''Love'' is a 2012 Taiwanese-Chinese

romance film Romance films or movies involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typically their journey ...

directed and cowritten by

Doze Niu Doze Niu (, also known as Niu Chen-zer; born June 22, 1966) is a Taiwanese actor, film director, show host, screenwriter, and producer. As a film director, he is best known for the Taiwanese film '' Monga''. Early life Niu was born in Taipei, ...

. It stars

Zhao Wei Zhao Wei (; born 12 March 1976), also known as Vicky Zhao or Vicki Zhao, is a Chinese actress, businesswoman, film director, producer and pop singer. She is considered one of the most popular actresses in China and Chinese-speaking regions, a ...

Shu Qi use both this parameter and , birth_date to display the person's date of birth, date of death, and age at death) --> , death_place = , death_cause = , body_discovered = , resting_place = , resting_place_coordinate ...

Mark Chao Mark Chao (, born 25 September 1984) is a Taiwanese Canadians, Taiwanese-Canadian actor and model. He made his television debut in the television series ''Black & White (TV series), Black & White'' (2009), for which he won the Golden Bell Award fo ...

Ethan Juan Ethan Juan (, born 8 November 1982) is a Taiwanese actor and model. He rose to prominence with the television series '' Fated to Love You'' (2008). Juan won the Best Actor award at the 47th Golden Horse Awards for his role in '' Monga'' in 201 ...

Eddie Peng Eddie Peng Yu-Yan (; born 24 March 1982) is a Taiwanese actor, singer and model. Personal life Peng was born in Penghu, Taiwan. He moved to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada at the age of thirteen. In 2000, he graduated from Sir Winston Church ...

Amber Kuo Kuo Tsai-chieh (, born 19 February 1986), also known as Amber Kuo, is a Taiwanese singer and actress. Career Kuo made her debut in the music video of "我們小時候" (When We Were Young) by Taiwanese singer Tank (Taiwanese singer), Tank. She ...

Ivy Chen Ivy Chen Yi-han (; born 12 November 1982) is a Taiwanese actress. In 2002, she appeared in the Taiwanese variety show ''Guess'' and was a contestant in the "Do Not Judge a Book by Its Cover" (人不可貌相) segment. She was later signed by a ...

and Doze Niu. ''Love'' premiered in the Panorama section of the

62nd Berlin International Film Festival The 62nd annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 9 to 19 February 2012. British film director Mike Leigh was the President of the Jury. The first five films to be screened in the competition were announced on 19 December 2011. Am ...

. The film features an

ensemble cast In a dramatic production, an ensemble cast is one that is composed of multiple principal actors and performers who are typically assigned roughly equal amounts of screen time.Random House: ensemble acting Linked 2013-07-17 Structure In contrast to ...

, with the stories revealed to be interwoven as the plot progresses.

Plot

Love showcases the different types of relationships: family, friends, lovers, coworkers, and also those between strangers are shown to express the different types of love people have every day. Through the three subplots of eight interwoven characters, the ups and downs of love, what love has to offer and what love has to take, the film shows the relative situations in which love can take hold.

Subplot 1: Yi Jia, Xiao Min, and Ah Kai

Yi Jia (

) is a simple, ordinary girl that goes along with everybody around her. She is in the Cycling Team of her university, and plays the supportive role called the

domestique In road bicycle racing, a domestique is a rider who works for the benefit of their team and leader, rather than trying to win the race. In French, ''domestique'' translates as "servant".However, in French, the term used is ''équipier''. In I ...

. Her real life is similar to that of her role on the cycling team: she has no characteristic, no special talents and is not very outstanding in general. When she is with her best friend—Xiao Min—she also assumes a supportive role, just like on the cycling team. Xiao Min (

) is best friends with Yi Jia, and yet is the complete opposite of Yi Jia. Xiao Min is assertive, talented, confident, has a good family background, and has everybody's attention. She also has a boyfriend, Ah Kai. Ah Kai (

) is interested in filming and dreams to be a successful director in the future, but his dream is often tossed around as a joke by people he knows, with the exception of Xiao Min. These three best friends complement each other, forming a strong friendship, but all this comes to a halt when Yi Jia finds herself pregnant.

Subplot 2: Mark, Xiao Ye

Mark (

) is a young and successful entrepreneur. He is self-indulgent, cool, modern and casual. His motif about woman is, "As long as it is worth it to conquer" and has an attitude represented with the phrase, "If you never have to do it, then you never miss it". On a trip to

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

, Mark meets Xiao Ye. Xiao Ye (

) is a single mother with a seven-year-old son, Dou Dou, and is Mark's realty estate agent. Their meeting, however, did not go well, as it ended in the police office with Xiao Ye suffering a broken leg and having her son become lost along the way. Eventually, with the help of Mark, Dou Dou is found. Through this experience, and his time with the mother and son, Mark finds himself developing intimate feelings that he never had with people before.

Subplot 3: Xiao Kuan, Rou Yi, Chao Ping

Xiao Kuan (

) has a simple, pure, boy-next-door personality. Rou Yi (

) is a materialistic woman, dependent on rich men, and mistress of Chao Ping, which leads to her life in the limelight. Chao Ping (

) is an aging man, and CEO of a well-known company. After an unhappy night of partying, Rou Yi and Chao Ping argue on the way home. Rou Yi gets out of the car, continuing the argument, which is rapidly growing more heated, and the ensuing fight is witnessed by Xiao Kuan. In a moment of heroism, Xiao Kuan grabs Rou Yi, running away from Chao Ping and brings her back to his house, which is quiet and serene. From then on, they became acquaintances, and Xiao Kuan's place serves a place of escape for Rou Yi - a place away from the lights and attention. Through Xiao Kuan's simple life, Rou Yi contemplates her life and eventually comes to the conclusion that it is time to change and take control.

Cast

as Rou Yi *

as Xiao Kuan *

as Yi Jia *

as Mark *

as Xiao Min *

as Ah Kai *

as Xiao Ye *

as Chao Ping *Yu Mei-ren as Mrs. Li *

Lung Shao-hua Lung Shao-hua (; 25 March 1953 – 14 September 2021) was a Taiwanese actor, singer and television host. Lung was found unresponsive in Kaohsiung Kaohsiung City ( Mandarin Chinese: ; Wade–Giles: ''Kao¹-hsiung²;'' Pinyin: ''Gāo ...

as Mr. Li *

Yang Kuei-mei Yang Kuei-mei (; born 6 September 1959) is a Taiwanese people, Taiwanese actress and television host. She has had starring roles in ''Eat Drink Man Woman'', ''Vive L'Amour'', and ''The Hole (1998 film), The Hole''. Yang has received several awa ...

as Mark's mother

Cameo appearance

*Ralf Chiu as Mark's assistant *

Rhydian Vaughan Rhydian Vaughan (born 10 March 1988), also known by his stage name Feng Xiaoyue, is a Taiwanese-British actor, best known for his performances in the films '' Monga'', ''Girlfriend, Boyfriend'' and '' Winds of September''. Early life Vaughan is ...

as Xiao Kuan's colleague *

Frankie Huang Brando Huang (; born 22 March 1981) is a Taiwanese actor and television host. Career Born in Huwei, Yunlin, Huang is originally an engineer at Hsinchu Science and Industrial Park, but had an interest in performing since young. Discovered by com ...

as Xiao Kuan's colleague *

Emerson Tsai Emerson Tsai (; born 2 August 1988) is a Taiwanese actor, television host and singer. He appeared on the third season of singing competition television series '' Super Idol'' in 2009, and came in eighth place. In 2010, Tsai made his acting debu ...

as Xiao Kuan's colleague *

Chen Han-dian Chen Han-dian (; born July 6, 1984), sometimes credited as Hank Chen, is a Taiwanese actor, host and comedian. He gained initial recognition as an assistant host on the popular talk show ''Kangsi Coming'' and is known for parodying famous figur ...

as Xiao Kuan's colleague *Pu Hsueh-liang as Wedding host *

Kang Kang Kang Ching-jung (), or commonly known as Kang Kang (), is a Taiwanese entertainer, singer and television host. He was first discovered by Chang Fei during a TV show performance. Before entering Taiwanese showbiz, Kang switched jobs many times. H ...

as Cycling coach

Soundtrack

Box office

In Taiwan, the film grossed more than

NT$ The New Taiwan dollar (code: TWD; symbol: NT$, also abbreviated as NT) is the official currency of Taiwan. The New Taiwan dollar has been the currency of Taiwan since 1949, when it replaced the Old Taiwan dollar, at a rate of 40,000 old dollars ...

160 million. In China, the film grossed more than .國片火熱今年總票房突破10億
台灣醒報 March 14, 2012

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * * * *
Love (2012) Official Website
{{Doze Niu 2012 films 2012 romantic comedy-drama films Chinese romantic comedy-drama films Taiwanese-language films Taiwanese romantic comedy-drama films Warner Bros. films Huayi Brothers films Films directed by Doze Niu 2012 drama films 2010s Mandarin-language films