A well-made, coming-of-age drama that explores friendship, romance, sexuality and politics, Yang Ya-Che's GF*BF (alternatively titled as GIRLFRIEND BOYFRIEND) is one of the best Taiwanese movies I've ever come across. No wonder the movie is well-deserved to earn 7 nominations at the 49th Golden Horse Awards (which later won Gwei Lun-Mei a Best Actress award as well as Audience Choice Award).

Told over the span of three decades (1985, 1997 and 2012),the movie begins with a brief prologue set in the present day before it goes back in time in 1985, where we are introduced to three Taiwan high-schoolers Mabel (Gwei Lun-Mei),Liam (Joseph Chang) and Aaron (Rhydian Vaughan). All of them are activists rebelling against the martial law during the turbulent period of 1980s Taiwan. On the personal side, Mabel loves Liam a lot, but Liam doesn't really have a feeling for her. So she ends up falling in love with Aaron instead. Liam, in the meantime, is actually a closeted homosexual who's been longing for Aaron. This is one complicated love triangle which will make your head spin upon watching the movie.

Which is why the trio's love triangle is one of the unique selling points in GF*BF. All three actors delivered top-notch and remarkably convincing performances where you'll feel emotionally involved with them. Gwei Lun-Mei is particularly excellent in what would be her best performance to date as a spunky girl with hidden vulnerability. Joseph Chang is equally captivating as a silent-type individual who loves to bottle up his emotion, and he's especially good when he communicates his character through his expressive eyes. Rhydian Vaughan is perfectly cast as a playful and sweet-talking Aaron.

Yang's direction is well-calculated and more than often, he successfully delivers a roller-coaster ride of varied emotions ranging from happiness to heartbreak with such genuine affection. On the other hand, Yang's keen observation over the multiple themes he's been exploring throughout his movie is passionately told, yet thought-provoking enough at the same time. Even the political aspect depicted earlier in the movie, which is actually served as a mere backdrop, has a certain impact served in his storyline.

The 1985 segment is easily the most memorable moment of all as Yang captures the sheer exuberance of what it's like to be a rebellious youth during that particular era where rules don't apply and freedom of speech is crucial for living a life to the fullest.

If there's a flaw in the movie, I must say that Vaughan's performance can be a bit underwhelming at times. Other than that, Yang's complicated storyline can be a little convoluted.

Production values are ace, while the soundtrack hits all the right notes in term of capturing the essence of the three different eras as well as the overall context of the movie.

Ten years after Chih-yen Yee's BLUE GATE CROSSING (2002, 9/10),which is a powerhouse debut for Lun Mei Gwei, who plays a schoolgirl harbors a secretive lesbian love to her best friend, but is also pursued by the boy who is her best friend's object of unrequited admiration. In Ya-che Yang's second feature after the box office dark-horse ORZ BOYZ (2008),GF*BF remoulds the love triangle with a girl and two boys, and ambitiously tracks their life orbit from late 1980s to the present, however, an unerring selling point is the all-the-rage queer leitmotif.

From their high school days in 1980s, Mabel (Gwei),Liam (Hsiao-chuan Chang) and Aaron (Vaughan) are three close schoolmates and rebellious to the militarized education of their school, discernibly Mabel has feelings for the introvert but kindhearted Liam, but the latter never make an initiative to chase after her, instead, a more exuberant and hot-blooded Aaron woos her and they become lovers.

In 1990, Liam and Aaron are college flatmates, at the heat of a critical social change which demands democracy in Taiwan, the ambitious Aaron is an avid adherent of student movement, and the three reunite as protestants in a sit-down in front of the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall, but little as they know, their future is never how they can imagine. When wine is in, truth is out, during an after-party, Liam finally reveals to Mabel his affection towards Aaron, and Mabel is also devastated to realize she and Aaron can never be together.

7 years later, out of the ivory tower, Aaron marries into a rich family and Mabel is his mistress; Liam, also is a lover of a closet man with a family, they meet again, friendship forever, is just a hollow slogan to save the face, Aaron's attempt to elope with Mabel foils at the last minute in the airport, again Mabel heartbreakingly braces herself to be the bravest one. Liam is the one who knows her best, their train of thought clings to the remembrance of the past, but a malignant tumor will make things easier for them. In the coda set in 2012, a middle-age Liam is the custodian of Mabel's twin daughters, an unheralded Mr. nice guy sacrifices his life to raise the offspring of his best friends one of whom he is in love with and another he is unable to love.

A box-office success, and grabbed 7 Golden Horse Awards nominations (encompasses the big 5 with cinematography and a Supporting Actor nomination for the transformative Bryan Shu-Hao Chang as a silver-tongued sissy queen) and won Gwei a coveted BEST ACTRESS trophy for her transfixing performance, who again and again deservingly salvages the film from its dullest and most arbitrary moments, Mabel's tribulations are poignantly presented with a force of impact so powerful and destructive, wonderfully contrasts to Hsiao-chuan Chang's repressed implosion, which is also painful to watch, and it heralds Hsiao-chuan's rosy effort to venture into a wider spectrum as a mature actor instead of a brawny pretty boy who leaves an indelible impression in Leste Chen's ETERNAL SUMMER (2006, 7/10),another ménage-à-trois teen-spirit love confusion. Vaughan, the red-hot British-and-Taiwanese mixed-blooded jock from MONGA (2010) and TINY TIMES series (2013-2014),is a fresh-air but fails to lift the momentum under his belt, his Aaron is the most ambiguous one among the trinity, his comeuppance is never mentioned, but we can conjure up from the context, he is the most pathetic one.

One cannot overlook the ambition from Ya-che Yang, who tries to conjoin politics with a youth culture of repression and rebellion extending almost 25 years, but never quite hits the bull's- eye, utilizing conspicuously emotive songs to amp up an atmosphere of grandeur and upsurging emotions also falls contrived and wanting. It is a beautifully shot film nevertheless and the performances are highly recommendable, Lun Mei Gwei and Hsiao-chuan Chang are among my Top 10 lists of 2012 so far.

"GF*BF" is one of those tragic life experiences disguised within layers of a coming of age kind of youthful romance, but really it is a deep and complicated emotional turmoil about three tragic souls growing up in Taiwan during the 80s period of immense social change.

"GF*BF" is an immensely difficult film to review, as it is one of those films that is impossible to dislike. It is well directed, stylishly filmed, complicatedly and originally scripted, filled with some truly wonderful and convincing performances, but somehow, it doesn't totally go the distance. In saying so, director Yang Ya-che does a wonderful job in bringing such a complicated and layered script to life and almost pulled it off convincingly. In fact, there are times when I was almost overwhelmed by the volume of feelings and emotions on display, but somehow the film lacks a resonance emotional connection with the audience that could have propel the film to reach its lofty ambitions. Not unlike 2006′s Taiwanese youth romance "Eternal Summer" (also starring lead actor Joseph Chang),the film deals with similar issues and situated during a testing period of time in Taiwan and for youth growing up in general.

In many ways the film attempts to say too much, striving to be far too complex and by the end of it, the film itself is caught within its own web. There is just so much potential that director Yang could've explored, but somehow fails to fully capitalize on it. In fact, some scenes are so powerful and notable, namely the intense confrontation scene at the karaoke room, the simple good bye gesture from Gwei Lun Mei looking on by the bedroom window and the brilliant scene at the airport near the end. At times, the quality from these scenes feels as though it came from a different movie all together. However, a few scenes do not make a movie and instead of uplifting the audience to the ultimate emotional connection, the film decides to cut and chop to another time period.

Joseph Chang ("Eternal Summer") at times is able to even outshine the always brilliant Gwei Lun Mei ("Secret"). Chang is quietly wonderful in the conflicted role and carries the film with the most difficult character on hand. Rhydian Vaughan ("Love 2012") tries hard, but is given far too little material to work with, other than being a total jerk. In a way, Gwei Lun Mei is fast becoming the Taiwanese's version of Zhou Xun and that's the highest order of compliment an Asian actress can receive in this day and age. Her chemistry with Chang is undeniable and the subtle moments between the two are best left in the unspoken scenes of early tiny touches, wandering eyes and some stirring emotions. What director Yang is able to achieve is being able to create and allow the audience to focus on the two main characters (Gwei Lun Mei and Joseph Chang) that in more than one ways or another are clearly two complete mirror images of each other.

At the end of the day, Yang tries extremely hard to convince the audience about the subject matter that he is trying to say. While there are notions of life, love and friendship that one can possibly learn from or even relate, the film seems more occupy with the twists and turns of complexity into the dynamics of the trio relationships than actual cinematic experience for the audience. With that being said, "GF*BF" is easily a good film, filled with some truly wonderful performances, helmed by an ambitious director and illuminated by a difficult period of change in Taiwanese history. One just cannot help compare the similarities with 2006's "Eternal Summer", but of the two films, there is no doubt that Yang takes it much further. A good film that comes up short of its lofty ambitions (Neo 2012)

I rate it 8/10