Moview Review: 渺渺 (Miao Miao)

The plot: Xiao Ai is a spunky Taiwanese teenage girl who is obsessed with baking, although her culinary creations never come out right. One day after arriving late in class, she discovers there's a new kid, a transfer student from Japan, and is immediately fascinated with her. The transfer student is Miao Miao, and she makes wonderful tasting pastries and cakes, and has what Xiao Ai calls 'sunshine hands', naturally warm hands perfect for baking. The two become instant best friends, but naturally the story doesn't end there.

Miao Miao meets a mysterious man who always wears headphones in a second-hand CD shop that used to be a pastry shop. She falls for him and constantly drags Xiao Ai along to hang out in the shop and try to find out more about the man. At first Xiao Ai eagerly helps her best friend, but as one thing leads to another, Xiao Ai realizes that her relationship with Miao Miao is not what it used to be...


The verdict: [Slight spoiler alert(?)]
The plot of 'Miao Miao' is not one which is particularly original, and quite a few parts I found rather predictable. Especially when Xiao Ai was a little too friendly towards Miao Miao almost from the beginning. I knew she wouldn't see Miao Miao as just a friend for long. However, the little back stories of the characters (Xiao Ai and her father, Miao Miao and her grandmother, Chen Fei and Bei) add a little depth to the story, which I liked. I really liked Xiao Ai's character, and the way she dresses, though her behavior towards Miao Miao makes her feeling extremely obvious to me, almost too much so. Chen Fei is also a cool character, I think I'd probably fall for someone like him if I ever came across his type. The movie is filled with beautiful shots and the soundtrack invoked that feeling of carefree teenage summers. I particularly liked Cheer Chen(陳綺貞)'s song, 旅行的意義 (Lu Xing De Yi Yi). Even with its flaws (or rather the just flaws that I picked out), I still enjoyed 'Miao Miao', and after watching it, I felt...how should I describe it... mmm...I guess free of worries, just simply happy.

I love movies that leave me feeling like that.

Trailer:

Rating:
3.75/5

I admire Rachel Liang(梁文音)'s strength so much.

I have so many ideas for new blogposts that I have put aside for later because I am just too dang lazy. But I just had to write this one, right here, right now, before I go to sleep. I want to capture these raw emotions right now before they are watered down by waves of drowsiness.

I just finished watching a charity event, on Taiwanese TV that was raising money to help those in need after the horrible Typhoon Morakot, the worst typhoon to hit Taiwan in the last 50 years. Viewers called in to donate money to the Red Cross, and tons of celebrities came to take phone calls and perform.


The host, asked Rachel Liang, who was taking phone calls to stop for a little while and chat. Because the typhoon did a lot of damage in Southern Taiwan, and because that area is home to a lot of Taiwan's aboriginal people (原住民), most of the aboriginal celebrities on the show were asked about the well-being of their families. Rachel Liang, who is a Taiwanese aborigine of the Rukai tribe, was asked this question too, and it was revealed, not by her, but by the host to the viewers, that the graves of Rachel Liang's parents located by the riverside in her hometown are now gone. The camera switched to a closeup of Rachel's face, and we could see that there were tears in her eyes.

Now this alone I find heartbreaking. But for those who don't know it, I think I need to write a bit about her parents. Rachel's father died in a gas explosion accident at work when she was 10. Her alcoholic mother was not very capable of taking care of her and her siblings, so Rachel often lived with others. Her mother then died when Rachel was 12, and she and her siblings were left to grow up in an orphanage.

So when I heard what had happened to the graves of her parents, which she had visited every Mothers' and Fathers' Day even after she broke into the entertainment industry, I started tearing up.

The thing that made me notice Rachel Liang was the MV of her single 最幸福的事 (Zui Xing Fu De Shi). The storyline is so beautiful, as is her voice, and the first time I saw it while watching MTV, I cried. I just watched it again, and yeah I teared up again. And I don't cry very easily, don't get me wrong. This is some strong stuff.



At the end, on the phone, Rachel Liang says: "Dad, Mom, how are you? I've grown up already. Can you hear my voice now? Being able to become your daughter, is the most happiest thing to me."

That just kills me.

I know 梁文音's parents would be SO proud of their daughter, and who she has grown up to be. She is so beautiful inside and out.