''52 Hz, I Love You'' () is a 2017

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the no ...

ese

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwo ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super- ...

directed by Wei Te-sheng. It was released on January 26, 2017.

Premise

''52Hz, I Love You'' comprises various love stories set in modern

Taipei City Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the ...

on Valentine's Day. The title of the film references the 52-hertz whale, described as "the world's loneliest whale" as no other whales can hear its unusual frequency call. This serves as a metaphor for loneliness and finding love.

Cast

* Lin Zhong-yu as Ang *Zhuang Juan-ying as Xin *

Suming Suming Rupi (born 17 July 1978) is a Taiwanese Indigenous musician, singer, songwriter and actor. He is a member of the "Lacienci" (拉千禧) age set (a form of social organization that is characteristic of 'Amis) of 'Atolan. Life and career S ...

as Da-he *Mify Chen as Lei

Cameo appearance

Sandrine Pinna Sandrine Pinna (; born 10 April 1987) is a Taiwanese actress who started her career as a child actress and appeared in many advertisements. Early life Sandrine Pinna was born on 10 April 1987 to a Taiwanese mother and a French father. Her fath ...

as Qi * Nana Lee as Mei *Lin Ching-tai as Dong *Cyndi Chao as Xin's Aunt *Cheng Wei-da as Xin's Brother *Sun Ruei as Girlfriend of Xin's Brother *

Van Fan Fan You-chen (; Amis: 林納斯 Lín Nàsī; born 3 November 1978), better known as Van Fan or Fan Yi-chen (), is a Taiwanese singer and actor with ancestry from the Amis aborigine tribe. He is best known for '' Cape No. 7'', the second top-se ...

as Band Member *Ma Nien-hsien as Band Member *Min Hsiung as Band Member *

Ying Wei-min Ying Wei-min (; born 24 October 1970) is a Taiwanese actor and singer. He is the lead singer of an indie nakasi rock band, , which he founded in 1995. The band began with an emphasis on noise music, and shifted in style throughout the years. On st ...

as Band Member *

Chie Tanaka is a Japanese model and actress who is based in Taiwan. She is best known for her role as Tomoko in '' Cape No. 7'', the second top-selling film in Taiwanese cinematic history. Career Born as the daughter of the wealthy Japanese cosmetics tyco ...

as Server * Shino Lin as Server *Joanne Yang as Server * Ma Ju-lung as Customer *Pei Hsiao-lan as Customer *

Ko Wen-je Ko Wen-je (; born 6 August 1959), also known by his nickname, Ko P (), is a Taiwanese politician and physician. Ko was mayor of Taipei from 2014 to 2022, and Chairman of the Taiwan People's Party since 2019. Before becoming mayor, he was a docto ...

as Himself * Allison Limmer as extra

Soundtrack

Reception

Box office

As of March 4, 2017, ''52Hz, I Love You'' grossed

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 dollar ...

45.5 million (), against a production budget of NT$80 million (). In Taiwan, ''52Hz, I Love You'' was released alongside domestic productions ''The Village of No Return'' and ''Hanky Panky'', and Hollywood films ''Resident Evil: The Final Chapter'', ''Moana'' and ''Hidden Figures'', and was projected to gross NT$100 million over the

Lunar New Year Lunar New Year is the beginning of a calendar year whose months are Lunar phase, moon cycles, based on the lunar calendar or lunisolar calendar. The Lunar New Year as a celebration is observed by numerous cultures. It is also named "Chinese New ...

holiday frame. It went on to make NT$22.8 million () in its opening weekend, ranking seventh at the Taipei box office. With the film's box office performance in Taiwan, the film was considered a

box office disappointment A box-office bomb, or box-office disaster, is a film that is unprofitable or considered highly unsuccessful during its theatrical run. Although any film for which the production, marketing, and distribution costs combined exceed the revenue after ...

, making it one of the lowest-grossing films from Wei Te-sheng. The filmmaker had previously directed the financially successful ''

Cape No. 7 ''Cape No. 7'' (; ) is a 2008 Taiwanese romantic musical drama film written and directed by Wei Te-sheng, his first full-length motion picture. The film is in Taiwanese and Mandarin with significant lines in Japanese. Before its commercial relea ...

'' (2008) and ''

Seediq Bale ''Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale'' ( Seediq: ; literally ''Real Seediq'' or ''Real Men''; ) is a 2011 Taiwanese historical drama film directed by Wei Te-sheng and produced by John Woo, based on the 1930 Musha Incident in central Taiwan. T ...

'' (2011), namely the highest and second- highest grossing domestic film of all time at the Taiwan box office. In an interview, Wei stated that the film's overall financial success will depend on its international distribution and VOD sales, as well as merchandising sales revenue.

Critical response

Elizabeth Kerr of ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly large ...

'' said, "predictable though it may be, Wei has been careful to replicate the whimsical ebbs, flows and beats required of the form, and ''52Hz, I Love You'' captures the cotton candy essence of the musical romance rather effectively." Edmund Lee of ''

South China Morning Post The ''South China Morning Post'' (''SCMP''), with its Sunday edition, the ''Sunday Morning Post'', is a Hong Kong-based English-language newspaper owned by Alibaba Group. Founded in 1903 by Tse Tsan-tai and Alfred Cunningham, it has remained ...

'' rated it 2.5/5 stars and wrote that the film "proves to be a pleasant trifle, which does a far more effective job of pleasing the ear than stirring the heart".

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, 6327400 2017 films Taiwanese musical drama films 2010s Mandarin-language films 2010s musical drama films Films directed by Wei Te-sheng 2017 drama films