Five Minutes to Tomorrow (2014) Online

To be sure, it is watchable, if only to see Miura Haruma speak Mandarin. He did a great job most of the times, but at times it is not understandable. There are a few head scratchers here, including why it isn't filmed in Japanese as the novel was in Japanese, why it wasn't set in Taiwan as the novel was set in Taiwan. The cast was good- the actress who played the twin was best when both sisters were on screen, but once only one is left, you can't readily tell which it was. There was no satisfactory resolution at the end. Also, way too many long, lingering, shots of nothing going on. The cinematography is great- one feels the deadly ennui and boredom of being alive with all emotion and no purpose. Anyway, it's a watch if you are a Miura fan.

The story takes place in Shanghai. A young repairman goes swimming laps regularly in the city pool and notices a beautiful young Chinese girl. While leaving the pool, shes sits next to him on a bench and starts talking to him ... The movie is a nice story about the romance between 2 shy persons with different culture, Ruo Lan (chinese) and Ah Liang (japanese). Good memories of the Shanghai atmosphere, while Ah Lang and Ruo Lan cruise the french quarter with their electric scooter at night. The plot does a good job depicting the close, ambiguous and sometimes devastating relationship that exist between twins, especially real almost identical twins. Good music too ! especially the one Ru Mei plays for dancing in their fancy apartment.

I was drawn to the movie by the flashy names of the director, the cast and the intriguing story line. However the film failed miserably to convey the intricacies between the characters. The plots randomly plucked out of the original novels are disjointed and disconcerting. It lacks a natural flow. The whole cross cultural spin is a disaster- not only did it further handicap any potential chemistry between the main characters, you are not even sure if the characters understood what they are saying to each other. By the way, did the camera crew notice how yellow and ashy the city look the entire time? A+ for cinematography and supporting roles, D- for editing, props, make up and casting. I seriously can not recall the last romance/suspense film that I felt asleep watching.