First Time

第一次

China/Hong Kong, 2012, colour, 2.35:1, 106 mins.

Director: Han Yan 韩延.

Rating: 7/10.

Chinese re-working of a South Korean romance is far richer than the original.

STORY

Xiamen, southern China, the present day. Song Shiqiao (Yang Ying), 22, lives with her devoted mother, widowed shopowner Zheng Qing (Jiang Shan). Song Shiqiao, who always dreamed of being a ballet dancer, cannot exert herself physically as she suffers from a form of myasthenia, a neuromuscular disease, that her father died of; the medicine she takes also causes memory lapses. One day, at a charity fair, she bumps into Gong Ning (Zhao Youting), a former high-school friend she always liked, and the two end up dating, despite the initial disapproval of her mother. Gong Ning dropped out of university to spend more time with a rock band he leads; also, his girlfriend, dancer Peng Wei (Yuan Yonglin), has dumped him because of his inability to focus his life. However, for Song Shiqiao, Gong Ning is the perfect partner.

REVIEW

An extensive re-working, rather than a simple re-make, of the South Korean drama …ing …ing [아이앤지] (2003), First Time 第一次 is a far richer experience than the original on every level, even though this Mainland Chinese version also totally depends on the right chemistry between the three leads. In the central role of the terminally ill Song Shiqiao, Shanghai-born actress-model Yang Ying 杨颖 [Angelababy] is again, following Love You You 夏日乐悠悠 (2011), paired opposite a Taiwan hunk, in this case Zhao Youting 赵又廷 [Mark Chao] (Monga 艋舺, 2010; Love 爱, 2012), and their chemistry evolves into something romantic, witty and quite special. Grounding the whole movie, however, is the performance of TV and film veteran Jiang Shan 江珊 (Tell Me Your Secret 说出你的秘密, 1999; Surveillance 埋伏, 1996) as Song Shiqiao’s devoted mother, a potentially icky role that Jiang handles in a refreshingly down-to-earth way.

The original film – about a devoted mother, her lonely teenage daughter, and a lodger in the downstairs flat who starts dating her – was a smoothly made but fairly routine light drama, loaded with South Korean cuteness and featuring an almost offhand twist near the end (see poster, left). Written by Gim Jin 김진 and directed by Yi Eon-heui 이언희 | 李彦禧, it was sustained entirely by its uncloying performances: offbeat actress Im Su-jeong 임수정 | 林秀晶 (I’m a Cyborg, But That’s OK 싸이보그지만  괜찮아, 2006; All about My Wife 내  아내의  모는  것, 2012), then at the start of her career after A Tale of Two Sisters 장화홍련 (2003); TV drama actor Gim Rae-weon 김래원 | 金来沅 as her carefree, older boyfriend; and the always reliable Yi Mi-suk 이미숙 | 李美淑 (An Affair 정사 | 情事, 1998; Untold Scandal 스캔들, 2003) as the loving mother.

The re-imagining by writer-director Han Yan 韩延 makes big changes to the basic structure: the heroine is a 22-year-old woman rather than a high-schooler, and subject to mild amnesia rather than the shame of a deformed hand, and the hero is a university dropout-turned-rock singer rather than a young guy who’s just moved in downstairs. But the most radical change is to divide the film into two halves (Side A and Side B, in reference to cassette tapes the heroine records), and springing the main twist at the changeover, with more to follow. The twists motor the second half and even, in fact, make sense dramatically. First Time doesn’t hide the fact that it trades on East Asian romantic cliches, but Han always gives the impression he’s trying to bend the genre a little and keep the audience on its toes. In Side A he presents a conventional, idealised romance; in Side B he deconstructs it and then patches it together again.

Among its twists and turns, Side B also gives a personality and backstory to Zhao’s character, who up till then has been little more than a conventional hunk-of-the-month. Zhao first showed a talent for romantic comedy in his Beijing-set scenes opposite Zhao Wei 赵薇 in Love; here he gets a whole feature to himself opposite one of Asia’s hottest newcomers, Yang, and manages not only a convincing transformation but also to occasionally divert the viewer’s attention away from her.

Yang still trades on the goofy cuteness she used in Love in Space 全球热恋 (2011) and partly in Love You You, but also shows the straighter acting style of Hot Summer Days 全城热恋 (2010). Though it’s too soon to talk of her being a proper dramatic actress – and First Time is hardly a vehicle for that, anyway – the camera indisputably loves her, and her energy, combined with Zhao’s easy likeability, keeps the movie from curdling in its young-love juices. However, it’s still Jiang’s expertly modulated performance that keeps both of the other two on track.

Among the supporting players, Zhao’s real-life father, Zhao Shuhai 赵树海, is good in a whole subplot developed from a tiny character hint in the original South Korean film, while fast-rising actress Bai Baihe 白百何 (The Law of Attraction 万有引力, 2011; Love Is Not Blind 失恋33天, 2011) has fun in a rock-singer cameo that completely redefines her cute screen image. In one of her first movie roles, American-born singer-composer Yuan Yonglin 袁咏琳 [Cindy Yen] is briefly memorable in an ex-girlfriend role.

The film’s visual design is rich, with homely art direction by Malaysia-born Jiang Hanlin 江汉林 [Jeffrey Kong] (The Forbidden Kingdom 功夫之王, 2008; Love in Disguise 恋爱通告, 2010) and striking graphic and animation design by two name Hong Kongers, director-photographer Xia Yongkang 夏永康 [Wing Shya] and cartoonist Xiaohei 小黑. Widescreen photography of Xiamen’s more scenic quarters by Hong Kong d.p. Lin Zhijian 林志坚 [Charlie Lam] (Isabella 伊莎贝拉, 2005; Echoes of the Rainbow 岁月神偷, 2010) is generally sharp and colourful, with occasional romantic mistiness that’s not necessary. An early musical number based round the song Stand by Me is wittily staged; but dance scenes later in the movie are only so-so, with mobile editing to hide the fact that Yang can’t really do the moves.

CREDITS

Presented by BDI Films (CN), Irresistible Delta (HK), Beijing Xiyangyang Lianmeng Film & TV Culture (CN), Edko (Beijing) Film (CN), Edko Films (Hong Kong). Produced by BDI Films (CN).

Script: Han Yan. Original script: Gim Jin. Photography: Lin Zhijian [Charlie Lam]. Editing: Lin An’er [Angie Lam]. Music: Chen Huiyang, Zhou Jiaojiao. Songs: JVR Music. Production design: Jiang Hanlin [Jeffrey Kong]. Costume design: Xie Huixin. Sound: Zhou Lei. Animation: Eclipse Studio. Animation character design: Xiaohei. Graphic design: Xia Yongkang [Wing Shya].

Cast: Zhao Youting [Mark Chao] (Gong Ning/Lv Xia), Yang Ying [Angelababy] (Song Shiqiao), Jiang Shan (Zheng Qing, her mother), Yuan Yonglin [Cindy Yen] (Peng Wei, Gong Ning’s ex-girlfriend), Zhao Shuhai (Gong Ning’s father), Tian Yuan (Gu Qi, rock band member), Bai Baihe (Wei Jiajia, rival rock singer), Huang Xuan (Li Rao, Peng Wei’s new boyfriend), Zhao Yingjun (rock band member), Wu Xiaoliang, Fan Lin.

Release: China, 8 Jun 2012; Hong Kong, 8 Jun 2012.

(Review originally published on Film Business Asia, 14 Jun 2012.)