Upcoming Summer (2021)

I kissed a girl just to try it.

This crisp, cleverly written coming-of-age movie with a bit of a twist, explores the usual themes of first love, rejection, self-discovery, and accepting your family for who they really are. It is carried by persuasive and heartfelt performances by both Wu Lei and Zhang Zifeng whose restrained, nuanced portrayals convey the confusion of awakening youth and the utter depth of despair of first love and rejection. In this genre, young actors tend to lose my empathy by over-dramatizing and overacting in such angsty moments but these two truly moved me by not doing so. I also appreciate the well-timed light humor that diffuses tense moments and captures the ultimate resilience and optimism of youth.

Zheng Yuxing and Chen Chen couldn't be more different - he is a bit of a rebel, the cool kid with a bit of internet following while she is a good student with bright prospects who unexpectedly flunks out. Thrown together by an outrageous lie, a mutual understanding that becomes a touching, unexpected relationship blossom between them. They embark on a most excellent adventure together as Chen Chen convinces Yuxing he must confront Ming, who is breaking his heart. Instead, they end up facing their feelings for each other and what it means for each of them culminates in an "I kissed a girl just to try it" kiss that says all that needs to be said. The chemistry between both leads is incredible and is exactly as it should be. I can't praise enough how these two young actors effortlessly show us rather than tell us the complex multitude of emotions they are experiencing.

Unfortunately for Yuxing and Chen Chen, there are too heavy consequences for their actions. Once again we see that young people are so much better people and I am left hoping these two stay that way on their long journey ahead. The ending is realistic with the right touch of wistfulness and hope.

So now is the time to confess that I only watched this because I wanted to see my favorite Wu Lei of unforgettable Fei Liu fame's first screen kiss. Needless to say, I got much more than I bargained for. While this movie has received backlash for not being upfront about what it is about, I think that criticism reflects a lack of understanding that that is the whole point. Who is Ming? That is the most irrelevant detail because it changes nothing. Yuxing's emotions, Chen Chen's emotions, our emotions, and our experiences are the same regardless of certain aspects of our identity.

The premise of this movie isn't the most original but the way it communicates its simple message is. And the acting deserves a standing ovation. This is an 8.5 for me with a strong recommendation to watch.

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Realistic story of 2 souls who face Acceptance, Honesty and life…

[ STORY ]

The movie starts with a simple scene where Zheng Yuxing(ML) is live on tik tok and Chen Chen (FL) can be seen at the back. They share with everyone that they will be going for a spontaneous trip and following that we went up to a long flashback of 1 hour of how they reached this moment……

As the story forwards, almost all things go predictable but still good enough to keep us engaged till the end… 2 lost souls who have there own issue come together not coincidentally but due to a planned lie of the female protagonist.

What can this movie give you? Changing emotions, how complicated it is for a child to face their parent's separation, how a lonely boy seeks light in the world of electronic music and loving a Girl who is actually very far from him and much more…… Moving on and acceptance is another issue portrayed here….

…Please don't look for logics here cause the movie is full of emotionally taken rash decisions…

[2 worthy statements that I found very realistic and relatable —
★ "When it comes to others, everything seems simple but what if it's about ourselves?"
★ "A lot of times we understand we're childish but we just can't help ourselves."]


[ CAST ]
•Leo Wu (role. Zheng Yuxing)— finally saw him in a more free and soulful role rather than the hugely responsible person. He's young and his personality suits this role also. Looking at the BTS from the making, he enjoyed himself while acting and that shows how he could easily portray this carefree role.

•Wendy Zhang(Chen Chen) — look at her cute face. She was perfect for this role. Playing the lost girl who has the ability but ends up taking rash decisions and faces reality at the end. Wendy did well acting up here as the confused little girl who just turned 18.

•Hao Lei (Chen Chen's mother) — Oops. She had a tough role here. This is the character that had the most no. of mood swings lol. Crying, irritated, angry, tensed, faking smiles she had to do them all. Poor her xD

……Except the crowd in background, there were a total of 7 characters who actually had to say anything in the movie (including main leads). Such a small cast list haha. Well, others weren't needed in the story either. They kept it simple with the cast….


[ MUSIC ]
Music was a major part as it represented the ML's field of interest… then all those club scenes can't be done without music…
Theme songs ~~
♪Upcoming Summer♪ — Mayday
♪Eternal summer♪ — resung by Wendy Zhang & Leo Wu (originally by Mayday)


[ REWATCH VALUE ]
Has a 40% chance of rewatch as it's a movie first so short… but going through the confused relationships again is a trouble for me lol. I can watch it someday just to see Leo Wu again lol


[ CONCLUSION ]
Give it a go if you're looking for a more realistic version of relationships. It's not the usual fairytale fluffy version that's common for high-school romance dramas. It's unique and more of a practical, friend-zoned movie. Acceptance and Being brave to reflect and be honest with yourself is the moral of the story.

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My heart aches

Ahh I must say the movie is very well made , the actors are v good I usually don’t really watch movies/series without skipping at least one scene but I didn’t skip any scenes sooo must be a good movie!! I was soooo invested in the story but the ending !! I cannot be any more heartbroken , I thought they were going to end up together low key thought he died at one point lmao but vvvv good movie , realistic ending I guess? I feel like they should’ve made it a drama cause I feel there could be so much more to the story like his relationship with his father?
Also I want to want to go to an electronic festival now lol looks so much fun!!

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There are more deeper meaning than just a Youth film :)

As I wasnt able to watch it on the movies screen, I had the time to watch tons of BTS and interviews after it was first launched and got to know and understand what is the true meaning of this story illustrated by the directors and acting crew.

It is a production made together with the intent of sharing a meaning which perhaps only after you had experienced it (perhaps only after yours 20s/30s then you can look back and understand) but yet the setting and scenes were illustrating what the current generation of high schoolers (16 - 18 YO) are going through. The director had shared before that his initial start to do a movie like this was because inspired by Zifeng who filmed in his previous movie and some parts of the plots was following the hearts of a 30s as he is 30s but he also realised thru his process of working with Zifeng and Wu Lei - the perspective are different and he was willing to listen to them and changed the plot accordingly. Thus it was a real collaboration between a 19 years old (Zhang Zifeng), 21 years old (Wu Lei) and 38 years old (Director) which have a combination of what is happening in the current generation but the future lies in your 20s and 30s when you looked back and realised what had happened was for your future.

Story - a setting between 2 high schoolers who flunk their high school exams which is the most important exam for the students. They both failed because of their choices made in their life for something they believe they wanted to pursue back then at that age. Chen Chen failed the papers because she wanted her parents to remain the same and be with her. Zheng Yu Xing failed the papers because he didn't attend - as he was too upset with his girlfriend breaking up with him and went to find her to ask for a reason. Because of this coincidence, CC had the golden excuse to lie to her parents and ZYX become her accomplice to this lie. A friendship grew and sparkled in the brightest time of their lives (in our high school). A beautiful journey where they are able to share their deepest secrets with each other and form a bond and trust which they both didn't realized until later. Sometimes, in those age, we don't know whether it is love but we know it is someone whom we trusted the most back then. Through the journey, they brave their greatest fear and learnt to face themselves and grow more mature to be responsible for their acts. Facing the punishment not because they are immature, but because they are mature to face themselves. That is the beauty of growing up.

Setting - definitely it is in a setting which is talking about the current generation which has access to iPhones, electronic dance music, parents busy working, Douyin (Tik Tok). It talks about the current generation which has the ability to express themselves thru social media and also through music, and also the essence of being more forth coming in expressing themselves like the way how they have their own version of logics talking to their teachers. The strange - but yet cold and warm relationships within both families are also displayed. Both Chen Chen and Zheng Yu Xing family isn't something out of the norm - it is definitely very realistic but yet something we don't talk about much. Single parents family and also family which are already strained - the struggles which parents also don't talk about much had shown in this movie.

Twist - A lie which was not meant to hurt anyone, but yet it was meant to protect herself. A friend who was willing to burden the lie together because he also wanted her to feel accepted. A lie which was meant to keep another lie hidden but yet when the truth is revealed, all the truth are revealed too.

Moral of this story - like what the ending says - When will the future arrive? If right here, right now - the one you like happen to like you back, then right now, is the future. The symbol of like / love can be simply defined not just as a person be it a boy or a girl. The symbol of like / love can be career, studies, family, brotherhood, sisterhood, friends, lifestyle, a dream and many other desires we have in life. MING in this story was defined as that like / love symbol but can be in many forms. The one I or you like can be a boy, a girl or a lifestyle I look forward in that future - and when that time comes aka the timing matches - my future is here. Chen Chen found her future by doing what she likes - studying and do well & her mother to be happy, as for Zheng Yu Xing, he had desired a lifestyle and career as a DJ - his excitement brightens up every time he talks about DJ-ing - that was the dream he wanted and desired. Sometimes we don't realise that we may thought we like that person but it can be the lifestyle we want like that person instead.

What I really love the most - the extensive EDM event they created - the stage setting, the drones, the lightings, the props and setup and even the soundtracks which they had got it for the movie is epic! And the non-usual youth plot but yet realistic to the point which is happening in the current state of life. Whatever the teacher says, what ZYX does / says or what CC does or says had all happened in my life before so I can relate so well to this movie and know it is realistic. I really glad there is a breakthrough done for the plot - which is then be able to called "Youth Film of the Year".

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Not all love stories are about romance.

Some stories are told to such perfection that the small details of good and bad fade away and all that exists is the story that you have lost yourself into. You will become a part of it, holding your breath with the characters in moments of tension, screaming in joy when they are happy, and bawling your eyes out when they are heartbroken. You feel their hidden emotions when their love for a beloved soars but instead of telling them "I love you", they only say "It's alright". But you understand. The story doesn’t need to be complicated or extremely clever or universally monumental for it to be sublime. In these cases, the story surpasses the confines of its format and becomes a moment of pure catharsis.
Upcoming Summer is one of those beautiful moments when everything in the story just clicks perfectly together to tell a simple story about love, heartbreak, denial, friendship, and the power to brave the hard curves in life and come to terms with what you will rather not deal with.

You might like this movie if you like:
1. Coming-of-age stories
2. Stories about music
3. Stories about friendship
4. Unrequited love
5. Family disfunction
6. Subtle but definitely there, queer representation**
7. If you liked the movie, The Half of it, there is a high chance you will like this too.

Summary: Chen Chen bombs her college entrance exam after a spontaneous night-swim the day before the exam. When pushed to reveal the reason, she claims it was because her boyfriend broke up with her. She names Zheng Yuxing, a classmate who all but skipped the exam, as her beau. This puts both of them under extreme scrutiny at school, much to Zheng Yu Xing’s amusement and Chen Chen's mortification. Slowly, however, the two become friends, and ultimately help each other face the hardships they have been avoiding in their respective personal lives.

Plot: The plot was amazing. I don’t even care if the details were not great or anything. The movie has perfect structure. It sets out to answer some questions: about the truth of what happened the night before the exam, about Chen Chen’s mother, Zheng Yu Xing’s past relationship, and how Chen Chen is going to come to terms with all that before entering the next phase of her life. Every single moment in the story has a purpose. There’s perfect harmony in how each scene leads to the next, how the decisions of each character work in tandem with the other, and they all culminate in a perfect climax where everything is revealed. They manage to create such an enjoyable and emotionally charged experience. I loved it!

Acting: It was also great! Naturally, the actors were all perfect in their roles. I knew some from previous works but not Zhang Zi Feng who knocked it out of the park with her raw depiction of Chen Chen in her moment of crisis. Wu Lei was great but I’ve come to expect that from him. I don’t think he’ll ever grow up in my eyes, though! To me, Wu Lei is going to be “the forever teenage boy”! That said, despite this being his third project I’m watching this year, he was completely lost in the character to the point that I only saw Zheng Yu Xing and not the actor. They both have great chemistry and they really sell the emotional moments. Hao Lei who plays Chen Chen’s mother was also amazing in her role. Everyone else was good.

Music and Production: This movie is about music. So naturally, the music was great. Leitmotif was used beautifully and it just stabs at your heart. I’m not a huge fan of electric music but I still think the choices were appropriate for the movie and enhanced the watching experience. The production was also wonderful. The cinematography was gorgeous. The framings were lovely. The play with light! Oh, the play with light! I wanted to eat the lights!!!! The sets perfectly established the mood and introduced important facts about the characters…perfect!

Rewatch value: Hells yeah! Watch me cry over this movie, over and over and over again!

Overall: To be fair, I didn’t wait too long to watch this but the anticipation was there and I am so happy that it was worth it. Although I’m not a huge Wu Lei fan per se, I’ve come to anticipate his projects and almost always end up watching the works he’s in because they’re always really interesting with good productions and storytelling. This movie is no exception. I just really loved this movie. It’s a little sad, it’s a little cute, and it definitely taps into a raw, authentic emotional source that will stay with you long after you finish watching it. Highly recommended.
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**SLIGHTLY SPOILERY REVIEW BELOW! Do not read the rest if you haven't watched the movie!
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Plot but make it spoiler: Yes, there definitely is a small (read HUGE) subplot that heavily signals a lgbtqa narrative. There’s even a little shot that shows couples of different genders being all cute together. So they knew what they were doing. What I want to credit the movie for is how they manage to show and hint at DJ XYZ’s orientation and Ming’s gender without really saying anything. It’s a bit regressive to gush over queer subtext, I know that. But coming from cultures/countries that are nowhere near as open about this stuff as, for example, The United States, it’s a big deal to see any movie that manages to tell profound stories about these matters and characters despite the stigma and the rules and whatnot. I always appreciate the ways a good writer gets creative so they can stay true to their vision and not give into conventional and sterile storytelling. Double Kudos!

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Far from perfect and yet more than enough

I sometimes feel like I have mastered the art of being pretentious. I love media analysis, I love picking stories apart and being overly critical and I love finding long, overly-complicated ways to describe why something is supposedly objectively good or bad. But every now and then I come across a piece of media that I just love beyond rationality. That I like more than I feel like I should be technically allowed to. Sometimes, a story can just speak to us, even if it’s objectively flawed.
Well, Upcoming Summer is that film for me.
I didn’t expect much of this film. Until now, no Chinese drama or movie had won me over. I was under the wrong impression, even though I had branched out since discovering K-dramas and had, since then found several Thai, Taiwanese, Pinoy and Japanese shows that I loved, that Chinese cinema simply wasn’t for me. But the trailer of Upcoming summer looked charming enough, that I was willing o give it a chance.
And I’m so happy I did.

There are a few things about this movie that I just find objectively good. For starters, the acting is really strong. Most actors in the C-dramas I had watched in the past, were guilty of over-acting and even though I can get the occasional joy out of watching an actor go way-overboard, it still makes me cringe. But I felt like all the performances here, were more than solid. Noone did too much or too little, the people in Upcoming Summer really just felt like people. The male lead had so much charisma, that even I blushed on several occasion. But I especially lost my heart to our female protagonist, who was childish and strong-willed but in no way frustrating or irritating to watch She really captured that stubbornness that comes with being a young adult without being just a tiny bit unlikable. The chemistry of the two lead actors was absolutely off the charts. All of their interactions felt natural and I couldn’t stop smiling, every single time they were on screen together. But the bond between mother and daughter also stood out to me. What can I say, I just bought all of this. Not one second was I taken out of the story. I believed in the characters, believed in their dreams, hardships and relationships and I sincerely loved them and wanted the best for them.
But the strong performances can also be traced back to the script and especially the dialogue. When I saw the “Fake Dating”-tag on this film, before watching it, I cringed. I know many people love the whole “two characters pretending to go out until they fall in love”-thing, I usually just prefer more maturity in my coming-of-age-stories and the trope is just a tad too Wattpad-fanfiction-y for me. I thought that I was in for another cliché love story with a contrived premise. But this film is everything but. For starters, Upcoming Summer is in no way a romance-movie, it’s a story about friendship and most of all, a story about growing up. And surprisingly enough, I thought Upcoming Summer explored that topic in a strikingly mature and again, very believable way. The dialogue felt deep and poignant but never preachy or unnatural. At no point did it feel like the author was directly talking to the audience. Instead, everything that was said, felt like the natural conclusions to the circumstances our cast was put in. We watched our characters grow as they faced the struggles of adolescence. The film didn’t need to go over the top, didn’t need dark, overly complicated backstories or villains, the pain of your first love, the pain of growing up, was more enough for this to feel impactful.
The cinematography also was great. God is this movie visually stimulating. I wondered at some points if Upcoming Summer wasn’t doing a bit too much, if it wasn’t just a tad too shiny, too grand, if it was just beautiful for the sake of being beautiful, but in the end, it just worked for me. Not a single shot felt flat, every composition conveyed emotion and it was more than easy on the eyes, I really liked the way this was cut as well. I liked all the montages, none of them felt overly long or like a waste of time and the scene at the music festival especially stood out to me in terms of cutting.
The OST is my least favorite part about this film, but I mostly didn’t mind it. I get that they obviously had to include electronic music since that’s part of the premise and some tracks I did sincerely like, but The Chainsmokers just always sound hollow and commercial to me, no matter where they are. This might be a matter of personal preference though.

I can imagine that the ending is a bit controversial. For me, it came too soon, but I could probably watch Chen Chen and Zheng Yu Xing just hanging out and having fun forever. Still, Upcoming Summer left too many threads untied for my taste. For me, the last 10 minutes definitely came out of left field. But I am not mad at the conclusions this story arrives at, even if they broke my heart a bit.
If I had one tiny bit of criticism: The TikTok product placement got a bit too much for me. I get it, sometimes you gotta do these things to fund your film. Still, that was like the only thing that kind of irritated me because it was just so obviously paid for. But as I said, I understand that sometimes as a filmmaker you don’t have much of a choice in this.
The teacher and her meddling in the leads’ relationship were also just a tad too much for me to feel entirely natural. That being said, I’m a white girl that went to a European school, I have no idea how involved Chinese teachers really are and if they would ever behave similarly, so maybe this comes down to cultural differences.

I sincerely love this film. It touched my heart in a way I didn’t see coming. But I am also scared that someone might watch this based on my recommendation only to realize, that it wasn’t nearly as good as I made it out to be. I know it isn’t, okay. In no way is Upcoming Summer groundbreaking or a perfect piece of media. But weirdly enough, this still was the YA movie of the year to me. For two hours I shed my overly-critical persona and just allowed myself to be touched by what I saw. I felt the pain of our protagonist as she, for the first time, discovers that not all love-stories have a happy ending, but that in no way diminishes their significance, that love is more than just romance, that our parents are also just humans. That growing up is the scariest challenge we face in life. Maybe art is less about what the creator puts into it, and more about what the audience gets out of it. I guess some stories just stay with us, no matter how objectively good or bad they are.
Upcoming Summer certainly will.

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Realistic Touch

I found this film through Netflix's upcoming movies and loved the trailer. The synopsis was interesting and after looking at the cast to see if there was any familiar actors/actress' I decided to watch it.

This was a very cute and often lighthearted film that really tackles two of the challenges that teenagers face the most. One being the separating parents that the female lead (Chen Chen) faces and the other being the love-struck boy who faces the challenges of love. These things that most teens have or have been through are portrayed in such a great way that some can actually relate. The feeling of mixed anger and sadness after finding out Chen Chen's parents are divorcing is something I was able to relate to that made me enjoy the show more. The feeling of being abandoned by someone you love and not receiving an explanation the Zheng Yu faces is something others can relate to.

This film is unlike any other c-drama film I've seen even though it is softhearted and cute it still has a realistic story that makes it even better. Something I'd point out is the lack of backstory in the parents especially Zheng Yu's (male leads) father. I was looking forward to Zheng Yu confronting his ex-girlfriend with Chen Chen but we never get to see it because he decides to let her go. After kissing Chen Chen and telling her he can't reciprocate her feelings which really threw me off.

I enjoyed the film because of the moments like Zheng Yu chasing after Chen Chen to ask her about the situation and she'd just run away while the other students hype them up. These were really hilarious scenes that make you forget the depressing ones.

Once the story starts reaching its climax we witness the downfall of the lead's relationship. Chen Chen is being forced to sign a paper that blames Zheng Yu for everything so the school will let her go which made me really confused because they decided to run away during the weekend so I didn't get why the school became so mad but I don't go to China for school so I don't really know their regulations. Chen Chen confronting her mother about the divorce. Zheng Yu losing his hearing which I felt was kind of unnecessary and the main lead's going their separate ways.

In the end, we see Chen Chen finished with school and go to Sanya with her mother and Uncle Wang which shows that she finally decides to accept everything but we never get to see her with her father. After she goes to a concert and sees Zheng Yu finally being able to be on top of the stage and the film ends. I felt like the ending was lacking in some ways such as the lead's not interacting but I just like to think they became really good friends at the end or maybe even form a romantic relationship.

All in all, this was a good movie that I recommend watching if you are into soft and lighthearted dramas that have a realistic touch to them.

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Sweet and real... with a touch of sadness

Dealing with life is not always easy, the choices we make the lies we tells others and ourselves to try to hold on or protect people probably work out better in real life than movies... However this movie did have a new take on lies spinning out of hand with a beautiful story of friendship, moving on and I dare say love with a hell load of pain done well!

I loved how this movie took a slightly different approach to puppy love than many high school dramas and even though I know nothing about electronic music, they almost got me sold on it after watching some of the scenes in this movie.

All in all this may not be a feel good movie, and it does leave some questions unanswered but it is beautifully made, touching and will make you feel for these slightly lost soles.

Bonus, it is available on Netflix where I live (rare for c-movies) and a powerful scene marked spoiler.

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The movie that represents life as it is, and not just in a drama form.

Loved the realness of their interactions, like real friends, and real life, not just a film/drama. I love this kind of real representation of life movies and series, they're the ones that touch me the most and leave me feeling as I was told a story by a friend. I f you like that kind of movie/series as well than that's for you.
The not very defined ending as well, such as life, we don't know how thing went but we chose to believe in how we wanted to go. Loved the music, the actors, the story line and the design of the film in general, the cinematography and photography where on point.

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Worth your time!!!! Also its on Netflix

Was keeping an eye on this as to when it would come on any online platforms, luckily it came on Netflix.

There is this instant chemistry between the leads, they are too good. I loved every millisecond of the movie. This is not that regular coming of age movie, this has the very realistic ending.

Leo is such an all rounder, he looks good, his acting is out of-the world and yayyyy!!! we happen to witness his first onscreen kiss. Words fall short to describe this young talented actor. I was instantly drown towards him when I first saw him in cross fire. I didn't know he was there in the industry since he was 5-6 years old. His acting is so effortless.
Coming to the actress, she has done a good job as well, she looks like a highschool kid, so big shout out for the casting director.
All in all, movie is worth every minute of audience's time. Watch it. Writer/Director has beautifully laid out the story.
"Its a miracle if the person you like, likes you back"..I didn't know this line had such a deep meaning...lol...as all the kdramas/cdramas have spoiled me thinking if one of the leads likes the other person then definitely he/she is going to get him/her. Well!!! In reality it is not the case.....he he he he which is true......so, watch it and don't let the comments or reviews stop you from watching this amazing movie.

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Sweet Innocent Youthful Love

Loved the sweet realistic approach of this movie. It's not the typical happily ever after, yet it is a still a happy ending. So much laughing and crying for this movie. I hope others can appreciate the different beautiful stories. The director seems to go with the ambiguous approach to the ml's ex gf. honestly, she's not that important in the story anyways. yes the ml said he loved his ex but at that age, does anyone really know what love is? he said he wish he could like cc too but does he know that he has already fallen for her? that is what youth is. so many things we didn't know that we thought we knew, that we don't realize until the future but as long as we accept that there are things we cant change and move onto the future, that is all that matters.

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