5. Turn Left, Turn Right

I can't remember the last time I awed, gasped, cursed and was in the ultimate *'kilig moments while watching movie. Well "Turn Left, Turn Right" did just that to me. This movie left me in the kilig state throughout the film. This movie is based on the graphic novel "A Chance of Sunshine" (English translation) by Jimmy Liao who makes a cameo appearance in the film, he basically pulled a 'Stan Lee'.

I was left in such a state of romantic bliss, I swear my cheeks hurt by the end of the movie but however this was swiftly accompanied by the periodic cursing at the screen. I know pretty silly but watch it and you will know exactly what I mean.

The plot follows the lives of John, a frustrated, classically trained violinist struggling to lend his dream job doing odd stints in restaurants and studios to make ends meat and Eve, a talented writer working as a translator of Czech literature into Chinese. They both were unhappy in their current state and this is portrayed in the beginning of the movie where they seem to be facing their demons. The lady running from a demon from the books she read to translate and the guy from an obsessed driven crazy woman.

They live in neighboring apartments, only separated by a wall, but never seem to realize or meet. They are always a few feet away from each other, oblivious of the fact that they are both almost always in the same vicinity.

They movie shows them first meeting in a park near a water fountain. They sit on the opposite ends, she reading her translated poetry and him reading his music. A sudden gust of wind blows her papers into the water and he comes to the rescue jumping in to save her work. After spending the afternoon together whilst drying her papers, they get closer and seem to have a instant connection.

They both decide to get a drink and he starts telling a story of a girl he met during a school trip in middle school. John tells of how he saw a very pretty girl but was way too shy to talk to her. The story is quite similar to how they just met, the girl sitting by the pond and a wind blows and John comes to the rescue to save her papers. Actually it is exactly the same scenario, just about 13 years apart.

Coincidentally without realization, Eve remembers that same story and tells him that she was the girl. They identify themselves by their school numbers, John being 763092 and Eve 784533. That was one significant thing they both remembered and it resonated throughout the entire film. They never actually introduced themselves to each other so that's the only form of name they knew of each other.

It started raining and they both needed to leave, so they exchanged numbers and off they went in separate directions only to go back to the same place, separated by a wall. They both were caught up in the moment and forgot to take some medication after being caught in the rain and due to this got seriously ill. Adding insult to injury, the rain also washed out their numbers, so in a morbid state, they tried their best to contact each other, basically by guessing each digit. They longed till the day they would meet again.

Again let me state, they were only a wall apart but remained oblivious.

They seemed to be experiencing the exact same situations, from getting sick then going to the hospital, ordering from the same restaurant and wanting the same food. Thus strengthening the message that they were meant for each other, they were soul mates.

In their debacle, two people came into their lives unwillingly and forcefully. Dr. Hu who has had a crush on Eve since college and Ruby the delivery girl from the restaurant for John. They both forced themselves into the lives of John and Eve claiming to be in a relationship with them.

There were so many scenarios where they were so close yet so far. These were the moments the entire was was either shouting to turn around, cursing at them or just sitting in disbelief. I swear I was a mix of emotions, quite indescribable.

John and Eve finally have had enough and ask Ruby and Dr. Hu to leave, making it clear that they are not interested in the. Dr. Hu and Ruby meet in a bar and realize they have more in common then what they originally thought. They decide  to take revenge by sending John and Eve pictures of them just a few feet apart, knowing that they have been searching for each other for a very long time now. Throughout their heart break, their love for each other never dies. John says, if he needs to wait another 13 years, he will. Ruby and Dr. Hu now feeling guilty exchange John and Eve's number, but they say it's theirs.

Frustrated that they couldn't find love, John and Eve decide to take jobs abroad, again very similar in what they do. On the last minute, before finally locking up there apartments, Eve decides to call the number thinking it was Dr. Hu and explains that she is leaving and that she still loves and misses John dearly and hopes to meet him in the near future. John hears this message over the answering machine and calls her back, but suddenly a earthquake shook the foundations of the building, knocking the wall down finally revealing that they were always together.

I sighed and awed in my kilig state and shouted "finally". It was a unexpected ending but nonetheless quite a good one too.

If your the type of person that likes a good love story then do take your time to watch it. The full movie with English subtitles are on YouTube so it's very convenient. But be warned now, there will a lot of cursing from the audience too haha.

In all honestly, I thoroughly enjoyed this movie and recommend it for anyone. I most probably will recommend to all my friends and family.




*kilig- Colloquial Filipino term which means a sudden feeling of in-explainable joy that one gets when something romantic or idealistic occurs.