Worth: $17.00
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Cast:
Joseph Chang, Kwai Lun-Mei, Rhydian Vaughan
Intro:
A warm coming-of-age story set amidst personal, political and cultural sea-change, GF*BF is a terrific portrait of three friends – and a country coming face-to-face with transformation.
Set in 1985 against the backdrop of a Taiwan in martial law, GF*BF (Girlfriend, Boyfriend) chronicles the coming-of-age struggles of three lifelong friends during an era of significant political upheaval.
Liam (Joseph Chang), his girlfriend Mabel (Kwai Lun-Mei) and their best friend Aaron (Rhydian Vaughan) are students navigating friendship and romance in the midst of Taiwan’s tumultuous and evolving political landscape. Maintaining a close bond which has seen them through their younger days, the three move to Taipei to continue their studies and join the burgeoning pro-democracy movement. When Mabel falls for Aaron, who Liam has feelings for, the trio find their steely bond being shaken by their conflicting aspirations.
This is the twisty dilemma which drives the intriguing second feature from Taiwanese filmmaker Yang Ya-che (Orz Boyz).
With terrific and sensitive performances from each of his three leads, Yang’s sophomore feature renders an effective time capsule of changing friendships, and a country in the grip of a democratic and societal metamorphosis.
As the trio’s wants and relationships go in different directions, so too does their country – Taiwan is slowly liberated from its years of political repression – optimism and happiness all appear distinct possibilities. Until clashing ambitions cloud the hopeful, childhood bond between the three friends.
Spanning plenty of ups and downs, writer-director Yang acutely tracks the compellingly-performed characters over three decades – from their teen years in the ‘80s through to a tense reunion in 2012, allowing audiences to witness through each character’s trajectory the impact of the changes and actions which reshaped Taiwan from a country under siege into a more tolerant and democratic society.
Whilst its title might suggest more of a run-of-the-mill affair, GF*BF is anything but, a thoughtful, insightful snapshot of an era which sensitively delves into the relationships of each of its three characters.
The film begins with schoolgirls gathering in a playground after morning assembly, demanding the right to wear pants instead of the prescribed dresses as their uniform. The director of the movie has said that the film was partly inspired by a real-life protest in 2010 in which students of Tainan First Girls’ High School protested their right to wear shorts to school as opposed to wearing the requisite skirts – an action that would be impossible prior to the complete evolution of Taiwan depicted in GF*BF.
A warm coming-of-age story set amidst personal, political and cultural sea-change, GF*BF is a terrific portrait of three friends – and a country coming face-to-face with transformation.
