Review: One Desk, Two Uniforms. A Nostalgic Taiwanese Coming-of-Age…

In 1997, a bittersweet and heart-fluttering coming-of-age ensemble drama unfolds at a high school in Taipei, Taiwan. Xiaoai, attending the prestigious school’s night division, forms a fateful friendship with Mingming through the tradition of “desk buddies” — sharing a desk with a full-time student. Days of exchanging uniforms, sneaking out of school, and discovering a wider world. As hints of romance begin to blossom, their story takes an unexpected turn… A moving film that evokes nostalgic yet poignant memories of those days.

■Synopsis

Taipei, Taiwan, 1997. Xiao Ai, living with her mother and younger sister, fails her high school entrance exam and enrolls in the night division of the prestigious First Girls’ High School.

While the full-time division of First Girls’ is a renowned elite school known to all, it is equally well-known that the night division has slightly lower academic standards. This becomes a major source of insecurity for Xiao Ai right from the start of high school.

At the school, full-time and night division students shared classrooms, alternating schedules. There was a tradition where students sharing a desk — called “desk buddies” — exchanged gifts and letters. Xiao Ai’s desk buddy was a student named Minmin.

Becoming close with her transformed Xiao Ai’s school life into something joyful every day. The two began spending time together, even swapping uniforms to skip class.

Amidst this, Xiao Ai starts to notice a high school boy named Lu Ke who appears at the table tennis hall where she works part-time…

■Reviews & Impressions

This youth school drama, directed by Juang Jinsheng and starring Chen Yingfei and Shan Jieru, is based on a screenplay written by Xu Huifan (co-written with Wang Liwen) inspired by her own experiences.

The First Girls’ High School (Provincial First Girls’ Senior High School) the protagonists attend is based on a real school, with the uniforms and embroidery colors in the film modeled after theirs.

The movie begins in 1997, but it also has similarities to Japan in the 1980s when I was in high school, evoking various nostalgic feelings. I’ve seen heart-shaped folded letters exchanged before, and the girls rolling up their skirts to make them shorter felt somehow familiar too.

The film weaves in various other period details, digging up memories for those who lived through that era. An easily relatable touch for Japanese viewers is the episode where the protagonist is a huge fan of Nicole Kidman. Back then, she was still married to Tom Cruise.

For Taiwanese audiences, the most decisive period detail is likely the recreation of the 1999 “921 Earthquake.” This magnitude 7.6 quake, centered in central Taiwan, claimed over 2,400 lives and caused major damage in Taipei, including collapsed buildings. Even someone like me, who doesn’t know much about the earthquake, felt a chill during this scene, so I imagine Taiwanese viewers watching the film were truly horrified.

Beyond just this earthquake scene, there are many parts of this film that Japanese audiences might find intuitively difficult to grasp, like the day-night split high school system or the unclear mechanics of the university entrance exam system. Also, characters like the older student who ends up in the same class and next seat as the protagonist, who seem like they could be woven into the story but are left untouched, feel like a missed opportunity. The relationship with the video store clerk who writes letters for others is also a bit unclear.

Overall, I don’t think it’s a bad film at all. It’s a good film. But for me, it leaves me feeling just a little unsatisfied.

(Original Title: 夜校女生 The Uniform)

Shinjuku Musashinokan (Screen 1)
Distributed by: Muvila, Maxam
2024｜1h 49m｜Taiwan｜Color
Official Site: https://www.maxam.jp/hitofuta/
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt33708235/