About Love

The theme here is of youthful Sino-Japanese relations, and runs through "About Love," a collection of three stories ably handled by young directors in Tokyo, Taipei and Shanghai. The cultural (and film-making) differences underlined by the segments provide a neat update on certain trends in Far East cinema. The theme here is of youthful Sino-Japanese relations, and runs through "About Love," a collection of three stories ably handled by young directors in Tokyo, Taipei and Shanghai. The cultural (and film-making) differences underlined by the segments provide a neat update on certain trends in Far East cinema. The theme here is of youthful Sino-Japanese relations, and runs through "About Love," a collection of three stories ably handled by young directors in Tokyo, Taipei and Shanghai. The cultural (and film-making) differences underlined by the segments provide a neat update on certain trends in Far East cinema. The most satisfying part is the final one, shot among the flavorsome back-alleys of central Shanghai by promising new mainland talent Zhang Yibai ("Spring Subway"). A Japanese student, Shuhei (Takashi Tsukamoto), lodges at the home of young dreamer Xiaoyun (Li Xiaolu) and her mom (Li Xiaojia), and when she secretly translates a Dear John postcard he's received from his girlfriend she finds herself falling for him. Zhang's direction is always acute and polished, signaling him as a strong future voice in accessible Chinese cinema. Li Xiaolu (the girl in Joan Chen's "Xiu Xiu") is as cute as a button.