Dear You — Review

Lan Hongchun’s Dear You is an emotionally stirring family drama that works best when taken at face value. The film begins with a young man named Hiou-ui (Zheng Runqi) trying to pay off a debt, leading him to Thailand in search of his allegedly “billionaire” grandfather, Den Bhagseng. His grandmother, Iap Sogriu, now living in modern-day China, believes her husband remarried and deserted her and their three children after he sent a qiaopi containing a photograph of him with another woman and several children, then ceased contact. Since there are numerous schools named after Den Bhagseng in Thailand, the family assumed he had remarried and become wealthy. What begins as a comedic mystery about a grandson searching for his grandfather rapidly transforms into a poignant journey about love, loss, and misunderstandings.