good back-story, and good acting

As Good As It Gets

It is not deep, but it is fun to watch. It does have a bit more of an edge to it than other similar films.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

On the outset, I decided to watch this movie alone as I failed to find out a companion; however, a friend working in the same building with me happened to have interest, so we went to see it together. I did not have much expectation on this film and the story is indeed mundane. As a romance comedy, 130 minutes seems to be a little bit long, but actually, i was fully engaged in the movie as the countryside life was gently rolling out to us, appeasing the curiosity or expectation for any extraordinary plot. The picturesque field and the grand sea of profound blue, together with the townish alley or lanes, vividly constitute a tranquil and catching living scene. What impresses me more is the awesome music, the music as backdrop to the monologue the man writing on the letter to his girl on the deck over half-century ago mixed with the affecting words is magnifique mais sympathique ("magnificent but sympathetic). As I mentioned above, the story seems to be inevitably mediocre, even the narrative form is clichéd, however, the mixture of these elements succeed to outdo all its peers. I think the main theme is about " hometown". Young people leave their hometown for big cities to pursue career or fortune while developers from cities go to the countryside to make investment in buying sea resorts and building hotels blocking the beautiful sea from country people; the local elder people can do nothing but feel regrettable for that territorial sovereignty and cultural sovereignty are losing to the metropolitan fashion and the young are not willing to stay to develop the hometown. It's exhilarating that Aga finally succeeded with genuine music in his hometown.

Analysis of this movies phenomenal popularity in Taiwan has cited cultural, historical, social and political reasons. To the general audience outside Taiwan, this movie's appeal comes from its affecting story of a group musical oddball underdog, a proliferation of likable characters (from pop superstar to humble "little people") and a duo of parallel love stories (which reminds me, strangely of "Possession" (2002), an unlikely yet plausible comparison).I'll start from the end. While people may have different view on whether "Cape no. 7" is sufficiently engaging throughout its entire 129 minutes of running time, the vote seems unanimous that the last 15 minutes is a climatic finale well worth waiting for. By that time, the audience would have developed a firm empathy with some (or likely all) of the members of the local (a quaint little resort town by the ocean in the south of Taiwan) band assembled in a most haphazard fashion to do the warm-up for a visiting Japanese pop super star. With a recruiting process that reminds you of "The magnificent seven" and training process that reminds you of "Dirty dozen", the final rock band that is supposed to showcase local talent comprises all kinds of odd ball characters imaginable (and, indeed, unimaginable) - from a preteen little girl as cool as cucumber at key board and an 80-year-old man who, deficient in his attempt to learn the bass guitar, sneaks up with his tradition Chinese instrument the full-moon (referring to the shape) lute that blends surprisingly well with the pop group. What the climatic finale reminds me of is another concert scene at the end of a Japanese movie called Yomigaeri (or Resurrection).The lead of the band is a talented pop musician Aga who, failing to get his break, gives up on music and works as a postman. The audience however knows where his heart is, seeing his fingering the string that ties a parcel as if it were a guitar string. The love story is of course his, and one that takes a format that always works – a relationship that starts as a fight. The girl is a Japanese wannabe model who, ending up being an organizer-cum-PR-person for the concert, gets stuck in this forsaking place. Two unhappy people throw in a situation with endless potential for conflict generates ample comic scene that eventually leads to romance. Parallel to this is a love story told through letters written by an old man who recently died in Japan and now sent by his daughter to an unknown address which Aga has to deliver too.I started by mentioning three things that will appeal to the general audience. In addition to the music and the love story, there are so many characters in this movie that it will take a few pages to describe them all. Many of them have their own stories, and even those of whom we know very little generate interests in their own various ways. And there is no villain in this movie.This is huge crowd pleaser that has something for almost everybody. To me, it's the rapport between the members of the band and their final coming together to make exhilarating music.

I live in Taiwan and saw this with English subtitles at my local cinema in Tainan. It's not a stunning movie but it is very engaging and charming and best of all depicts many of the charming and engaging qualities of this country. The storyline follows two love affairs - one of 60 years earlier and the other unfolding in the present day. The acting is fine, the humor works well, it is well photographed and the music that pulls several of the subplots together lifts the already high mood and tone into a moving climax.I'm glad I saw it and feel I know Taiwan a little better through watching this movie - and spent 2 very enjoyable hours doing so.

Wow! I just finished seeing this with a group of friends and everybody in the cinema seemed to truly enjoy themselves. Filmed in Taiwan with a Taiwanese director and mostly local actors, this timeless plot features a small town that must come up with a band comprised of local musicians that will be the opening act for a big beach concert starring a big Japanese star. Will the beautiful Japanese concert coordinator fall for the local boy that has left a musical career in Taipei to return home to become a mailman? Can a band with a 10-year-old keyboardist, a 70-year-old bassist, and various other misfits help put Hengchun on the map? This may strike some as a Taiwanese version of "The Commitments"/"School of Rock" and, yes, there are a few saccharine moments. Yet, director Wei Te-sheng, a former assistant director under the legendary Edward Yang (director of one of Taiwan's all-time best films, "Yi Yi," IMHO), skillfully pulls everything off without a hitch. Recommended to movie lovers of all ages!