A Taiwanese Tale of Two Cities (2018)

This drama had a rough start, but it really grew on me. The truth is I loved this like it was an 8/10. It really was a gem with how refreshing it was compared to other mainstream Taiwanese dramas. This was a heartfelt story about two different girls who experience two different cultures. One girl dreams of visiting San Francisco since she was a child. The other girl always wanted to visit Taipei to get in touch with her roots and Taiwanese identity. When they finally arrive in these cities, they realize they are different from what they imagined them to be. I just love how the writers depicted the culture shock and cultural differences of both cities. I particularly loved how they portrayed Jo's internal struggle of being a Taiwanese American and having to juggle between two identities. The drama was by no means perfect though. It had a rocky start that was almost cringeworthy. It was a slow paced drama that would skip around a lot and use a substantial amount of flashback scenes as fillers. There were also a lot of pointless scenes that made me cringe. While the main cast did a solid acting job, some of the supporting actors were a little awkward. I loved this drama for the cultural representation, but the plot however, was somewhat of a downer.

Leggi di Più

This movie is long overdue for me to finished watching. But I finally finished watching it.

First of all... if you don't like a slow paced drama then turn away from this immediately.
This drama is quite slow in some of the episodes... but overall the stories are interconnecting to each other.. so if you skip some episode.. you gonna end up getting confused.

Story line was quite ok for me.. a bit slow but I get the point the writer was trying to show. It really shows how each characters grow throughout the series.
What I love about this show is probably the Jo-Dian Ming couple.. without them.. the drama is quite boring to be honest.
Although the main character is Nian Nian.. but I do find her a bit annoying and kinda selfish in away.
Why? well.. this is a spoiler so turn away if you don't wanna know.

Nian2 met with some difficulties both in her relationship, job and losing her father was the final blow to her. She became denial. Although she found peace at the end of the drama but was quite disappointing that she or rather the drama didn't really show her continuation of her relationship with Ryan.
I do agree with Nian2 on "American dream" as I had that when I was younger but sadly never get to realized it.

Jo and Dian Ming couple were very real for me.. what they faced through are real in our real life.. and both of them portrayed their characters well.. I thought Jo will be the wild and playgirl kind but instead she showed a caring and selfless lady. and meeting Dian Ming was the biggest turn in her life.

I love how Nian2's step mom is always cheerful and lively no matter what hardship she faced. She was a strong, caring and dedicated woman to her step daughter and husband.

The rest of the characters complete the drama.
For me.. it was indeed a slow paced drama.. but it kept me wondering what will happen next. Some scenes are really funny and entertaining. This drama also give me some understanding of Chinese culture in Taiwan (I'm a Chinese as well but not from Taiwan). Also I love how they gave explanation of the Taiwanese culture over there (food, musics, surrounding areas and many more).

Looking forward for the next projects for the 4 main characters in the movie.. hope they'll do another drama together again.
Cheers^^

Leggi di Più

Apaixonante

Esse foi um dos primeiros dramas que assisti e me apaixonei por ele logo de cara. Com um elenco muito fofo e cheio de quimica, uma historia bem contada num roteiro bem construído, trilha sonora maravilhosa, que tenho ate hoje na minha playlist e uma fotografia de encher os olhos, esse twdrama conta a historia de duas mulheres que moram em cidades/continentes/culturas totalmente diferentes e resolvrm trocar de casa por algum tempo. Desta maneira, elas acabam ppr viver experiências novas, conhecendo novas pessoas e vivendo novos amores.
O que eu achei mais interessante foi a forma com que o roteirista soube mostrar as diferenças culturais entre os taiwaneses e norte-americanos sem abusar de clichê ou exageros desnecessários. Amei demais essa história que foi fofa, romântica e emocionante na medida certa.

Leggi di Più

A Taiwanese Tale of Two Cities

All and all, I think this show is worth watching. There are some kringy, awkward moments here and there.
The lead character, Nian Nian, is rather aggravating and immature. The Chinese American character, Ryan, is super handsome and a good actor.
I have a question for other viewers, I haven't been able to find any discussion about the scene at the end of episode 8. Ryan passes out in Nian Nian's bathroom after they danced in the misty air in the town with Jo and the other guy. The scene was never resolved. Did anyone else notice that? I'm so confused. What happened?
Help! ?‍♂️

Leggi di Più

Interesting

A really interesting portrayal of the two cities/cultures and of traditional medicine. Refreshing as the story was character driven and had none if the usual plot lines or characters in k or c dramas - most refreshing!
I loved the two female characters - Jo was always strong and I loved her, NianNian grew on me as she developed and matured into a strong, confident woman - just took her a while!
However the two men? First time I didnt want the females to end up with the men! Even though they too matured it took 18 episodes for Jo's man and frankly I could not accept their pathetic, immature, selfish past behaviour. They couldnt cut it when times were hard so what hope for future troubled times? Also worst kissing ? I've ever seen in any drama !! Also Niannian and Ryans story was abandoned for several episodes- and was only given hope in the last scene. But as I said I wasn't too bothered with their relationship! With 3cpast marriages he was pretty unreliable anyway!
At times the drama used flashbacks and strange tactics to flesh out the drama and there was often discontinuation from one episode to another and even scenes - but the gist of it remained!
NianNians family were great. All the characters were flawed at times but this drove the drama and made them believable.
Worth watching for the women!

Leggi di Più

A Genuine Attempt at a Story about two Women from Different Worlds

When this series debuted on Netflix, I watched maybe about a minute of it before I dropped it and moved on to something else. I didn't think about it again until December 2020. I'm currently in the mindset of giving (SOME) shows that initially didn't leave the greatest impression on me a second chance, so "A Taiwanese Tale of Two Cities" seemed like the obvious place to start.

But here's the thing. I don't think I was wrong in my first impression of the show. The beginning of ATTOTC is rough as hell. There's a sense that the show doesn't quite know who its characters are, or what direction it wants to take them. I know it wants to be a story about two women who grew up with different impressions of Taiwanese culture (one through assimilation, the other through a conservative environment thats 'trying' to become more open in response to its latest, and youngest generation's demand for change).

The theme that declares one must "love yourself before you love anyone else" (IIRC) falls pretty safely within the basics of a 101 feminist tale of self improvement and female friendships. Yet, for the first couple of episodes, I got the feeling that the writers just didn't know how to do that without relying so heavily on comedy. (We're throwing spaghetti at the walls, in other words.) I constantly kept wondering if I was supposed to be laughing at how sheltered Nian-Nian was, or if I was meant to root for her growing freedom from her parents. Jo, on the other hand, felt like she always had the clearer story as a young woman trying to reconnect with her roots, and mend broken family ties.

ATTOTC has all the technical markings of a forgettable, low-budget rom com series. The audio can be hard to hear sometimes, especially the non-subtitled English spoken by the characters. The lightning is often terrible (over bright, saturated to the point where everyone looks pale as death), every thing looks washed out, and the non-diegetic music can really grate on the nerves (especially that country song in the credits that begins abruptly, and without warning). Performances are incredibly shaky at the beginning, but I think most of the cast finds their footing toward the midpoint.

The two love interests (Tiang-Ming and Ryan), while generally unremarkable, do at least add some genuine conflict that centers the narratives of Jo and Nian-Nian. When they're facing troubles, the girls don't take it on the chin. They push back, and challenge their beau's. The story doesn't revolve around the pride and reputation of the men courting them in the face of disapproving parents (though it teeters awfully close to that).

The show does a really great job of keeping Jo and Nian-Nian connected when they live worlds apart from each other. There's this really neat of effect of depicting the two having conversations sitting right next to each other, but their surroundings maintain one is in San Francisco, and the other is in Taipei, Taiwan. There's also the occasional video chat, and cell phone text that's just as effective.

To disappoint, I truly don't think the show finds its focus and footing until episode eight. And it's to that point that I think me suggesting that the viewer "hang in there" until then might be asking for a bit much. Especially since I admit myself that the show is a rough watch for the first seven episodes out of twenty. Unlike some dramas, I do think this show earns your attention if you're willing to stick with it. It manages not to become aimless as it marches toward its finale, but you really have to survive those first seven episodes. (If it doesn't hit you, just drop it, fam.)

Of the things I appreciated is how they handled Nian-Nian and Ryan's relationship. ATTOTC forgoes the goofiness of the female lead falling into the guy's arms, the awkward stares, and the male protagonist constantly trying to control his beau's body by yanking at her arm. Instead we get some genuine drama.

Nian-Nian doesn't quite know how to adjust to the culture shock with how Ryan handles his messy former relationships (with multiple ex-wives), and Ryan is less than patient with her (sometimes) when it comes to how judgemental, and shame-focused she is about how people might see her in the context of his previous dynamics.

Unlike "Familiar Wife", their story doesn't hinge on the idea that they're destined or fated for each other. Whether they work out or not hinges entirely on how they communicate with each other, and I think the show handled that better than most dramas. The fact that they were constantly on the verge of breaking up really got me down. I wanted to see the two of them work it out, and while the show suggests its possible, we're basically left wondering. I'm both okay with that, and yet not.

Jo's relationship with Tiang-Ming I'm generally indifferent to. It's not terrible, but there were times where I felt like it simply existed to have Jo's time focused on something other than the family drama between her estranged grandmother, and mother while she was in Taiwan. Still it plays to the strengths of the characters.

(Not to harp on this, I like that she leaves when she feels like being taken for granted and Tiang Ming has to reevaluate how he's been acting. I'm sorry, it's just so refreshing.)

Overall, I really enjoyed my time with ATTOTC. It's not great, but its the effort it's puts into the relationship between Nian-Nian and Jo that made me stick with it once I re-committed myself to it.

Leggi di Più