Wo Tsai Che Li Teng Ni (2024)

"In this vast universe, all mortals' lives move in parallel lines, alone and ahead.

When somehow the lines meet, the moment of encounter, even if it was fleeting, is a miracle."

TLDR: A Balloon's Landing was both beautifully written and beautifully executed. Definitely worth a watch, hell a rewatch even. Also, Guava is the best gps in the history of humanity.

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This movie is about a novel writer, Tianyu, going on a journey to locate the Bay of Vanishing Whales where he believes, and has been told in a letter years ago, that he can find a paradise. Does it sound slightly odd to go looking for a paradise and put your whole faith into a letter? Probably, but once you discover the reason behind this, it no longer sounds as odd. Many of us have moments in our lives where we feel completely lost and emotionally detached from everything (and in what he was suffering from, depersonalisation is common), not so much different from a balloon drifting aimlessly and looking for a place to land, yearning to call something home. And all I can say without giving away any spoilers is that, Tianyu is the same and have been feeling this way for quite a long, long time due to his past. Both that letter and the 'paradise' is what tugs at him, becoming his sole focus and (although a bit flimsy) connection to the ground and life itself.

He meets A Xiang in this same journey, perhaps exactly when he needed someone the most. A Xiang who initially started out as the seemingly not-so-reliable tour guide he never asked for, ends up becoming the person who helps him find his landing and feel like he belongs somewhere. These two are opposite in nature yet fit together like puzzle pieces, as differently shaped as these pieces might be (as in different pasts, goals, personalities and perspectives) they still belong to the same jigsaw puzzle; once they meet, they're bound to click in place. Perfectly. Because some people are just meant to be and they're definitely one of them.

Storytelling-wise, it was an experience for sure! almost made me feel as if I'm on a journey with Tianyu rather than just watching this. One of the things I absolutely adore about this movie is that it shows, not just tells. The characters won't grab the camera, look you dead in the eye and say, "I currently feel [insert] emotion, I am [insert] type of person, we are doing [insert] thing." They let their actions speak, their expressions speak, even the shared glances and comforting silences between them speak for itself. All of that makes each scene feel so alive because they actually seem like real people going through real situations, and the entire cast portrayed their characters so naturally which only made it even more believable. Plus, the seamless integration of weighty themes with a touch of humor felt perfectly balanced, it didn't undermine the very sensitive topics it dealt with imo.

It also played gently with the old-time romantic idea of destiny, but without making it the focal point or trying to convince everyone that their entire lives are predetermined, instead it showed that change is possible, that relationships evolve, and that love doesn't need grand declarations to be profound. Honestly, what I saw and felt in this movie was simply love that felt like home, it wasn't the steamy kind, it was simple, quiet, but undeniable love and it goes without saying that both types of love can be beautiful on the screen. Love comes in many shades, there's too many people in this world to expect everyone to love and express their love the exact same way, that's why varieties are important when it comes to movies about human feelings and experiences. I wouldn't call the relationship in this movie 'subtle romance' either when it mainly just didn't have any breathless make-out scenes or bed-breaking bedroom encounters that'll make their neighbours think there's an earthquake, since it doesn't really fit my definition of subtle when it had enough intimacy that didn't make it even slightest bit of ambiguous to me. They are 'only friends' the same way historical gay couples are friendship goals to historians and they are about as 'straight' as Sappho’s poems about women. There was no love triangle, no unrequited love, just mutual love for life and for each other with the best gps dog (Guava) in the world making a cameo.

Along with that, the cinematography was gorgeous. The beauty of this film lies not only in the characters and their journey but also in how it's all wrapped in the atmosphere of the movie. There's a sense of calmness, like the world outside has been gently paused, allowing the characters to simply be. I especially loved how there wasn't constant background music, sometimes it can be an overkill and there's some scenes that require silence or at least a quieter background so the characters' expressions and dialogues can do all the work. The cinematography, colour grading, and musical score was all perfect, every element of A Balloon’s Landing works in harmony, watching it felt like curling up in a warm blanket when it's really cold and listening to the soft sound of the fireplace. Just perfect.

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All in all, there's a paradise, but it's not by the Bay of Whales, it’s in this movie.

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Love it and enjoyed it, amazing acting

Watched it in the cinema with friends on the first release day in Hong Kong and it was a pleasant experience. I love how good the actor's acting are when it comes to expressing all the detailed emotion. Especially when i had enough of BL drama full of sexual scenes, this movie certainly gave me a refreshing break. If you are hoping for some crazy hot and spicy love story, sorry but this is not one of those. But you are looking for beautiful scenery, music, people and subtle emotions, this is certainly a must watch. The lyrics in the theme song pretty much stated out the whole story line.

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Context and interpretation

I am a fan of Leslie Cheung. Leslie Cheung is one of the key points in this A Balloon's Landing drama.

I haven’t read an official statement from the director clarifying whether this film is or isn’t a gay or BL (Boys' Love) story. All I've come across are headlines from people who were upset that the movie confirmed it’s not a BL, feeling that the promotion relied on queerbaiting. I did watch some promotional videos on YouTube, but I don’t really have a strong opinion on them.

Leslie Cheung, who tragically committed suicide in Hong Kong, never publicly confirmed his sexual orientation (though some people feel the need to know). I read his suicide note, which was published by the media, but it didn’t offer any clues. I used to think he was gay, but it’s no longer important since he chose not to share that part of his life with the public. I like to think the reason the director of A Balloon's Landing doesn’t confirm whether this movie is a BL could be because they wanted to go beyond labels and make something more universally relatable.

A Balloon's Landing is beautiful, but it’s not an "A" movie—it’s a "B" movie. The story feels complete by the end, with everything presented, including a key detail about one character's fear of the dark, which is explained in the final part of the movie.

I enjoy road movies because they often showcase landscapes and settings as integral parts of the story. A Balloon's Landing captures these landscapes well, but it doesn't quite do justice to small details—like how the two boys carry small bags, yet their clothes seem to change every day (is it like a magical pocket, a la Doraemon?).

Lastly, I was reminded of The Lake House (with Sandra Bullock), as the mailbox setup in A Balloon's Landing was similar. It helped me connect with the film's story in a more familiar way.

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Great film but left me mixed feelings

I just watched on Netflix after wanting to watch it for a long time, and it lived up to my expectations. I wanted a queer angst story with beautiful scenery kind of film. And it did give me that.
But it let me down with the ending and the plot twist, if it can be called like that?

I suffered throughout the last half of the movie, I didn’t like the way it turned out; it just wasn’t what I wanted from the storyline, it was a happy ending at least.

Tian Yu and Yi Xiang were both great characters, the acting and chemistry was outstanding and cute. Totally won my heart.

I would say that indeed, it’s not a BL movie like people were saying. But they definitely were gay for each other, that was pretty clear to me. Just nothing explicit.

Overall, it’s a great film, with good acting, visuals, and the music too. Not the best plot, but not bad either. I think you should give it a chance for sure.

SPOILER:
I NEED TO SAY THIS:
I WAS REALLY MAD ABOUT THE FESTIVAL, god I just wanted them to happily see the fireworks together. My heart was torn apart on that scene when Tian Yu was waiting for Yi Xiang and he was fighting for his life and wanted to go with him. <\3

And I just can’t stop thinking that yeah at the ending Tian Yu got Yi Xiang/ Jin Run Fa back but it wasn’t really his A Xiang, since he didn’t remember anything about him, that’s what I didn’t liked about the movie. Why he had to die? And then be replaced for another version of himself somehow… IT DIDNT FEEL RIGHT TO ME, IDK

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Things could have been more obvious

I decided to watch this one on its release day to know what it is actually about among the queerbaiting news on media.

"Tian Yu, don't die. I'm here waiting for you"
"I'm here waiting for you"
"I'm still here waiting for you"

My first thought would be that the relationship between Tian Yu and A Xiang is completely vauge and yes, I totally feel they do have feelings toward each other. A Xiang has been guided by Tian Yu since childhood, which encouraged A Xiang to explore the world and break his own limit. What A Xiang did is all on purple since he knew all about Tian Yu from the first encounter. I surely bet A Xiang have more feelings toward Tian Yu while Tian Yu on the other hand, is kinda indecisive and unclear when it comes to express his feeling. Wished there should at least one more physical action to make things clear about them.

I can understand why people became completely frozen in shock because of the end. I was like paralyzed while seeing "cloned" character after their demise since I have witnessed what happened to them. I enjoyed a lot at the first half, but it got totally confusing and made me think a lot at the latter part. The movie did included some queer elements like Leslie Cheung and Nomad (I might be wrong since the red poster wrote Numad), Tian Yu did use Leslie's song lyrics so the Homoerotics Subtext tag here is relevant imo.

Otherwise, I appreciate the how good the cinematography goes to make the movie look poetic, nostalgic along with nice music and main OST, and the casts are top notch. Not mentioning how the crew and cast promoted this movie, I still consider this as a story about unfinished love relationship of two persons even though neither said love words. The plot is not really intense or highly twisted, and enjoyable overall. I would respect your view if you thought having no NC scenes or simply a real kiss is queerbaiting or brotherhood. Taiwanese movies have never been labeled as BL anyway.

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Amazing story with a little problem

This movie was great, the acting, the cinematography, the music, the subtle pacing, i know it has been accused of queerbating but actually i don't see it that way, to me it's the start of a cute relationship between the leads, they have feelings for each other and it's obvious even if it's not classified as a BL, people are just bitter because they assumed it was gonna be a love story from beginning to end and it was not, it's necessary to admire the art beyond the kisses and all that comes along with that. The problem i noticed is with the timeline changes in the story, like, how could he save him but still no having change his own experience at all?, the butterfly effect jus didn't affect him and logically speaking, it should have, but overall amazing movie, very cute.

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A beautiful inner experience.

For me, it's not a movie called Balloon Landing, but it will always be Bay of the Vanishing Whales, and when I watched it for the first time, only the second half of the film made everything clear, and then when I watch the project for the second time, I perceive everything from a different angle. The Japanese film Dangerous Drugs of Sex, where there are explicit sex scenes, is completely different, like this fantasy film with only one random kiss, where everything is on the level of the inner character and the viewer, but still both films have something in common ... first they save each other, so that in the end the second one saves the first one. For some viewers, and they write about it on world servers, it's not BL just because they don't fuck and there are no bed scenes, for me and many others it's a deep and inner film about two wounded beings and hidden homosexuality (I don't see it only as a bromance), because love has many forms and it's practically on the same wavelength as the Taiwanese project The On1y One, where there's also no physical contact. Excellent acting, beautiful scenery of southern Taiwan and modern Hong Kong, a handkerchief at the end and I will return to the film... and an amazing fresh spark in the form of actor Fandy Fan and a great performance by Hong Konger Terrance Lau. A beautiful inner experience.

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