What it is about
Po-Ching is a freelance translator with severe OCD and intense mysophobia. His cleaning routines, the way he covers himself when going out, and his habit of shopping only on the 15th of each month have isolated him, and to others he seems like a complete weirdo. One day he meets Chen Ching, someone with similar habits, and the two begin sharing their lives through mutual understanding. What seems like a shared refuge will soon be put to the test.
How it was made
It is the feature directorial debut of Liao Ming-yi, who also wrote the screenplay. Austin Lin and Nikki Hsieh star. The film is the first Asian feature shot entirely on an iPhone, specifically an iPhone XS Max, during a 32-day shoot. The camera department was thus reduced to an everyday device, an unusual choice for commercial cinema of the period.
Reception and legacy
The film premiered at the 22nd Far East Film Festival in June 2020, where it won the Purple Mulberry Award. It opened in Taiwan that August. Shortly before its planned Hong Kong release, the copyright holder of Million Loves in Me (2017) filed a plagiarism lawsuit, which the production companies and the director deny, insisting the film is an original work unrelated to that one.
Stills
Trivia
Shot on an iPhone
It is the first Asian feature film shot entirely on an iPhone, specifically an iPhone XS Max, over a 32-day shoot.
Plagiarism lawsuit
Before its Hong Kong release, the producer of Million Loves in Me filed a lawsuit alleging copyright infringement, which the makers of this film reject.
Original Cinematopedia text based on Wikipedia (es) and Wikipedia (en) and Wikidata.