Title: Secret
Native Title: 不能说的秘密
Country of origin: Taiwan
Year published: 2007
Duration: 100 minutes
Rating: 8/10

Main cast:
Jay Chou as Ye Xiang Lun
Kwai Lun Mei as Lu Xiao Yu
Anthony Wong as Ye Xiang Lun’s father
Alice Tseng as Qing Yi

Secret is an old movie which I watched ages ago. I read a recent throwback review about it on one of the blogs that I follow and decided that I too, need to rewatch it as well. I had enjoyed the film the first time I watched it, but the details were getting blurry and I need to refresh my memory.

Here’s the gist of the movie:
Ye Xiang Lun, a piano prodigy, transferred to the school his father was teaching at. There, he met a mysterious girl, Lu Xiao Yu, who also played the piano very well. From then on, the two were always together but Xiao Yu remained mysterious and kept many secrets. After a misunderstanding, Xiao Yu stopped coming to school and Xiang Lun was heartbroken. As he tried to find out more, he realised that things were not as simple as it seems…

Watching the movie again reaffirms my love for it even though I found the ending to be even more bittersweet. The start of the film was light-hearted, filled with cute moments and easy to digest. I enjoyed the playful interaction between Xiao Yu and Xiang Lun and the unexpected yet comical friendship between Xiang Lun and the school rugby team players/troublemakers, Ah Bao and Ah Lang. Jay might not have acted as well as his co-stars but I thought he was still able to remain likeable and kinda cute throughout the film.

I am someone who claim to be extremely non-musically inclined so commenting on music is definitely not my forte but from my superficial point of view, or hearing, in this case, I thought that the background music was lovely and apt. Upbeating and cheerful at the start and turning melo and tense towards the end. The whole film made use of music really well and those piano scenes were amazing and beautiful.

I like how the ‘secret’ unfolded. Watching a second time means that I was able to pick up all the little nuances along the way and I must say, it was done really well. The scriptwriters managed to tie in the ‘secret’ very well along the movie and I enjoyed it thoroughly. Some might argue that there is a flaw in logic but that’s what movies are all about, isn’t it? Just accept that and immerse yourself in the movie, and you will find that it is indeed a fruitful journey.

The only part that I didn’t like was the ending. {Mild spoilers} It wasn’t bad and I understand that sacrifices have to be made but I thought it was pretty sad, despite the ‘happy ending’. I get that love overwrites all but it’s still really irresponsible to leave just like that. What about the dad that was left behind? And they haven’t even known each other for long, is it really worth it? But then again, this is just a movie so all is well.

I would rate this an 8 and encourage you to watch this for the lovely plot twist and wonderful music if not for the cute, innocent sweetheart moments that Kwai Lun Mei and Jay Chou had at the start.

PS: I had the movie playing at the background while writing this review and I had to replay the movie for 3 times before finishing it. Being a blogger indeed isn’t easy. Whew.