It's another damp and dull winter's day in Taipei. The boy is dressed in a khaki jacket and green scarf and carries a violin case. The girl wears a cute red hat, a red-and-white scarf and long skirt. These two figures are about to make the big jump from paper to celluloid.
The two characters live in the same apartment building, surrounded by lovely plants, cool music, good books and loneliness. They wonder if, in this maze-like city, the clouds will ever clear to let in the sun.
They are lonely because, although they live in the same building, they have never met, as when each leaves the building, she turns right and he turns left. Although they are obviously meant for each other, their paths seem destined not to cross.
This is the stuff of the best-selling book Turn Left, Turn Right (
Last week, Johnny To (
As in Jimmy's book, the couple meet accidentally in a park by a large round fountain without realizing they are neighbors. They feel like they've known each other for a long time.
In the shooting of Turn Left, Turn Right, Johnny arranged for Kaneshiro and Leung to meet in a park near the New Peitou MRT station, where there is also a large round fountain.
Leung, who plays the role of a translator, accidentally drops her papers into the pond. Kaneshiro takes his shoes off to get them for her -- and as the scene took a number of takes to shoot, Kaneshiro spent much time with his feet soaking in cold water, a far cry from the hot spring water for which Peitou is best known.
As in the illustrated book, To also found a carousel for Kaneshiro and Leung's fairy tale-like first date. She and Kaneshiro have already been on-screen lovers in the 1999 film Tempting Heart (心動).
Taiwan-born Japanese actor Takeshi Kaneshiro (Chungking Express, Fallen Angel), who plays the violinist in the film, is a heart-throb in Taiwan, Japan and Hong Kong because of his handsome face and melancholy eyes. "He is just like the loner in the book," said To.
As for Gigi Leung, the popular pop singer from Hong Kong, she looks a bit different from the girl in Jimmy's book because of her short hair. But her young and innocent face makes up for this difference.
Jimmy's books often portray people coping with alienation, loneliness and feelings of anxiety. His main characters are usually portrayed against huge backgrounds, maze-like cityscapes or walls of nameless faces.
An atmosphere of poetic imagination, melancholy and cuteness dominates. The plot itself is actually rather thin.
In a way, this will be a very reserved love story for director Johnny To who excels in dialogue-intensive romantic comedies.
"I don't mind if the film comes out differently from the book. The book leaves a wide space for interpretation. You can make it deep or light or just romantic," said Liao.
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