Review of Apolitical Romance

This is one my favorite Taiwanese movies all the time, and one of the best movies that I watched recently. This movie is also more mature than the usual Taiwanese rom-com movies. Tells the story of a woman from Beijing who came to Taiwan to look for her grandmother's long lost love, a civil war veteran that moved to Taiwan after the Chinese Civil War. But she has no information about that person at all, only his name. Eventually, he met a local man who worked as a civil servant in New Taipei City who helps her track down the person. Along the way, they get to know each other, throw many arguments, and many clashes because of the cultural and political differences between Mainland China and Taiwan.

I once lived in Taiwan in the past, and everything in this movie really cures my longing for Taiwan. What I saw and visit in Taiwan is featured in this movie, starting from dumpling shop, traditional market, claw machine, countryside, northern beach, Chiang Kai-shek memorial hall, lanterns in Jiufen, many more. The chemistry and interaction between the two main leads are also natural, funny, and emotional. The comedies about Mainland China and Taiwan's political relations are also smart and thought-provoking which may understood by those who have the same reference. Truly a heartwarming and bittersweet movie with extraordinary cultural studies that we rarely got from any movie.