By Candace Lee
The awaited sequel to “If You Are the One” (2008),” If You Are the One: Love & Marriage” conveys a playful air while somehow staying completely serious. Between wealthy middle-aged Qin Fen (Ge You) and young air hostess Xiaoxiao (Shu Qi) comes an unlikely love story filled with quietly comedic interactions and heartwarming enduring of struggles.
From the outset, “If You Are the One: Love & Marriage” pokes fun at the surreal concept of divorce, introducing its characters through an unusual sight: an extravagant divorce ceremony mirroring a wedding, to celebrate the joys of separation. Taking this ceremony as a precursor to their own relationship, Qin and Xiaoxiao decide to conduct a “trial marriage,” testing one another to their limits to see if they have what it takes to outlast the dreadful marriage statistics and stay by each other’s sides through better or worse, for richer or poorer, and in sickness and in health.
Despite its play on seemingly clichéd marital struggles, Ge You and Shu Qi impart a realistic view of two people learning how to fall in love at their own pace. At first, they were hesitant to rely on one another, stubbornly weighing each other down to hold onto to their own pride, but when they drop their guises of strength and they reveal themselves to be vulnerable. This is when they are at their most human, lending the film its most resounding and profound moments.
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