By Dan Skip Allen

I’ve seen my share of foreign language films in my lifetime. They have something that American movies don’t have. They have different kinds of stories that aren’t like most of the American ones told in movies. They even have different ways to film these stories. “Dear You” is one of those stories and films. It’s one of the most unique touching stories and movies you’ll see this year. Once you watch it, you’ll understand what I’m talking about. It deserves an audience in this and every other country. Foreign films need eyes on them to show American audiences why they’re so good. This one is definitely that.

This film starts off with a framing device. It mainly focuses on a man and his grandmother. It’s her birthday, but he distracts her to go looking through her things. He believes she’s owed some money from a man who spurned her years before. Once he finds a letter from the man, he takes it and leads him down a rabbit hole to figure out who this man was and why he left his wife behind with a family she had to support on her own. Little does he know he’s about to uncover a story he won’t soon forget and realize the true nature of what secrets his grandmother’s husband has been hiding. It’s not exactly what anyone would have thought. This is a very in-depth story that has many layers.

This story has two things that are key to bringing it full circle in my eyes. The first is the box of letters, which help tell a story of a man who cared for this woman and her children. The second is a macguffin, which is a photo of the man with another woman and a bunch of kids. This would be a surprise to anyone, but as you continue to watch this movie, you will see the layers get peeled back like an onion. This story is so well developed by the multiple writers that include the director Lan Hongchun and Yang Leng. They know how to pull the heartstrings. The further along that you go as a viewer watching this movie, the more surprised you’ll get with what happens. 

There is a lot to unfold with this film. One of those things is the story structure. As mentioned, there is a framing device at the forefront of this story, but that’s just the beginning of the narrative structure this movie has going for it. This film begins in 1978 but flashes back to many years before to see how the man character gets redeemed. His story is key to how this narrative structure works so well. There is a back and forth in the story, but the middle of the movie mainly takes place in the past. There is even a twist that I won’t reveal that brings the story full circle. This film owes itself to a phenomenal story.

With all of the story beats and flashing back and forth in the story, there are a few things I want to mention about the technical aspects of this movie. One of those is the makeup and hairstyling. That team is doing incredible work, aging the characters from young men and women to other men and women. The makeup and hairstyling help to show the levels the director and writers will go to to make this story better. The costume department is all working full time in this film. There are a lot of actors in big and small roles. That makes for a lot of costumes. With the period aspect of this story, that means the costumes have to be period centric as well. These technical elements help make this movie better in every way. 

With this being a foreign film, I wasn’t that familiar with the cast that much. After watching it, though, I was very aware of the actors in this movie. Specifically, Li Sitong, Wang Yantong, and Wu Shaoqing. All of these actors played these characters in the film exceptionally well. I felt like I had been watching these actors for years now. I felt engaged with them and the characters they were playing. I cared about them quite a bit while watching this movie. I’m sure when you watch it, you’ll feel the same way I did. They are that good in these roles. That’s when a cast is doing its job. I loved watching them all, no matter that I had to read subtitles to understand what they were saying.

I want to make this clear to everyone who gives “Dear You” a chance. You won’t regret watching this sweet story that takes place over a number of years. You will find yourself caring about these people and their plight. I didn’t know where this film was going when I started watching it. And when I was finished watching it, I had a tear in my eye because what I had just watched was so touching and meaningful. I’m sure everyone will feel the same way I did after this movie is finished. It’s around 2 hours run time. It’s a rarity these days that you find such a sweet movie that will get all the feels out of its audience. This film is one of those movies and you won’t forget it if you give it a chance. This picture deserves an audience. I mean that. It proves no matter what country a movie is from if it’s made terrifically, has an engaging story and great acting and other elements it deserves viewers to see it and spread the word to others to watch it. I loved it.

🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 ½ stars