The Last Verse

Ren-jie and Xiao-ping are young, in love, and ready for a lifetime of happiness. It’s the year 2000 in Taiwan, and a historic election spells the dawn of a new era. As it does in any epoch, adulthood rears its inconvenient head: the couple are separated by military service, the economy tumbles, jealousy swoops in. But their dreams are going to take an especially hard tumble. Ren-jie’s father leaves a massive debt. The years pass. In politics as in love, the languages of reality versus idealism clash and the world zooms by. Ren-jie and Xiao-ping on the other hand, are running in place. (San Diego Asian Film Festival)