Blue Gate Crossing

Blue Gate Crossing is a slightly unique take on the teenage coming-out drama. Usually movies with queer teens focus on either romantic relationships or family. There are shades of that in Blue Gate Crossing. But its main focus is instead on the budding friendship between lead character Meng Kerou and Zhang Shihao. It’s a sweet movie and I loved seeing a movie that emphasizes teenage friendship over romantic relationships.

Meng Kerou and Zhang Shihao become initially acquainted because of Meng Kerou’s best friend, Lin Yuezhen. Lin Yuezhen has a crush on Zhang Shihao. A love triangle develops because Meng Kerou helps Lin Yuezhen write love letters and Zhang Shihao ends up interested in Meng Kerou. Meanwhile, Meng Kerou is harboring a secret crush on Lin Yuezhen.

I love the depiction of friendship in this movie. The initial duo of Meng Kerou and Lin Yuezhen are so cute. They support each other but also engage in natural, light teasing. They’re so easy with each other. I love it. I’m genuinely a little sad they didn’t end up dating because they are so sweet but that’s not what the movie is about. Besides, having a crush on a straight friend is a more relatable experience for queer teens than actually developing a relationship with your straight friend.

Meng Kerou and Zhang Shihao’s relationship is more fraught but deeper because of it. Given that their relationship started because Zhang Shihao had a crush on her, he doesn’t react well initially to her coming out to him. The scene of Meng Kerou coming out to Zhang Shihao is one of the best in the movie. It’s really sweet, timid and relatable on Meng Kerou’s side. Zhang Shihao’s reaction is believable if not too likable. He does struggle with the concept and says some hurtful things.

However, he does work through this as the movie progresses. I didn’t like Zhang Shihao at the start of the film but he really grew on me as he came to terms with Meng Kerou’s sexuality and grew to support her in it. By the end of the film, Meng Kerou and Zhang Shihao have a friendship that seems like it will last their entire lives. Zhang Shihao is gonna be best man at Meng Kerou’s future gay wedding and give a speech that will make everyone cry, damn it!

The acting in Blue Gate Crossing is excellent. Gwei Lun-mei’s portrayal of Meng Kerou is truly exceptional. She has great chemistry with both Chen Bolin and Liang You Lin. All actors involved really embody the character and play exceptionally well off each other. It’s a very strong trio. Also, all teenager characters are portrayed by people who look believably like teenagers too so bonus points.

I really enjoyed seeing a queer teen drama that didn’t focus on a romantic relationship. The movie was more about Meng Kerou’s journey to self discovery and now she has two friends both of whom know she’s gay and that’s nice. You’re more likely to make lasting friendships as a teenager than lasting relationships anyway. Romantic relationships didn’t factor into my teen years so that makes it hard to relate to teen romance narratives. Seeing a queer teenager come into her own not as a side effect of a romance but just because of her own sense of self was really refreshing.

I really recommend this as a teen drama. I’d like to see more films emphasizing the importance of friendships over relationships, especially at that age. As it is, Blue Gate Crossing is one of few movies like this. But even if there were more, Blue Gate Crossing would still be exceptional for its charm, relatable protagonist and strong performances.

Overall rating: 7.8/10

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