Dear Ex

When San-lian's ex-husband, Zheng-yuan, passes away, she discovers he has altered his insurance policy, cutting out their son in favour of his male lover, Jay. Outraged, San-lian and her son, Cheng-xi, arrive at Jay’s apartment and demand that he return the money to her, but Jay refuses to oblige.

Cheng-xi does not get on very well with his mother and believes that she only cares about the insurance money. After his mother throws away his dad’s memorabilia and they get into a heated argument, he runs away and moves into Jay's apartment, and Jay has to look after him. He follows Jay around during the day, and Jay begrudgingly shows him his work as a theatre director. It is revealed in flashbacks how Jay and San-lian's ex-husband, Zheng-yuan became lovers when they worked together in the theatre but Zheng-yuan ultimately decided to pursue a relationship with San-lian to have a family. However, after he became ill, he left his family and spent his remaining time living with Jay before he passed away.

San-lian continues to visit her son to get him to go back to her house. During one visit, she bumps into Jay’s mother and finds out she does not know that he is gay. She attempts to blackmail Jay to give her the insurance money or else she will reveal the truth to his mother but this is not successful and she ultimately tells his mother anyway.

Jay is ambushed by a group of men, who break his leg. Cheng-xi and his mother help rush him to the hospital. It is revealed that Jay had previously borrowed money from loan sharks to get Zheng-yuan a liver transplant. Despite his injury, Jay goes back to his theatre to attend his opening act and San-lian and Cheng-xi watch Jay’s play. After the performance, Jay’s mother appears and presents Jay with flowers, having accepted her son and they tearfully embrace. Later, San-lian allows Jay to keep the insurance money and Cheng-xi moves back in with his mother.

• Roy Chiu as Jay
• Hsieh Ying-xuan as Liu San-lian
• Spark Chen as Song Zheng-yuan
• Joseph Huang as Song Cheng-xi
• Wanfang as Consultant
• Allen Kao as Jay's mother
• Yang Li-yin as San-lian's sister
• Liang Cheng-chun as Stage manager
• Wu Ting-chien as Director

In addition, Chung Hsin-ling, who was originally cast as San-lian's sister, made a voice cameo as a radio host.{{Cite web |url=https://www.chinatimes.com/realtimenews/20180831002605-260507?chdtv |title=《誰先愛上他的》鞏固票房 徐譽庭找「吉祥物」拍片 |date=31 August 2018 |publisher=China Times |author=潘鈺楨 |access-date=30 August 2024 |language=zh}}

Screenwriter Mag Hsu and music video director Hsu Chih-yen both made their respective feature directorial debuts on Dear Ex.{{cite news|last=Lim|first=Paige|date=10 May 2018|title=All is fair in love and war|url=http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/archives/2018/05/10/2003692823|url-status=live|work=Taipei Times|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200220131146/http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/archives/2018/05/10/2003692823|archive-date=20 February 2020|access-date=5 March 2024}} The screenplay, written by Lu Shih-yuan and Mag Hsu, was based on the true story of a friend of Hsu's who found out that her husband was having an affair with a guy.

Mag Hsu said about the film in a 2019 interview: "I truly believe that Dear Ex is not only an LGBT film; it involves more, all kinds of communities, a range of perspectives. This is why I feel that this film doesn't need to be labeled an LGBT film."

Dear Ex had its world premiere at the 20th Far East Film Festival on 22 April 2018, where audiences praised its heartfelt storyline and snappy graphics. It was screened as the opening film of the 22nd Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival on 8 November 2018, marking the first time the annual event has opened with a Taiwanese production.{{cite news|date=9 November 2018|title=Award-winning Taiwan drama opens Toronto Asian film festival|url=https://taiwantoday.tw/news.php?unit=18,18&post=145104|work=Taiwan Today|access-date=9 March 2024}} The film was released in Taiwan on 12 November 2018, and on Netflix worldwide on 1 February 2019.{{cite news|last=Frater|first=Patrick|date=23 January 2019|title=Netflix Buys Taiwan Black Comedy 'Dear Ex'|url=https://variety.com/2019/film/asia/netflix-taiwan-black-comedy-dear-ex-1203116437/|url-status=live|work=Variety|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230329101436/https://variety.com/2019/film/asia/netflix-taiwan-black-comedy-dear-ex-1203116437/|archive-date=29 March 2023|access-date=9 March 2024}}{{cite news|last=Brzeski|first=Patrick|date=24 January 2019|title=Netflix Picks Up Taiwanese Sleeper Hit 'Dear Ex'|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/netflix-picks-up-taiwanese-sleeper-hit-dear-1178769/|url-status=live|work=The Hollywood Reporter|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221126214127/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/netflix-picks-up-taiwanese-sleeper-hit-dear-1178769/|archive-date=26 November 2022|access-date=9 March 2024}}

{{Rotten Tomatoes prose|90|6.5|10|ref=yes|access-date=3 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220809075704/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dear_ex|archive-date=9 August 2022|url-status=live}}

Karen Han of The New York Times called Dear Ex "a remarkably affecting and cogent picture" and remarked, "At points, the film threatens to tip over into melodrama, but the directors Mag Hsu and Hsu Chih-yen always right the ship, balancing oversaturated flashbacks with a nuanced portrait of love that endures both trials and time."{{cite news|last=Han|first=Karen|date=6 February 2019|title='Dear Ex' Review: Heartbreaking and Heartwarming Family Dysfunction|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/06/movies/dear-ex-review.html|url-status=live|work=The New York Times|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231013070350/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/06/movies/dear-ex-review.html|archive-date=13 October 2023|access-date=3 March 2024}} Andrew Lapin of NPR opined, "The film may pale in comparison to The Cakemaker, which told its story with more nuance and sensory detail. But Dear Ex{{'}}s narrative hiccups and tonal missteps seem less blaring by the time it enters its affecting homestretch […]. Love in this movie is expressed in odd ways, but it is still genuine."{{cite news|last=Lapin|first=Andrew|date=2 February 2019|title='Dear Ex': A Man Dies, Leaving Behind A Wife, A Son And A Secret Gay Lover|url=https://www.npr.org/2019/02/02/689747686/dear-ex-a-man-dies-leaving-behind-a-wife-a-son-and-a-secret-gay-lover|url-status=live|work=NPR|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220922025146/https://www.npr.org/2019/02/02/689747686/dear-ex-a-man-dies-leaving-behind-a-wife-a-son-and-a-secret-gay-lover|archive-date=22 September 2022|access-date=3 March 2024}} Wendy Ide of Screen Daily wrote, "This comic melodrama wrings every last drop of drama from the set up" and "The music choices and the production design compete for knowing kitsch, but there is nothing ironic about the emotional impact of the third act."{{cite news|last=Ide|first=Wendy|date=10 December 2018|title='Dear Ex': Macao Review|url=https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/dear-ex-macao-review/5135159.article|url-status=live|work=Screen Daily|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201029102240/https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/dear-ex-macao-review/5135159.article|archive-date=29 October 2020|access-date=3 March 2024}} Joel Keller of Decider stated, "Dear Ex has good performances and a story that should be relatable to anyone who has gone through family problems as a kid."{{cite news|last=Keller|first=Joel|date=11 February 2019|title=Stream It Or Skip It: 'Dear Ex' On Netflix, Where A Teen Gets To Know His Late Father's True Love|url=https://decider.com/2019/02/11/dear-ex-netflix-stream-it-or-skip-it/|url-status=live|work=Decider|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221001150619/https://decider.com/2019/02/11/dear-ex-netflix-stream-it-or-skip-it/|archive-date=1 October 2022|access-date=3 March 2024}} Stephen McCarty of the South China Morning Post commented, "Dear Ex proves to be a work of redemption, reconciliation and forgiveness […]. And at its heart, it's a love story: nothing odd about that."{{cite news|last=McCarty|first=Stephen|date=17 February 2019|title=Dear Ex on Netflix – award-winning Mandarin-language film explores family values in Taiwan|url=https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/2186294/dear-ex-netflix-award-winning-mandarin-language|url-status=live|work=South China Morning Post|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221207183059/https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/2186294/dear-ex-netflix-award-winning-mandarin-language|archive-date=7 December 2022|access-date=3 March 2024}}

• List of submissions to the 92nd Academy Awards for Best International Feature Film
• List of Taiwanese submissions for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film

{{reflist}}

• {{cite journal|last=Peng|first=Sheng-Hsiang Lance|date=2023|title=Caught between growing up and family struggles: Adolescents' gaze at love, hatred, and conflicts in "Dear Ex"|journal=Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment|pages=1–18|doi=10.1080/10911359.2023.2295517|doi-access=free}}
• {{cite journal|last=Chu|first=Wentao|date=2023|title=Implications of Recent Chinese-language LGBT+ Films for Gender Equality Education|journal=Journal of Education, Humanities and Social Sciences|volume=8|pages=889–896|doi=10.54097/ehss.v8i.4377|doi-access=free}}

• {{Netflix title}}
• {{IMDb title}}
• {{Douban|27119586}}

{{Taiwanese submissions for the Academy Award}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dear Ex}}

Category:2018 films

Category:2018 directorial debut films

Category:2018 comedy-drama films

Category:2018 LGBTQ-related films

Category:2010s Mandarin-language films

Category:Taiwanese comedy-drama films

Category:Taiwanese LGBTQ-related films

Category:Films about grief

Category:Films about mother–son relationships

Category:Films about single parent families

Category:Films set in Taipei

Category:Films shot in Taipei

Category:Gay-related films

Category:LGBTQ-related comedy-drama films

Category:2010s melodrama films

Category:Warner Bros. films

Category:Netflix original films