I was pleasantly surprised after watching this film on DVD. While the premise of the story may not be entirely original (there are many who may compare it with Il Mare or its Hollywood remake - The Lake House), frankly speaking, the manner in which the plot unfolds is relatively engaging and has kept me glued to the screen from the opening credits to the closing credits.
The film, Secret, begins with Lun (played by Jay Chou, who also directed the film) being led by a mysterious and alluring piano piece to an old dilapidated room in his new school (Tamkang Secondary School). It was in this room where he meets Rain (played by the infectiously sweet Kwai Lun-Mei), who was responsible for playing the mysterious piano solo. This chance encounter would trigger the start of Lun and Rain's somewhat nebulous relationship, which would be 'put to the test' to an extent by another female student named Sky (which was played to perfection by the delightfully charming Tseng Kai-xuan).
Jay Chou had also taken this opportunity (and a great one as well with music being centerpiece of this story) in his directorial debut to pay a small tribute to one of his favourite composers, Chopin, wherever possible. Apart from being described as a "gifted composer" in the film, Chopin's Waltz was also featured in the beautifully shot sequence of a "piano duel" which was one of the highlights of the film.
Besides the storyline and music, the film's cinematography was decent as well. In short, it's a wonderfully packaged film with a plot formula that works.
(DVD Extras: 1.5 out of 5 stars definitely could have been a lot better. The "making of" video was disappointing with no guidance or insight on the making of the film and it was constantly interspersed with periods of continuous silence.)
