Dear Ex (2018)
Story overview
Dear Ex is a 2018 Taiwanese drama-comedy that explores complex family dynamics after a death. The story follows a teenager whose father passes away, leaving his insurance money to a male lover rather than his family. This unexpected revelation sparks emotional conflicts and legal battles between the mother and the father's partner. Through humor and heartfelt moments, the film examines themes of grief, acceptance, and unconventional relationships in contemporary society.
Parent Guide
A thoughtful drama-comedy exploring mature family themes with emotional depth and some comedic relief.
Content breakdown
No physical violence, but includes emotional conflicts and legal disputes that create tension.
Themes of death and grief may be emotionally affecting, but no frightening imagery.
May include mild language consistent with emotional family conflicts.
References to same-sex relationships and romantic themes, but no explicit content.
No notable substance use depicted.
Deals with grief, family conflict, and emotional revelations that may be intense for sensitive viewers.
Parent tips
This film deals with mature themes including same-sex relationships, family conflict after a death, and legal disputes over inheritance. While presented with comedic elements, the emotional content may be intense for younger viewers. The TV-MA rating suggests content is most suitable for mature audiences, primarily due to thematic elements rather than graphic content. Parents should be prepared to discuss topics like grief, family structures, and LGBTQ+ relationships if watching with teens.
Parent chat guide
Parent follow-up questions
- How did the characters feel when someone they loved was gone?
- What does it mean to be a family?
- How can we show kindness to people who are sad?
- Why do you think the characters disagreed about the money?
- How did the movie show people helping each other through hard times?
- What different kinds of families did you see in the story?
- How did the film balance serious topics with funny moments?
- What did you think about how the characters handled their disagreements?
- How does the movie show that families can look different from what we expect?
- How does the film challenge traditional views of family and relationships?
- What did you think about the legal and emotional aspects of the inheritance conflict?
- How does the movie portray grief and healing in unconventional situations?
🎭 Story Kernel
At its core, 'Dear Ex' is about the messy, inconvenient inheritance of love after death. It dismantles the traditional family unit not through rejection, but through a painful, reluctant expansion. The driving force isn't a quest for truth, but a scramble for emotional legitimacy. Song Zhengyuan's will, leaving everything to his male lover Jay, isn't an act of rebellion but a final, desperate claim for his authentic life to be acknowledged. The ensuing battle between his widow, Liu Sanlian, and Jay is less about money and more about who gets to be the 'real' custodian of his memory and love. The teenage son, Song Chengxi, becomes the emotional battleground, his journey mirroring the film's central question: can we accept that the people we love contain multitudes we never knew, and that their love for others doesn't diminish their love for us?
🎬 Visual Aesthetics
The film's visual language masterfully uses domestic spaces as emotional arenas. The cramped, cluttered apartment Jay shares with Chengxi contrasts sharply with Sanlian's more sterile, traditional home, visually mapping their conflicting worlds. Director Mag Hsu and Chih-Yen Hsu employ a handheld, intimate camera that feels less like observation and more like reluctant participation in family squabbles. The color palette is deliberately muted, leaning into grays and blues, reflecting the pervasive grief, with moments of warmth—like the golden stage lights during the musical fantasy sequences—acting as bursts of emotional truth and escapism. These theatrical fantasy breaks are the film's visual heart, using the artifice of performance to express raw, inarticulable feelings that the characters' real-world conflicts suppress.
🔍 Details & Easter Eggs
💡 Behind the Scenes
The film is based on screenwriter Lü Shin-yu's play 'The Last Supper.' Actor Roy Chiu, who plays Jay, is a major pop star in Taiwan, making his nuanced, against-type performance as a grieving, somewhat messy caregiver particularly notable. The young actor Joseph Huang (Chengxi) had to learn to play the piano specifically for his character's musical fantasy sequences. A significant challenge was filming the intimate, chaotic domestic scenes in Jay's small apartment set, requiring precise choreography for the handheld camera to navigate the emotional and physical clutter authentically.
Where to watch
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Trailer
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