so, director Yang Ya-che does a wonderful job in bringing such a complicated and layered script to life and almost pulled it off convincingly. In fact, there are times when I was almost overwhelmed by the volume of feelings and emotions on display, but somehow the film lacks a resonance emotional connection with the audience that could have propel the film to reach its lofty ambitions. Not unlike 2006′s Taiwanese youth romance "Eternal Summer" (also starring lead actor Joseph Chang), the film deals with similar issues and situated during a testing period of time in Taiwan and for youth growing up in general.In many ways the film attempts to say too much, striving to be far too complex and by the end of it, the film itself is caught within its own web. There is just so much potential that director Yang could've explored, but somehow fails to fully capitalize on it. In fact, some scenes are so powerful and notable, namely the intense confrontation scene at the karaoke room, the simple good bye gesture from Gwei Lun Mei looking on by the bedroom window and the brilliant scene at the airport near the end. At times, the quality from these scenes feels as though it came from a different movie all together. However, a few scenes do not make a movie and instead of uplifting the audience to the ultimate emotional connection, the film decides to cut and chop to another time period.Joseph Chang ("Eternal Summer") at times is able to even outshine the always brilliant Gwei Lun Mei ("Secret"). Chang is quietly wonderful in the conflicted role and carries the film with the most difficult character on hand. Rhydian Vaughan ("Love 2012") tries hard, but is given far too little material to work with, other than being a total jerk. In a way, Gwei Lun Mei is fast becoming the Taiwanese's version of Zhou Xun and that's the highest order of compliment an Asian actress can receive in this day and age. Her chemistry with Chang is undeniable and the subtle moments between the two are best left in the unspoken scenes of early tiny touches, wandering eyes and some stirring emotions. What director Yang is able to achieve is being able to create and allow the audience to focus on the two main characters (Gwei Lun Mei and Joseph Chang) that in more than one ways or another are clearly two complete mirror images of each other.At the end of the day, Yang tries extremely hard to convince the audience about the subject matter that he is trying to say. While there are notions of life, love and friendship that one can possibly learn from or even relate, the film seems more occupy with the twists and turns of complexity into the dynamics of the trio relationships than actual cinematic experience for the audience. With that being said, "GF*BF" is easily a good film, filled with some truly wonderful performances, helmed by an ambitious director and illuminated by a difficult period of change in Taiwanese history. One just cannot help compare the similarities with 2006's "Eternal Summer", but of the two films, there is no doubt that Yang takes it much further. A good film that comes up short of its lofty ambitions (Neo 2012) I rate it 8/10