The familiar theme of first love and the loss of innocence is dealt with in this film – based on the popular novels by the author Rao Xueman – through a story of a girl who is deaf in her left ear, the one nearest the heart. Li Er, 17 years old, has spent her short life being diligent and generous; she is convinced that words of love whispered into her left ear would go straight to her heart even if she can’t hear them.
It is spring 2005 in the charming coastal town of Fujian which, in the eyes of the youngsters growing up there, seems to be lost to the world. Li Er’s friends read books written by the blogger Han Han, they obsessively study, surrounded by mountains of books, they have different pasts but long for the same future: to pass university entrance exams so they can leave Fujian behind and create a life for themselves in Beijing, Shanghai or America.
But they have not reckoned with the awakening of feelings, something that suddenly rocks their list of priorities. During a basketball game between school teams, a sort of romantic earthquake erupts: Li Er realizes she is madly in love with Xu Yi, who in turn is in love with Li Bala – the “wild child” who already works in bars and plays the part of the cynical, worldly woman.
But she is in love with Zhang Yang, who is going out with the richest, most spoilt girl in school. Basically, a rollercoaster of emotions, experienced with typically adolescent passion and which are paid for with the loss of innocence, not only because of the classic dynamics of their age, but also because, as the story unfurls, secret elements emerge – mainly dramatic – in the lives of the individuals, young, but already with skeletons in their closets.
And in this merry-go-round of emotions, they become, in turn, victims and persecutors, suffering for their disillusionments without realizing they are breaking the hearts of others.
The relationships between the males is the classic battle to prove their virility, which over time turns into friendship, while the girls seem to have a more bizarre relationship initially, more intriguing over time.
The females mature faster, and even when they act wisely cynical to be pragmatic towards life – Li Bala teaches the naïve, broken-hearted Li Er that “if a woman doesn’t learn first to love herself, no man can ever love her” – their friendships have that classically feminine solidarity and generosity.
The landscape the story develops in seems to evoke the psychological situation of the protagonists. The coastal town the first part of the film is set in is full of winding lanes and tortuous roads – like the sentimental journey the youngsters are on.
But in a place overlooking the sea, you can also dream – like the boundless view of the coast visible from a terrace one couple takes refuge on to confess their pasts and plan their futures – while the setting of Beijing and Shanghai, once they get to university, is constellated with slovenly places lacking human warmth.
The theme tune of the film is sung by Zhou Wei, a gesture of the friendship struck up by the director of the film, Alec Su, when he starred in a popular TV series with her.