Secret

Jay Chou is Jay, a budding musical genius whose way with piano keys makes him a hit with his classmates, who recognize talent when they see it. Jay arrives at Tanjiang Art School and already he's being watched by the girls, but his heart is immediately stolen by Rain (Guey Lun-mei), an elegant, charming flirt who first happens upon Jay in the school's aged piano room. The two begin a cute, casual romance that's defined by secrets. Rain keeps them, starting with her name, then extending her secrets to other things like where she goes, what she does and why she's always absent from class. Since she's so effervescent and attractive, Jay is immediately smitten.
Jay has a secret too: his dad is a teacher at the school, and he's played by Anthony Wong in an amusing performance that's vintage Wong. Jay also has some friends at school who aren't as amusing, and many of them are played by Chou's Taiwanese pop music pals. Since this is a Jay Chou production (besides starring and directing, Chou penned the original story and contributed the music), it's only understandable that Chou make room for some of his buddies as well as his pet obsessions, especially music.
Since Jay is so adept at the piano - and this is an art school - he becomes a class celebrity quickly. Chief among his admirers is the pretty Sky (Alice Tzeng), who starts to crush on Jay big time. But Jay only has eyes for Rain. But despite getting along swimmingly with Jay, Rain soon gets the idea that Jay is two-timing her with Sky. This is due to your standard crossed wires and mistaken circumstances, but the misinterpreted event is enough to throw a massive crush-killing wrench into their puppy love. Then, the real secret rears its ugly head - but to talk about it would probably be revealing too much.
Then again, this film is named Secret - which is a dead giveaway right there. Based on that title, anyone can tell that there's some lingering piece of information that defines the film. Secret needs its secret. If there isn't an acute conflict placing this picturesque, idealized romance in jeopardy, then nobody is getting their money's worth; the audience may as well be flipping through a book of pictures featuring star-director Jay Chou. The problem is the secret is also the film's deus ex machina, and is so manufactured and illogical that it's difficult to completely buy.
But Secret compensates with its beauty. The film is gorgeous in many ways, possessing attractive art direction, costumes, music and atmosphere. The above may not be enough to carry the film beyond it pure love genre trappings, but one thing does: Guey Lun-mei. When the actress first appears, she acts too much like an idealized good girl flirt to be real; it's like she's some manufactured idea of what perfect high school romance should be, and Guey's charm is as initially jarring as it is beguiling. However, as it turns out, there's a reason for her bizarre flirtatious behavior, and as the film divulges more of its hows and whys, Guey is given a chance to convey emotions that prove heartbreaking. Her screen presence is refreshing and her emotions genuinely moving; if Secret manages to affect, Guey Lun-mei is a large reason why.
Guey helps Secret become more than just a very pretty ride - and even the artifice may be enough to suffice for some. Jay Chou really knows how to compose a tune; the film's original music is genuinely stirring, and preexisting pieces are well-chosen and evocative of the film's innocent romantic mood. The cinematography from Mark Lee (In The Mood For Love) is superlative. As an actor, Chou has a likeable, low-key presence, and as a director he creates a world that feels idealized, but also warm and heartrending. Secret is seductive enough that it manages to lift itself past its illogical, fantastic concepts into something that can be enjoyed purely via the senses. That sounds superficial, and Secret mostly is. But Chou and Guey Lun-mei give Secret the appearance of much more.