A mind-blowing and twisted drama with strong themes based on phases of youth…
Actor Alec Su directs his first film, The Left Ear, based on the adaptation of Chinese youth novel, together with novelist Rao Xueman who writes the screenplay. The moderate budget film became a major box office success in China with USD $78 million.
The story begins in the small coastal town, Tian Yi. Li Er, who has a bad hearing on her left ear, is preparing for her national university exams. She has a crush on her handsome classmate, Xu Yi. On the other side of town, school dropout Ba La works at the bar as the singer. She falls in love with Zhang Yang and decides to go after him even though he has his rich girlfriend, Jiang Jiao. Zhang Yang will be with Ba La on the condition that she has to ruin Xu Yi’s life. Along the way, both Li Bala and Li Er meet while pursuing their love for Zhang Yang and Xu Yi that leads them in becoming good friends. As the movie progresses, Li Er blames Zhang Yang for Li Bala’s death in the car accident.
The film title is subtle along the line on conveying words of love and friendship through conversations and physical affection. Yet, the film solely focuses on the characters’ chemistry and emotions. It starts off with having first impressions on the characters and slowly developed with realization on how the characters are going through their phases as teens and young adults. It does well with how a single character ignites the domino effects on other characters’ lives and emotions. Li Bala maybe a nasty girl who gets what she wants at first, but after entering into Li Er’s, Zhang Yang’s and Xu Yi’s lives, Li Bala is actually a good girl, with mesmerizing beauty and personality, but doing bad things out of gaining affection and happiness. The twisted romance and friendship storm arises after Li Bala’s death impacting their emotional state on moving forward with their lives. That keeps the story moving forward and making us wanting to know more what’s happening next without Ba La.
Li Er, acted by Chen Duling, is the star character of this film who keeps close communication and affection with Li Bala, Zhang Yang and Xu Yi. Through her life as teen and young adult, she wonders how being a good girl and a bad girl impact others and herself. By being a good and innocent girl, she is doing her upmost best to convey her love and affection for Xu Yi but he rejects her. Instead, he prefers bad girls like Li Bala which makes Li Er struggles in the paradoxes of good and bad. With influences from Li Bala’s personalities, the lingering emotions toward Li Bala influences Li Er’s personality that makes her stronger to survive in her university days and pressuring her concerns on Zhang Yang and Xu Yi. Chen Duling’s strong aura of her acting in the film evokes sensational and emotional impact that keeps me worry for Li Er and then happy for her, from start to finish.
Zhang Yang and Xu Yi are the pillars of Li Er’s journey while pursuing their own happiness in life. It is common and cliché that, in films and dramas, the not-too-handsome characters win while the handsome characters lose. Yet, it focuses on how the both of them go through tough times with family, love life and concerns about their future. It slowly becomes clear on how they make their own decisions in their lives to become happy. Zhang Yang constantly worries about his life and moves forward while Xu Yi doesn’t care at all. The characterization between them is distinctive but not so unique.
The filming locations in Tian Yi are picturesque and beautiful including the beach, the rooftop where the view of the coastal town is shown and the underwater scene featuring Zhang Yang and Li Bala in the ocean. By the beach and the rooftop at day and night convey the sense of romance and friendship among the characters such as the conversations that Li Bala has with Zhang Yang and Li Er. Also, the underwater scene ignites Zhang Yang and Li Bala’s lingering affection for each other followed by Zhang Yang looking back of his own memory when he tries to save the woman from being drowned along with the car. These picturesque views are the space of building the romance and friendship while creating youthful memories.
The Left Ear may be cliché, but twisted with a complicated romance and friendship that makes you continue to watch till the very end. At times, it is mind-blowing when heartbreaks and sadness hurt the characters’ emotions. Then, it has the light of happiness as they move forward with their lives. A love and friendship square between the characters that experience good and bad in their youths.