Director: Arvin Chen
Cast: Richie Ren, Mavis Fan, Kimi Hsia, Lawrence Ko, Stone
Reviewer: Alexis Fisher
Now playing at AMC Empire 25 and Quad Cinema and AMC Empire 25.
Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow? offers viewers a bittersweet portrait of family, and pushes the boundaries we use to confine love. The film follows the matrimonial endeavors of two siblings. They have very little in common personality wise. Mandy (Kimi Hsia) is loud and bossy while Weichung (Richie Ren) is mild-mannered. Both, however, harbor doubts that create potentially irreconcilable rifts between themselves and their partners.
One sibling, Weichung, stumbles upon a new romance in the midst of a nine-year relationship with his wife, Feng (Marvis Fan). Looking through the window of the optical shop he supervises, Weichung locks eyes one day with a very chic, male flight attendant. In a store full of glass, his crush and curiosity become immediately transparent. In many ways, this secret romance is quite liberating. Since there is very little intimacy shared between Feng and her husband—even when she tries—, their relationship feels platonic. Their young son is the only evidence that suggests otherwise. The sudden presence, then, of another man in Weichung’s life seems to awaken him from a 30 year long (and counting) daze. And yet, Director Arvin Chen does not allow viewers to forget about Feng. This display of emotional infidelity has consequences, and poses a very sobering question: What kind of love will keep a family like this united through tomorrow?
Weichung’s sister, on the other hand, has known her fiancé, San-San (Stone), for all of one year. Early on, she is extremely confident in her love. Later, not so much. After walking through a department store with him, she has a revelation. She rejects the oncoming rush of all that is mundane, and flees from it, literally. However, when forced to embrace a new person in her life—someone besides the conjured drama heartthrob who plays the role of her invisible life coach—, Mandy has a change of heart. The question is, will San-San have a change of heart too?
Ultimately, Director Chen’s film offers a window into the world of love and family by examining these two couples. If you would like to see a thoughtful film, and can spare a few tears, consider Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow.
References: IMDB, Asian Film Festival in Dallas, San Diego Asian Film Festival , Frameline Film Festival, Center for Asian American Media.