Review of Behind the Blue Eyes / 不能流泪的悲伤, directed by Tong Ka-Fai

When I was heading to Malaysia for a grand total of 65 hours to and from Washington D.C. here in the US, I sure had plenty of time to sit down and watch a lot of movies. Going to Malaysia I kind of just slept the entire time, but I was pretty wired coming home to the States. On the fifteen hour flight from Abu Dhabi to Washington, I was pretty much awake for most of it.

One of the things I certainly enjoyed throughout these flights were the options that were more international. While I did not tap into the Arab cinema options on Etihad’s entertainment (maybe next time!), I certainly tapped into the Bollywood and Asian cinema. I saw some Chinese and Korean language movies on there I’d never seen in the US before, so I certainly was watching as much as I can.

And this is how I ended up watching Behind the Blue Eyes. I had never heard of this movie before, but it seemed like something I could mindlessly watch instead of debating how many hours I had left on this flight. It was around ten, but I didn’t want to admit that painful truth to myself, as it had already been five hours.

Let’s get into the review!

Two young lovers find themselves on a high—until suddenly their love and world crumbles.

We begin this movie when both of the main characters are in high school. Zhao Xin Hui discovers that a boy has moved into their home, and it’s Lin Han Cong. Although she doesn’t leave the best first impression, the two of them become quite smitten with each other.

Teenage sweethearts, their love is sugary, but they have to grow up. We spend a little bit of time with them while they’re in high school, but before we know it it’s time for them to go off and study at university.

Xin Hui goes to school elsewhere as Lin Han Cong works to provide for himself. He doesn’t come from the greatest family background, and Xin Hui remembers her love as she goes out into the world.

However, friction starts to happen between the couple, especially as Xin Hui meets new people. One of the many new friends she makes while at school happens to be a boy around her age, and he clearly likes her. While she doesn’t really show as much feeling back towards him, it’s enough for Han Cong, who spots them on her birthday.

Xin Hui and Lan Cong get into a big fight, leading her to call off their situation and relationship. As it turns out, Han Cong was actually planning to turn this into something deeper on her birthday, as he got her an expensive gift.

However, their dreams are shattered, and we go into the future as Xin Hui remembers her first love. The rest of the movie unfolds a bit like a typical Chinese drama, with plenty of plot twists as we get towards the end.

Overall Thoughts

I wasn’t a big fan of some of these twists if we’re going to be honest—the writing felt really lazy throughout, and I absolutely despised the ending of this movie. The last fifteen minutes are such a whiplash, and the only way I see it realistically working is if this were a television show.

If the movie had just ended a lot earlier, I think I would have been happier. It could’ve stayed at one age, and gotten rid of the part where Xin Hui goes off to find her lost love. Heck, it could have even ended there, but it didn’t.

If you liked this movie, kudos to you—neither of us are wrong. Taste is subjective. It did serve its purpose for me, though, and kept me busy throughout the course of two hours on this flight.

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