Written by Aaron Medina. Edited by Matthew Yuching and Denise Joaquin.
A story that touches even the hardest of hearts, “I Belonged to You”, directed by Zhang Yibai, will be one of the movies that will be shown in this year’s Spring Film Festival. With a touch of adult comedy, the film comes from the romantic genre.
We all know the saying, “No man is an island.” Indeed, I think this couldn’t hold more true for Chen Mo, the main character of the movie. It took a breakup from his long-time girlfriend and DJ partner for him to realize it. After all, he wouldn’t have been able to realize his deep longing for a special someone in his life if he didn’t experience firsthand what it meant to be an island himself.
Eventually, someone new comes into his life; Yao Ji, an intern, who works for him in his dying radio show. The significance of this character to his life—a sometimes sassy, extroverted woman not afraid to speak her mind—comes to its fruition in the last scene of the movie, when Chen Mo presumably finally accepts that he likes her. Of course, extensive details of the movie won’t be revealed, suffice it to say that I find Chen Mo’s acceptance towards the end of the movie as extremely appropriate.
Before Chen Mo realizes that he loves her, however, many events take place in between. Some of these events may or may not have contributed to the overall finality of Chen Mo’s realization, but, in my opinion, they helped the movie become more entertaining and increased its ability to evoke emotions.
The movie’s ability to evoke emotions did not seem too strong. Some moments of sorrow and joy presented themselves, but these events seemed balanced; they neither made me cry with sadness nor shout for joy. For a person who never wants to come out of a movie so emotional, I certainly liked this aspect of the movie.
One event in the middle of the movie, however, can be counted as an exception: Chen Mo’s best friend plans an engagement party so he can propose to his long-time girlfriend, only to be told that she wants to break up with him. Words cannot capture the intense sadness that this brings his best friend, which so easily transmits itself to the audience.
And I think this pretty much sums up what the movie wants to tell us; that there is hope and good memories despite intense trials. Many of the significant characters in the movie go through unbelievable trials, and yet they find reason to hope and go on.
Photo header retrieved from DramaPanda
