Jeanskynebu
the audience applauded
Dirtylogy
It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.
Robert Joyner
The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one
ebiros2
A movie about a girl in 1979 falling in love with a boy in 1999. Ye Xiang Lun (Jay Chou) is a new comer to a prestigious conservatory high school in Taiwan. His father (Anthony Wong) is a faculty at the school since before he was born. He's greeted by his school mates, and meets a mysterious girl (Gwei Lun-Mei) that plays piano in an old room that's about to be demolished. They find likings with each other, and find romance. Ye is a tour de force when it comes to playing a piano. He promises the girl that he'll play "Swan" at graduation and present it to her. But he also finds that she's nowhere to be seen at the graduation, until she mysteriously appears at the back of the auditorium.This was a directorial debut for Jay Chou, and he does a credible job of presenting the story. He also wrote the script. Jay is joined by Anthony Wong who plays his father again since the movie "Initial D". His skills as a classically trained pianist is also prominently featured in this movie. The movie is beautifully shot, and the actors were all good. I thought Gwei Lun-Mei had a sexy ankle. The movie captured this quite well.The romance is little bit reminiscent of "The girl who leaped through time (1983 version)" as well as the tone of the visuals. It's difficult to have romance with someone who's not from your era, and kind of has a bitter sweet taste to it. This is the highlight of this movie, and is conveyed very well.Some parts of the movie was not likely to happen. The girl, if she's actually leaped into another time, I think she would be freaking out. Not in this movie. She's cool as a cucumber. I also don't understand that part where Jay Chou visits her home, and doesn't find her there. And the ending part where Jay Chou plays the music - where did he go ? and what about the graduation picture of the girl, what was the message in it ? What happened to Jay Chou in the end wasn't clear either.So the movie isn't exactly tight in many ways, and leaves loose ends. If these parts were better addressed, I think the movie would have been better.The movie is of good quality, and is recommended for viewing.
Muntasir Amin
Few days back i bought some DVDs to pass my vacation. Secret was one of those. I bought it without any idea what its going to be. But after watching this movie I am like WOW!!Jay Chou is really a talented. His direction skill is fascinating. He takes you back to your school life. Where there is most pure thing of the world "adolescence love", where you got funny friends and teachers. All these elements you will get in Secret. The scores are also amazing. But the main strength of Secret is its screenplay and story, which is beautifully told. The whole movie is very engaging. Twist comes at the time when you start to think now something should happen. The twist takes the movie in the new level. Now come to the acting. Many people think that Jay Chou should have casted someone else in his character. I wont say that. He was much decent. But the performance you will never forget was given by Kwai Lun- Mei. She brought the innocence in her character in amazing way. The depth she brought to her character was mind blowing. You will start to laugh and cry with her. Her acting is one of the power of this movie. Besides Alice Tzeng,Anthony Wong and Ye Xiang Lun's friends (rugby players) acted convincingly.Scenes to watch All the romantic scenes between Xiao Yu and Xiang Lun. Specially don't miss the Qing Tian Wa Wa song's Scene.After watching this movie I am recommending this movie to everyone I meet. Don't miss it.
hj s
When this romantic movie was released for the first time in Korea, there wasn't big media hype. However, it became famous gradually through word-of-mouth so that it was shown again a few months after it went off the air. Also it pulled down big amount of money. Many reviewers said, 'If you miss this movie, it would be one of the goofiest things you've done throughout your life as a movie-goer.' I found it true for myself after watching it.To cut to the chase, it's a romantic movie. However if you expect just a bog standard chick flick, it would be pretty different from what you've expected because it doesn't have only sweet love story and humor, but also the touching plot, unpredictable fantasy, and even a twist. Also when it comes to its music, couldn't be better! It's been considered as one of the movies which have the best music with 'August Rush' and 'The Pianist'. Some commercials were takeoffs on its stunning piano performance scenes.Thus it would make people who like romantic stories and sweet music be glued in front of the screen, but I'm not sure in the case of people who anticipate cutting edge special effects, spectacle and action scenes. The story goes pretty slow in the first-half part and some graphic effects at the last part is sort of cheesy (It was awarded the prize for visual effects, though). Nevertheless, I still want to recommend it strongly to even these people. At least, I'm not afraid it'll let them down. I can rattle on for hours about the reasons followed by.First, let's get down to characters. Main characters are Jay (Jay Chou) and Rain (Kwai Lunmei). The two players seemed to have chemistry. Jay Chou is already famous as a good singer and an actor in East Asia. He played lots of roles in this movie. He starred in it as a main character who had a talent for piano. Also the story was based on his first love. Moreover it was his debut movie as a director. He was a composer of this O.S.T as well. He'd studied piano until high school, so he could make amazing scenes in which he played the piano by himself. His calm and gentle appearance went well with the sweet dialog.Rain is a mysterious girl in the same piano department with Jay. She has innocent looks that could make many guys remind of their first love. Kwai Lunmei played the role of the girl, which I think is the most difficult role to express the character's complicated emotion without a flaw. Plus, the quite cheerful supporting actors add zest to the movie.The story takes place at one arts high school in Taiwan. It seems to be the late 20th century or the early 21th century. One day, Jay(Jay Chou), who has just transferred this school, follows the unknown tune from the old piano practice room. He tracks down one lovely girl who is playing the piano there. They have good feelings toward each other right from the word 'go', and they fall in love with each other gradually. However, she sometimes disappears, saying 'It's a secret.' Next? I don't want to spoil your pleasure. All that I can say is that the director hid some special factors, such as fantasy and dramatic reversals in the last part and locked down the cover good and tight until the climax. Actually, the first part seems to have something in common with other romantic movies. However, the ending part will lead you to the unknown world.It's no exaggeration to say that its background music is another main character. Even if you hate soft music, once you try to listen to its music, it would begin to wear down your defenses. It won't let your ears close even for a minute. Especially, the scene, called 'Piano Battle' between Jay and the talented student at the school, is considered to be the killer part of the movie. Jay copied it correctly by ear right after the talented boy played one piece. This was how the battle went. They played three pieces each, and two of them were arranged Chopin's works. I bet over ninety percent of people, who watch it, would find themselves searching for the video clip of this scene on the Internet afterward. I even signed up for the piano institute right after watching it, and mastered Chopin's Impromptu.The cinematography also pulled its weight. It tried to play down its involvement in the story. I thought first it was nothing to write home about, but I realized it helped me to concentrate on the story, not on less important things. I don't mean it was lousy. The subdued lighting matched perfectly with the atmosphere. Also, certain scenes were shot dynamically. While two boys were having the piano battle in particular, the camera chased their alive and dynamic performances very effectively.Are you still hesitating to watch it? Well, I'm a girl in twenties who loves romantic comedy and classical music. This movie which has all these things was beyond amazing to me. I know arts can't be judged if one is better or worse than another. However, a lot of film festivals acknowledged 'Secret' through giving it many awards. It means that many people thought it was very worth watching.Also one experience sometimes changes people's tastes by accident. There might be a chance 'Secret' could be this experience to somebody. Shake off your prejudice and just expose yourself to the variety of arts. I hope my review change your mind. Lovely music, striking scenery, interesting stories...'Secret', which was made out of this, will stimulate your sensibility. It's time to hunker down and dive into the romantic world!
Pazu Kong
The acting of both Jay Chou and Lunmei Kwai were naturally conceived and considering this is the first movie directed by Jay Chou, a talented singer and songwriter, I must say this is not a bad movie.The angles of shooting were also thoughtful, making it quite a pleasant viewing experience.But the plot was full of strange twists and the sense of sadness was created too deliberately, somehow not quite seamlessly fitted in the movie.Call me picky and I'm sure this was not Contact and Jay not Carl Sagan, but I still felt somehow bewildered by the storyline, the time traveling, the prolonged asthma of Hsiao Yu (Rain), the destruction of the school building, the music score of Secret, the magical power of the old piano, even the poem was a pretension to elegance.I hope I don't offend the fans of this movie, but I think this movie fits perfectly into the mainstream movie by giving you all the elements of sadness, fantasy, beautiful actress, handsome actor, good music and of course, romance. But with its obvious flaws, it is never a classic.
