If You Are the One (2008)

"Only sincere ones need apply"

If You Are the One is a pragmatic love story infused with gentle humor, but not your typical romcom. Stars Shu Qi and Ge You were able to cover over the obvious problems with the story with their enormous likeability.

Ge You played Qin Fen, a 40ish man, who had recently come into money and was ready to find a wife. He found a dating site and listed his honest qualifications and what he expected in a spouse. "Only sincere ones need apply". Of course, at his age and prerequisites he had several humorous takers including a woman selling grave plots, a stock broker who assessed his continually devaluing worth, and an old Army buddy who had hoped he'd changed teams. One of his blind dates was with Smiley, the luminous Shu Qi. It didn't take long for the two to realize that they weren't compatible but they ended up going for drinks and revealing their dark secrets in a very human moment. Smiley, it turned out, was in love with a married man who kept dangling marriage in front of her but who was unwilling to leave his wife.

Though the two swore to never see each other again, destiny had other plans. Serendipity kept dropping them into each others' paths. Smiley decided to become Qin Fen's girlfriend with the caveat that her heart still belonged to her ex-lover though she would never act on it. The two take a trip to Hokkien, Japan for her to make peace with her decision and hopefully leave the memory of her lover behind. The incongruous couple engaged in a long road trip with Qin Fen's tour driver buddy Wu Sang. Realizing his good fortune of a lovely, young girlfriend Qin Fen stopped at a Buddhist temple to pray only to interrupt a Yakuza funeral. He later went to a Catholic chapel where he confessed every sin since kindergarten to a priest who didn't speak Mandarin, finally driving the priest to tell him he needed a bigger cathedral to confess in because the chapel was too small to hold all his sins!

If You Are the One was not a typical head over heels falling in love film with a race to the airport at the end. It was far more practical as Qin Fen reflected upon his lonely life and Smiley realized her great love affair was not going anywhere, that maybe the two misfits could rely on each other and love would slowly bloom from friendship.

The second half of the film devolved into more of a scenic Japanese road trip, though the scenery was beautiful. There was also a nice tour of the West Brook Wetlands and Hangzhou earlier in the story.

It would be hard to fault the acting, Ge You and Shu Qi played their roles brilliantly. The lapses come in the narrative. The huge age gap between the two was never directly addressed. Why gorgeous Smiley was attracted to a bald, cranky middle aged man, especially when she was hopelessly in love with her sexy lover also was glossed over. Shu Qi did an amazing job as the emotionally wounded character, unable to find meaning in her life without her lover, utterly drowning in despair. As pragmatic as Smiley was though, it was difficult to understand some of the decisions she made over a failed love affair.

There were some interesting topics brought up that I haven't seen in recent movies. A gay character was introduced as something completely normal, clearly against more recent rules. During Qin Fen's blind date with a Taiwanese woman, the two debated whether there had been a liberation or a regime had fallen in regards to the exodus to Taiwan during the 1940's. And finally, a woman was reported to the authorities for wanting to find a way to stay in the United States. Usually, these sensitive subjects aren't broached.

For a slow burn romance with scenic cinematography and more than capable acting, If You Are the One is a nice change of pace from so many frenetic romantic comedies. It could be uneven at times but Shu Qi and Ge You managed to charm me enough to enjoy my time with them.


9/7/22

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