Reviews Taiwanese Reviews

Documentary Review: Endless Love (2019) by Eddie Lin

For an actor it is necessary to leave the role and the fictional universe of the project behind in order to go into the real world. Independent of their methods of researching and preparing a character, many actors state they cherish the aforementioned distinction within their lives, especially when the role they are playing is emotionally and physically quite demanding. For actress Allison Lin, one of the stars of the Taiwanese TV series “”, this concept may be quite important since the character she plays in the show deals with the thought of dying as she is suffering from terminal brain cancer. However, she and the rest of the cast have decided to overcome this border between fiction and reality, using their fame to support children and their parents in the fight against cancer, bringing some much-needed entertainment to them while also interviewing two “clown doctors” and showing their work.

Endless Love” is screening at Winter Film Awards International Film Festival 2020

Within the quite packed ten minutes of the short film, the actors and director , who has thus far directed many music videos, television shows and short features, interview the two “clown doctors” about their work and how they manage to cope with the at times terrible fates and the emotions of the people they aim to entertain. The actors also join the two as they perform a show, celebrating the birthday of a girl who is about to undergo another operation. Additionally, the actors talk about the experience and their feelings during and after the event.

All in all, there is really not that much to review in a movie such as “Endless Love”. Especially given the subject matter of the film, every viewer will certainly find the dedication of the actors quite admirable and understand their feelings for the child. At the same time, it becomes clear we are only looking at an episode of the work of the two “clown doctors” who have been doing their job for many years.

Since there is not much in terms of visuals which grabs the attention of the viewer, Lin's film relies solely on the various interviews and the footage of the “clown doctors'” performance. What is perhaps the most interesting part in the whole film is when a cast member interviews the two performers about their preparation, their emotional state and their ways of coping with tough situations. However, this is only a very small segment of this short feature, one which would certainly need further exploration.

In the end, “Endless Love” is a film highlighting the admirable efforts of the cast of the TV series, and even more so the two “clown doctors”. Technically it is a solid short feature which, to be honest, feels more like the extra content of a DVD or Blu-ray of the show and is a bit too light to really shed some insight into its subject matter.

About the author

Rouven Linnarz

Ever since I watched Takeshi Kitano's "Hana-Bi" for the first time (and many times after that) I have been a cinephile. While much can be said about the technical aspects of film, coming from a small town in Germany, I cherish the notion of art showing its audience something which one does normally avoid, neglect or is unable to see for many different reasons. Often the stories told in films have helped me understand, discover and connect to something new which is a concept I would like to convey in the way I talk and write about films. Thus, I try to include some info on the background of each film as well as a short analysis (without spoilers, of course), an approach which should reflect the context of a work of art no matter what genre, director or cast. In the end, I hope to pass on my joy of watching film and talking about it.

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