Just For Meeting You

Liu Yulin's 2023 Chinese film follows Xu Niannian and Yang Yi, who meet when they are young. The relationship begins in their school years and takes different forms in different cities over time. The narrative is built by jumping backwards and forwards. The same places are shown again in different periods; the narrative does not tie the failure of the relationship to a single event and shows the accumulation of choices. Liu Haocun and Song Weilong lead. The tone is melancholy and the music foregrounded, with the cinematography divided by season. The narrative stays inside the melodrama form and its emotional steering is open. Who it's for: those who like Chinese romantic drama and narratives resting on the memory of youth. Who it's not for: viewers expecting restraint; the film underlines its feeling plainly.