All the reasons you should rewatch Your Name Engraved Herein
Although it was released in 2020, the vast majority of Your Name Engraved Herein takes place in the 1980s in Taiwan, just as martial law is lifting across the country. It’s the story of two young high school-aged boys – Chang Jia-Han (Edward Chen) and Birdy Wang (Jing-Hua Tsang) – who are struggling to come to terms with the realities of their friendship, which clearly extends far beyond that of the platonic realms.
Martial law may have lifted, but it took a long while for actual social change to infiltrate Taiwanese society, and these two boys got caught up in the whirlwind of it all. Jia-Han becomes resolute on the fact that he is gay far sooner than Birdy does, and what happens to them both through this tumultuous discovery is nothing short of heartbreaking.
In case you haven’t seen the film already (what rock have you been living under?) you can check out the trailer here:
Like a lot of historical films that document queer struggles around the world, Young Name Engraved Herein is full of pain. It is impossible to watch this film without shedding many tears and feeling utterly helpless about all that came before us. But it is also one of those films that are so important, that we’ll continue to rewatch it from time to time because it matters.
So here are all the reasons we think you should rewatch Your Name Engraved Herein during this Lunar New Year weekend (or watch it for the first time, if you haven’t already).
Historically, it’s important
If for nothing else, Your Name Engraved Herein is a stark reminder of what our predecessors went through. While China and Taiwan now operate individually from each other (we said what we said), that hasn’t always been the case, and queer folks in Taiwan were subjected to a lot of the homophobic ways imposed from the mainland. As documented expertly in this film, homosexuality was not accepted in any form during the time that this film is set.
The impact this societal rejection had on people then was insurmountable. Throughout the film, we see Birdy completely reject his gayness and his love for Jia-Han repeatedly. Although there are definitely moments where he gives in to his desires, to his love and his need for Jia-Han, Birdy spends most of his younger life denying who he is and trying to convince himself that he can be straight, that he can love a woman, that he can build a life with a woman.
And he even gives it the good old college try. But like all things like this, eventually, the truth wins, and he isn’t able to hold the facade anymore.
Jia-Han accepts his ‘fate’ much faster than Birdy and pursues Birdy with the same kind of reckless abandon that anyone does with first love. The realization that he isn’t ever going to be able to have Birdy is heartbreaking to watch as it plays out on screen.
And these two characters are not the only queer folks in this film suppressing and running from who they are. Although it isn’t revealed until much later in the film, the Canadian priest – Father Oliver (Fabio Grangeon) – that works at their school is also queer and running from his realities. The 80s and the decades that came before were not kind to queer people worldwide, but especially not in Asia.
It has a mostly happy ending
Unlike many of the queer stories coming out of Asia, even those made recently, Your Name Engraved Herein has a mostly happy ending. This definitely sets it aside from other films in its category as many films from this region of the world still end tragically for the characters involved.
Obviously, queer folks in this region (and many others) throughout history have historically not lived their truth, not been able to experience their big love and live like their heterosexual counterparts have, so we understand the tragedy of this genre. However, Your Name Engraved Herein bravely shows the progress that society in Taiwan has made with respect to queer people. At the end of the film, adult Jia-Han and Birdy are reunited by chance in Canada after they both went to pay respects to their late childhood priest. It was a happy coincidence that they were both there.
As the end of the film is nearing Jia-Han turns to Birdy and marvels at just how much has changed for gay people in their world over the last thirty years, that their younger selves would never have been able to predict what their future could hold, and the freedom they could have to love who they want.
Despite the pain and heartbreak of the film, this moment is really an important scene because it is true. Taiwan is currently leading the charge in Asia for its inclusiveness of LGBTQ rights for its citizens, and the government there keeps doing more and more to ensure queer rights are upheld.
Legendary Taiwanese filmmaking
If Taiwan is leading the charge in Asia for championing LGBTQ rights, they have also emerged as the leader in LGBTQ storytelling in recent times. The Taiwanese film and television industry has been dabbling in LGBTQ storytelling for a while now and Your Name Engraved Herein is definitely an example of this.
Many of the BL television shows that have come from Taiwan in recent times are considered the best in the genre, and their bravery in the film industry to tell LGBTQ stories the way they are, the way they were, and the way they deserve is commendable.
This film doesn’t always portray Taiwan in the best light, however, the filmmakers didn’t shy away from the truth, like other storytellers in this region so often do. They paid homage to the history of the Taiwanese LGBTQ people and did an incredible, subtle, and artistically beautiful job of showing how progress has made life better for the queer people of that nation. Films like this are why Taiwan is known for its cutting-edge LGBTQ productions in recent times.
The stark reminder of it all
Finally, but certainly not least of all, Your Name Engraved Herein is a stark reminder that queer people around the world are still living in discriminatory, prejudiced societies that do not afford their queer populations the same rights and respect that their heterosexual counterparts enjoy.
While same-sex marriage is now legal in Taiwan, they are the only country in Asia that has made progress in that area. Taiwan recently amended its laws further to adjust for same-sex unions of those citizens marrying people from outside of Taiwan. Previously, same-sex unions were only allowed for those citizens coming from countries where it was already legal. Taiwan recently adjusted these laws to make them more inclusive for those coming from countries where it is still illegal.
Many queer people throughout Asia are still living in circumstances that are documented from the 1980s time period captured in Your Name Engraved Herein, reminding us all that the world has a long way to go, and there is still a lot of work to be done, especially for our Asian LGBTQ community members everywhere.
So this Lunar New Year, grab a box of tissues and cue up this incredibly important queer film. Your Name Engraved Herein gets two very big, must-see thumbs up from us.
Your Name Engraved Herein is available to stream on Netflix. You can find more film recommendations here. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram for all queer stuff!
