It is fresh and lovely. This is what is said about ‘Our School Uniform Days,’ which captures a page of youth.
The movie ‘Our School Uniform Days’ (directed by Chuang Ching-hsien) is a coming-of-age romance about a student in the evening class of a prestigious girls' high school, who struggles with grades, family, and unrequited love, and experiences a new world through a secret uniform exchange with her perfect daytime class desk mate Min and her best friend.
Starting with winning the Excellent Screenplay Award at the 2021 Golden Harvest Awards, it has been officially invited to numerous film festivals, including the 29th Busan International Film Festival in 2024, the 21st Hong Kong Asian Film Festival, and the 61st Golden Horse Awards.
Ai (played by Jin Yan-bi) enrolls in the evening class of the top prestigious school in Taiwan, Chihai Girls' High School, due to her mother's insistence. However, feeling embarrassed as she seems to be a fake elite because the evening class does not meet the standards of the daytime class, Ai grows closer to her daytime desk mate Min (played by Hang Chieh-ye) by exchanging letters, following the school's tradition of sharing desks. Min suggests they exchange uniforms and skip class together.
As Min and Ai spend time together, they build a friendship, and Ai develops feelings for Luka (played by Gui Tai), whom she meets while working part-time at a ping pong hall. Ai discovers that Min also likes Luka, the popular guy in the daytime class. Feeling like she belongs to a different world from the two, Ai pretends to be part of the daytime class.
Set in the 1990s, ‘Our School Uniform Days’ continues the legacy of fresh Taiwanese youth films. It evokes empathy by portraying special friendships with best friends, innocent love with the perfect popular guy, and the subtle relationships within families. Analog items like earphones, handwritten letters, fan letters, video rental stores, and film cameras bring back memories of that era.
Despite cultural differences, there is no difficulty in immersing oneself, as we have all gone through that youthful time. Although everything feels clumsy and awkward, leading to feelings of sadness and frustration, the portrayal of youth growing a little more adds to the immersion.
The performances of the actors shine in ‘Our School Uniform Days.’ Jin Yan-bi as Ai, Hang Chieh-ye as Min, and Gui Tai as Luka feel natural as if they are wearing their own clothes. The beautiful cinematography and captivating OST blend perfectly. A fresh and lovely page of youth is captured in ‘Our School Uniform Journal.’ Released today (11th). Rated for all audiences. Running time: 109 minutes.
