盛夏光年

I thought I'd share one of my favourite Chinese movies which is called 盛夏光年 or "Eternal Summer" in English.

It is a 2006 Taiwanese film about Jonathan (Bryant Chang), a young man who finds himself in an enviable romantic predicament. On one hand, he has pretty Hong Kong university classmate Carrie (Kate Yeung) after him.

The two share an idyllic day away from academic study to and spend a day in the big city, after which they check into a love hotel. Jonathan calls it off when Carrie tries to get intimate with him.

It turns out that he's in love with someone else, namely his childhood friend Shane (Joseph Chang), a roguish and handsome troublemaker who excels at basketball and seems to be headed nowhere in particular after high school.

Carrie understands Jonathan's problem, and even accepts it. However, that isn't going to solve things for these conflicted youth. The revelation of Jonathan's sexuality creates tension between Carrie and Jonathan. Shane is oblivious to his best friend's issues and begins to fall for Carrie. However, there is a conflict of emotions over their mutual friendship with Jonathan. The days and nights pass, but the big secret of Jonathan's desires hangs over the three friends continuing to create conflict. Eventually their fragile triangle of mutual affection and painful attraction is tested to the limit of their friendship when it becomes clear to Carrie that Shane has also harboured the same desire and love for Jonathan all along.