Sightlines · reception

How Dear Ex was received

2018 · Mag Hsu · Dear Ex on Sightlines

The arc

A sleeper hit at home — it swept the 2018 Taipei Film Festival and took three Golden Horse Awards — then found a global second life when Netflix streamed it worldwide in February 2019, turning a local Taiwanese dramedy into an international word-of-mouth discovery.

What’s debated

The title's question (the Chinese original literally asks 'Who loved him first?') is the debate baked in: viewers still argue over which of its rival grievers actually deserves their sympathy.

Its footprint

It landed in Taiwanese theaters in the thick of the island's same-sex marriage referendum fight, months before Taiwan became the first place in Asia to legalise it — so the film became inseparable from that national moment.

Where it stands

A staple of modern queer East Asian cinema lists and a quiet Letterboxd favorite — the Taiwanese film people press on friends with 'trust me, just watch it.'

Did you know? Hsieh Ying-xuan, best known as a stage actress, won the Golden Horse for Best Leading Actress for this role — one of the film's three wins from eight nominations — and Taiwan then chose Dear Ex as its official Oscar submission for 2019.