Turn Left, Turn Right

Turn Left, Turn Right is a Chinese film that has been adpated from a Chinese book depicting two main characters, the unbelievable coincidences between them, and their struggles to overcome those that hamper them from meeting each other again.

Turn Left, Turn Right movie poster, as simple as it is, represents the coincidences in which the two characters have been travelling parallel paths in which would soon intercept.

What strikes me the most about the film is all the coincidences that have occurred. They live in the same apartment where they are literally a wall apart, once off to work, the man goes left while the woman goes right, the paths and places they have passed eachother by, and many other times. 

Aside from this, my interest have also been piqued when the movie showed both protagonists as their own struggling artists. The man plays a violin and is clearly a musician yet he works in a restaurant in which his musicality is barely appreciated, the girl on the other hand, works in an office in which her boss does not acknowledge and appreciate her talent of translating Polish poems to Cantonese and English. Later as the story develops, they have both succeeded in their struggle of identity and recognition for their art as they are given the opportunity to work in a distant place. Both, still keeping in mind and heart the desire to see eachother again, but at the same time being greatly demoralized. This in itself, is probably the biggest coincidence of all. Because this represents the characters' individual personality and identity, this of which contributed to the general idea and emotion of the story especially when the two have "coincidentially" met.

The general thought of the story is to differentiate "destiny" from "choice" yet at the same time, making the audience perceive them as one. You see, in the movie, when the two characters have been separated with no possibilities of communication, they have tried so hard from beginning till end to see eachother again, yet everything they do seems to be futile. But, they haven't noticed that everything they did do lead them to meeting each other again! You see? Don't be confused with the common misconception that just because you believe in "destiny", you would do nothing but "let the current take you there", and that just because you believe that there is nothing such as "destiny" but only individual choices, you would do nothing but reject the thought of destiny and manipulate your life and everything that happens around it through choice. That is pretty unanalogous. The message that I have received from the film is that, "One should believe in destiny, and through choices, strive to get there and attain his happiness". I mean, why not both, right?