Eternal Summer

Colour, 35 mm
Taiwan, 2006, 95 min
Section: Another View

Synopsis

The film takes us back to the time when Jonathan and Shane become best mates at school, and form a bond which remains strong right up to their coming of age and their move to the big city as students. The two are thrown together in their childhood days when exemplary pupil Jonathan is told by his teacher to keep an eye on the problematic Shane. Over the years Jonathan feels the need occasionally to break away from this taut relationship, perhaps most of all when he befriends an attractive, unconventional girl in his class. However, a night spent together doesn’t turn out well and the experience sets a wedge between the couple, so it comes as no surprise when Carrie turns her affections towards Shane. Except that both young men, confused, tortured by remorse and by their own inhibitions, gradually realise that their friendship is more than mutual boyhood loyalty. The film is compelling for its authentic performances, the careful psychological development of the three main characters, and the chaste depiction of unveiled emotions.

About the director

Leste Chen (b. 1981, Taiwan) is currently one of the most prolific and most successful film directors in Taiwan; he shares an equal interest in both film and video. He has made around a dozen music videos featuring music stars from Taiwan and Hong Kong, and his short and medium-length films have been regularly winning awards at important Asian festivals in recent years. His feature debut entitled The Heirloom (Zhaibian, 2005) has had the greatest audience figures for a domestic film since 2002, and it also went into distribution in Europe and the USA. In his work, Leste Chen focuses on the world of young heroes, and his artistic approach is influenced by such filmmakers as Pedro Almodóvar, Alfonso Cuarón and Kim Ji-Woon.