Fall in Love at First Kiss

一吻定情

China/Taiwan, 2019, colour, 2.35:1, 121 mins.

Director: Chen Yushan 陈玉珊.

Rating: 6/10.

Mainland actress Lin Yun is the main reason to watch this latest version of a Japanese high-school manga.

STORY

Du’nan city, Taiwan, the present day. On her first day at Du’nan Private High School, 16-year-old Yuan Xiangqin (Lin Yun) accidentally bumps into rich kid and fellow freshman Jiang Zhishu (Wang Dalu) and their lips meet. Even though Jiang Zhishu ignores her, she decides from that moment that he is to be the Man in Her Life. Because of his extremely high IQ of 200, Jiang Zhishu is appointed the new students’ representative. He is put in the elite stream, Class A, while Yuan Xiangqin is put in the lowest stream, Class F. Jiang Zhishu is admired by all the girls in the school but, because Class A has its own security-controlled building, none of them (including Yuan Xiangqin) has a chance to get close to him. He is also seen in the company of beauty Gong Shahui (Cai Siyun), though their exact relationship is unconfirmed. Meanwhile, Yuan Xiangqin is courted – against her wishes – by the punky Jin (Chen Borong), a fellow member of Class F. Yuan Xiangqin has the idea of sneaking into Class A’s building during a fire drill: she declares her love to Jiang Zhishu but he calls her “stupid” and the CCTV video goes viral. When the rundown house that Yuan Xiangqin and her father (Tai Zhiyuan) are living in collapses, they’re left broke and homeless. Jin organises a public collection for her and, as he passes by, Jiang Zhishu again insults her. She vows she’ll prove she’s his equal, by getting on the list of the top 100 students that he heads. Yuan Xiangqin and her father are taken in by the latter’s old schoolfriend, Li (Li Mingshun), who’s now very wealthy, and she is surprised to find that Jiang Zhishu is Li’s eldest son. Insisting she’s now over her crush on him, Yuan Xiangqin forces Jiang Zhishu to help her with a forthcoming mock exam. As a result, she just manages to scrape into the Top 100 list. But then Jin and Jiang Zhishu go head-to-head on the school’s sports day, and Yuan Xiangqin is forced to pick sides when Jiang Zhishu is arrogant towards Jin.

REVIEW

A versatile performance by Mainland actress Lin Yun 林允, 22, who hasn’t had much luck onscreen since her head-turning debut in the title role of Mermaid 美人鱼 (2016), is the main reason to watch rom-com Fall in Love at First Kiss 一吻定情, a high-school chickflick that runs along familiar but smoothly entertaining lines. In that respect it’s not much different from the first film by Taiwan director Chen Yushan 陈玉珊 – hit youth comedy Our Times 我的少女时代 (2015), which consolidated the career of Taiwan actress Song Yunhua 宋芸桦 and enjoyed warm business on the Mainland. Released as a Valentine’s Day attraction across East Asia, Kiss took, however, only a ho-hum RMB173 million in the Mainland, half the amount of Times‘ RMB359 million.

Kiss is the umpteenth version of the popular Japanese manga Itazura na Kiss イタズラなKiss (“Mischievous Kiss”), by the late Tada Kaoru 多田かおる (1960-99). First published in 1990 (see cover, left), and known as 淘气小亲亲 in Chinese, it’s been adapted over the years into half-a-dozen TV dramas (Japanese, Taiwan, South Korean, Thai), as well as a Japanese anime and a series of three Japanese films (see poster, below left). Though the current version is largely funded by Mainland companies, Chen and her two compatriot co-writers, Zeng Yongting 曾咏婷 (Our Times) and Huang Jirou 黄继柔 (Zeng’s TVD writing partner, in her film debut), have relocated the story to Taiwan and, apart from Lin, used a largely Taiwan cast. But apart from some local accents and comic styles, plus the use of traditional Chinese characters, the fictional setting of Du’nan city has a placeless feel and could just as well be in the Mainland.

The Chinese title (“One Kiss, Devoted Love”) refers to the film’s opening sequence, when, on her first day at senior high, poor but perky dunderhead Yuan Xiangqin (Lin) literally bumps into rich but arrogant brainbox Jiang Zhishu (Taiwan’s Wang Dalu 王大陆, Our Times) and the pair’s mouths meet. For her it means he’ll be the Man in Her Life; for him it’s just an annoying distraction from being a star pupil and school idol. Despite their segregation at school (she’s in dunces’ Class F, he’s in genius’ Class A) and every public humiliation he heaps on her, she just won’t give up – and then, for complicated reasons, she finds herself living in his family’s home.

An experienced producer of TV dramas, Chen, 44, knows how to bring a slick package to the screen, and here she also brings a cartoony feel to the unlikely central romance that tips its hat to the story’s manga origins. Motoring the movie and even making it half believable in manga terms is Lin’s performance, which slides with equal conviction between cartoony goofy (complete with double-takes) to love-wounded teen. Without her, Kiss would be a much more conventional youth picture – and, in fact, does become so in the more generic final half-hour. As the boorish Jiang Zhishu, Wang, 27, doesn’t have much more to do than look exasperated and/or superior, and doesn’t fully manage the transition in the final act to a sympathetic character.

Lots of colour is added round the edges, from the boy’s seriously wacky mother played by Canadian-born Vietnamese-Chinese actress (and onetime sex symbol) Zhong Liti 钟丽缇 [Christy Chung] to the girl’s dotty father played by Taiwan TV presenter Tai Zhiyuan 邰智源 and her punky suitor by Taiwan actor-singer Chen Borong 陈柏融. The role of Jiang Zhishu’s female friend is rather sidelined in this version but is classily played by Hong Kong-born, Taiwan drama graduate Cai Siyun 蔡思韵 in her few scenes. Production values are bright and editing by Hong Kong ace Li Dongquan 李栋全 [Wenders Li] is seamless.

CREDITS

Presented by New Classics Media (CN), Tianjin Maoyan Weiying Cultural Media (CN), Huaxia Film Distribution (CN), Wanda Pictures (CN), Best Pal Entertainment (TW).

Script: Zeng Yongting, Chen Yushan, Huang Jirou. Manga: Tada Kaoru. Photography: Yao Hongyi, Zhu Jingwei. Editing: Li Dongquan [Wenders Li]. Music direction: Hou Zhijian. Art direction: Liao Bingyi. Styling: Zhang Peizhen. Sound: Li Yuzhi, Cai Hansheng. Action: Zhang Fengshuo, Yang Zhilong. Visual effects: Wang Junxiong (Cheer Digiart).

Cast: Wang Dalu (Jiang Zhishu), Lin Yun (Yuan Xiangqin), Chen Borong (Jin), Cai Siyun (Gong Shahui), Tai Zhiyuan (Yuan Xiangqin’s father), Li Mingshun [Christopher Lee] (Li, Jiang Zhishu’s father), Zhong Liti [Christy Chung] (Jiang Zhishu’s mother), Zhao Ziqiang (school administration director), Xie Xinhao (Nanbo), Zhong Xinling (Angelina, Jiang family maid), Zheng Yinsheng (Xiaosen), Cai Yizhen (Li Mei), Dong Zhihan (Ma Meigui/Rose), WangZongli (Jiang Yushu), Guo Shuyao (head nurse).

Release: China, 14 Feb 2019; Taiwan, 14 Feb 2019.