Chang hen ge: A long, quiet train wreck of a romance

Is it worth your time?

Honestly, it depends on how much patience you have for watching people sabotage their own lives. If you want a clean, snappy plot, skip this. But if you like films that just sit in the discomfort of a bad relationship, you might get something out of it. It’s definitely not a date movie, unless you want your date to leave halfway through.

The whole thing feels like watching a vase tip over in slow motion. You want to reach out and catch it, but you know it’s already too late. The chemistry between the leads is weirdly jagged. They have these moments where they look like they’d die for each other, and then ten minutes later, they’re using those same memories as weapons.

Small things I noticed

• There’s a scene in a kitchen that lasts way too long. The hum of the refrigerator is louder than the dialogue, and it honestly drove me a little crazy.
• The way they avoid eye contact in the second act? Brutal. It felt so real it made me want to look away from the screen.
• I kept thinking about Liebe macht blind while watching this, just because of how differently they handle the idea of people being 'blind' to their own mistakes.

The pacing is… well, it’s a choice. Sometimes it feels like the director just forgot to yell 'cut.' There are these long, lingering shots of empty rooms that usually imply some deep, hidden meaning. Here, they just feel like empty rooms. I’m not sure if that’s genius or just lazy, but it fits the mood.

It’s a bit like watching a car accident in a parking lot. It’s not flashy, nobody’s dying in a big explosion, but it’s still painful to watch the metal crunch. I think that’s the point. It’s not trying to be The Perils of Pauline with all its high-stakes drama. It’s just the slow, quiet, miserable death of a couple.

Is it perfect? No. The middle section drags its feet so much I checked my phone twice. But then there’s this one look, just a flicker of regret in a doorway, that makes you forgive the boring parts. Maybe.

Anyway. It’s a heavy one. Don't watch it if you're already having a bad week. ☕