Turn Left, Turn Right

"Turn left, Turn right"

Kaneshiro is John Liu, a struggling violinist who lives alone in a Taipei apartment far too cushy for someone of his dubious occupation. Despite being played by Takeshi Kaneshiro, John is a shy loner who has practically no friends. Instead, he's a too-kind romantic whose heart beats for a girl he's never really known. That girl was an unknown crush from some high school trip, who has magically transformed into Eve Choi (Gigi Leung), a struggling translator who also lives alone in a Taipei apartment far too cushy for someone of her dubious occupation. Eve is also a dreamy loner, who longs to translate Polish love poems instead of knocking off the latest paperback blockbuster for her publishers. She also has a longtime crush: for a boy who once helped her on some high school trip. That boy magically transformed into Takeshi Kaneshiro, etc., who besides longing for her happens to live RIGHT NEXT DOOR. Yep, the two star-crossed lovers live in adjoining apartment buildings separated by one brick wall, and the only reason they never meet is because every day one turns right and the other turns left.

     Luckily that all changes within the first twenty minutes of the film. The two happen by the same park fountain, where they proceed to help one another when their respective paperwork (translations for Eve, sheet music for John) gets knocked into the fountain. What they discover all too soon is that each is the other's long-desired other. That quick revelation turns into a dream-date day, as the two spend their time playing with local pets, teasing local babies, and riding the carousel at the park to their hearts' content. They also, laugh, mug and generally giggle to reams of tinkly piano music. It's good that Johnnie To handles things with a light, ironic touch, as it makes things seem less saccharin than they probably really are. The performers are attractive, the music pleasing, and the art direction atmospherically sound. The preceding twenty minutes of parallel narrative devices (John experiences something, Eve experiences her version of the same event, and the two miss each other on the street) seems to float by, and the film, while not creating any real drama, looks to have some promise. The lovers seem poised to match their destinies with their desires—what more could any movie romantic want?

     Sadly, IT ALL GOES TO HELL. Not the film necessarily, but the characters get booked on the express to potential lover hell. Eve and John part ways quickly after their date, managing to trade only phone numbers and not their actual names. You see, it starts to rain and their landlords turn up, and the characters want to avoid them, so they part quickly and hastily scribble their phone numbers down, but the numbers get smudged by the rain, and both catch mega-bad colds, which means THEY CANNOT CONTACT EACH OTHER. Despite the fact that they live right next door to one another, they have no idea how to find the other, and as the two continue to grow sicker, their parallel lives grow increasingly despondent and predictable. Basically, if you see one thing happen to one character, then you know the exact same thing will happen to the other. While amusing, such devices can grow old rather soon.

In its defense, Turn Left Turn Right has some cleverness and quirky appeal for its "parallel lives" narrative devices, which help the film stay afloat even as those same devices start to grow stale. Johnnie To's efficient direction keeps things moving, and even when the quirkiness gets tired (and it does), there is some amusement to be gleamed. All in all this movie has a great story and had a great lessons to learn.