(SCFF 2024) Film Review #114: A Boy and a Girl (少男少女)

Unfiltered Desolation: Adolescence in A Boy and a Girl (少男少女) review

In a rural, sleepy, coastal town in Taiwan, Hsu Li Da’s debut feature film unfolds as a raw and unfiltered narrative, showcasing a side of Taiwan I have rarely seen. In A Boy and A Girl (少男少女), two teenagers yearn to escape their deadbeat town by delving into vice to amass the funds needed for their departure. As time passes, their success complicates their desire to leave, along with threats, extortion and betrayal.

The town is unnamed, and so are the people living in it; identities are reduced to gender or societal roles, with a focus on the two adolescents and the people who are supposed to guide and guard them — Boy’s guardians (Man and Woman), Coach, Police Officer. The film's portrayal of a loveless place is stark and unapologetic, digging into the seediness and the dark underbelly of morally corrupt people.

From the outset, the film teeters on the edge of a coming-of-age story but morphs into a coming-of-rage one. The town features rundown, dilapidated sheds and a scarcity of greenery that mirrors the desolation of its inhabitants. Only fleeting glimpses of hope bring forth any signs of life early on in the film.

Dialogue in the film mirrors this mood, sparse and stripped of emotion, delivered with impassive faces that betray the characters' frustration. Sex becomes a currency, a tool for exploitation and abuse, devoid of any semblance of love. The relationship between Boy (Travis Hu 胡语恒) and Girl (Kira Skelly 尹茜蕾) is fraught with ambiguity, oscillating between partnership and somewhat romantic relationship, but almost never touching upon genuine affection and care in their unloving world. These questions weigh heavily throughout the film: how can they know what love is if they have not yet received it, especially when they are being hurt more than they are being loved?



While the film is rich in its depiction of the town's gritty realities and features a striking location, I would have liked a bit more depth and innovation in its storytelling. Narrative motifs do feel a little underutilised as the film is very story-driven.

Hu’s portrayal of Boy showcases an unexpected versatility that brings out the shedding of innocence and the changes he undergoes, from slightly awkward, sullen and naive to rash and rowdy, devoid of and numb towards morals and the law. At 16 years old and nominated for Best New Performer at the 60th Golden Horse Awards, Hu is one to watch in the coming years.

A Boy and a Girl serves as an extreme and poignant reminder that it takes a village to raise a child, but it also takes a village to lead them down the wrong path. 

About the Author: Kennice reads, writes, dances, and watches theatre and film as a way to understand life on Earth (& perhaps beyond). Probably thinking of having another cup of yuan yang siew dai.