I’ve been hesitantly cautious about this supposed “Golden Age of Asian Cinema” because, well, Hollywood is racist and I’m protective of my heritage. Instead of the same overly palatable fare being rehashed over and over again, I’ve been hoping for a new wave of Asian films that instead prioritize Asian authenticity, in whatever form that takes.
That’s why I’m really pleasantly surprised by this trailer for Love in Taipei, an adaptation of the hit YA novel Loveboat, Taipei, by Abigail Hing Wen:
I’m neither in the target demographic for YA lit nor is it really my thing anyways, so this book flew under my radar when it initially released in 2020, and I’m looking at this through a purely new perspective—and I’m really loving what I’m seeing!
The plot follows Ever, a recent high school grad who’s being pressured to study medicine, when she really wants to pursue a life as a dancer. In an attempt to bring her closer to her heritage (as she was raised in the States), her parents send her to a cultural immersion program in Taipei over the summer. While there, Ever meets a colorful cast of characters who help bring her out of her shell and, in the process, discovers just what she wants to do with her life and who she wants to be.
While this might seem like some Crazy Rich Asians-level bougie wish-fulfillment, these kinds of programs do exist, and are fairly common experiences for upper-middle-class children of Chinese and Taiwanese immigrants. What I’m loving is the fact that this is a young adult love story that’s pretty much entirely about Chinese and Taiwanese kids, which we still haven’t seen a lot of! Off the top of my head, the only similar films I can think of are To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before and The Half of It, and both films made a point of emphasizing their heroines’ racial alienation. And I mean, yeah, fine, that happens, but younger Asian kids deserve films where they’re not alienated, you know?
By contrast, Love in Taipei looks incredibly fun and like it comes from a genuine place with genuine experiences with breaking out of traditional family expectations. I personally get bothered when the lone Asian girl in films like this is typecast as an uptight narc as the standard (looking at you, Moxie), so I really love the fact that this entire cast of characters seems ready to wile out. I especially love that my boy Nico Hiraga (ironically of Moxie fame, as well as North Hollywood and Booksmart) will be cast in another lead role here, as the “bad boy” Xavier.
Though I’m side-eyeing author Hing Wen’s involvement in AI research, I will admit, this trailer has piqued my interest enough to give the novel a shot. Love in Taipei will be released on Paramount+ on August 10—will you be watching it, too?
(featured image: Paramount+)
