In his book “What I Talk About When I Talk About Running”, acclaimed full-time author and part-time marathon runner, Haruki Murakami (if you're a regular here at AMP you'll already know we're fans), writes ‘in long-distance running, the only opponent you have to beat is yourself, the way you used to be.' This is true in a literal sense – you're trying to beat your own time, you're trying to reach a physical goalpost set by yourself – and also on a deeper, symbolic level. For some people, long-distance running is a way to prove something to themselves, to beat what they had perceived to be their limitations, physically and mentally. For some, like our lead character in “I Still Remember”, to cross a finish line is to beat your harshest critic and most relentless naysayer: yourself.
I Still Remember is streaming on Focus Hong Kong
The movie follows Lee Chi-yang, a timid young man fresh out of university who, like many his age, feels like his life is directionless. He works at a real estate admin job where his incompetence has made him the centre of a workplace bet: will he be fired sooner or later? Still recovering from the death of his mother, who raised him single-handedly, Chi-yang lives a colourless life. His way of life is challenged, however, when he runs into a former favourite teacher-turned running coach at a school reunion who decides to take Chi-yang under his wing, signing him up for a 10k marathon in the process.
“I Still Remember” is one of those rare times that a movie's third act far outweighs the quality of the first two. Usually, the problem is that the director, after a solid first two acts, can't quite figure out how to wrap up their film in a way that is emotionally and narratively satisfying without over or underplaying their hand. Peculiarly, “I Still Remember” has the opposite problem, ending on a satisfying note after an hour of wasted potential. Unfortunately, the first two acts of the film are less like running a marathon and more like running on the spot, since for this portion of the film the protagonist largely remains in stasis until the ending, when it's absolutely necessary to wrap up the story. Director Lik Ho doesn't take enough advantage of a premise that is full of potential (sport as a vehicle for personal growth in movies has been a tried and tested winning formula for long enough), spending too much currency on the mundanity and failings of Chi-yang's life instead of exploring why running can help him become a better version of himself. The obligatory training montage is drab and painfully uninspired, to say the least. Lik Ho also makes the baffling decision to relegate Mr. Wong, Chi-yang's coach, and mentor, to a hospital room for the first hour, when he should be giving the audience a good reason to invest in his relationship with Chi-yang, beyond regular flashbacks to his childhood.
While there are some laughs to be had, much of the humour is mockingly directed at Yu Tin Sum, a scrappy, likeable girl with an eating problem who is determined to lose weight in order to qualify for a race that, if she wins, would allow her to travel to Japan to meet her beloved J-idol, Sagakuchi Soda. Not only do the characters, protagonists and antagonists alike, ridicule her, nicknaming her fatty and likening her to dumbo the flying elephant, but the movie itself portrays her as offensively cartoonish. A complete stereotype of a “fat” character, Yu Tin Sum's only thought is food; in one of her earliest scenes, she stuffs her face like a pig (the camera zooming in on her mouth as she crunches and chews), to the horror of her friend, who acts like she's seeing Godzilla chow down on helpless civilians. And she's not far off, as during marathon boot camp Tin Sum almost turns to cannibalism, attempting to take a bite out of Chi-yang during a hallucinatory bout of hunger pains. The jokes feel outdated, tired, and unnecessarily mean spirited, and downplay a B story that had the potential to be genuinely touching, seeing as she's one of the few characters that shows real growth during the first half of the movie.
Luckily, director Lik commits to a heart-warming ending that doesn't necessarily feel earned, but all the same evokes relief for Chi-yang, Tin Sum, and Mr Wong, who all overcome personal obstacles through the act of running. One of this movie's strengths is that it doesn't try and milk tears from you every ten minutes, but largely bides its time, saving most of its emotional ammunition for a climax that'll squeeze water out of the eyes of the biggest cynic. Sappy? Absolutely. But it doesn't overdo it like a lot of movies have done in the past.
“I Still Remember” just scrapes by on the merit of its final quarter, which ties up the emotional thread at its center with a tear-jerking feel-good sweetness. However, a solid resolution to this very relevant story of a young man's search for value in himself and meaning in his life isn't enough to erase the first hour where the narrative stands as still as Chi-yang does for much of this movie.
