It is not until the second episode that we learn how she got into being a standup comedian. Prior to that we watched her wedding that took place after her comedy career had started.
There is laughter, but a lot of sadness. We learned about her mother abandoning her when Le-Le was only 8. She learned English to look for her (she thought in the U.S.) and ended up a tour guide, but that career did not work out. Her father seems forgetful, but gradually descended into dementia.
Ultimately the story is about the relationship of a father and daughter. We follow right through his decline into dementia. She has other relationships notably with two female friends and a husband. Her husband was a successful lawyer from a wealthy family and although he tried to be understanding their marriage didn't last.
To create such an interesting film takes a number of talented people. Here are some of the key ones.
Rene Liu was the director and one of the writers. She graduated from California State University with a degree in music and went onto sing on 20 music albums. She has 35 acting credits, 2 for directing and 4 for writing. including "Us and Them" (2018).
Shing-Ming Ho was another writer. He graduated from Boston University. Recently he was involved writing a mini series in main land China. Shing-Ming has 8 writing credits, 1 for directing and 3 for the Sound Department including "Us and Them" (2018).
Ju-Feng Yeh was one of the producers. She has 46 producing credits, 3 for additional crew and 2 for Production Manager including "A Sun" (2019).
George Chen is credited with music. Not able to learn much about him except he has been a prolific music album producer and that much of the music in this film is enjoyable. I am trying to track the song played during the closing titles.
Ying-Hsun Hsieh plays Cheng Le-Le, the main character. She has 35 acting credits including "Dear Ex" (2018), "Little Big Women" (2020) and "Wave Makers" (2023). A favorite actress.
Chin Han plays the father, Cheng Kuang-chi. He has 115 acting credits, 1 as a director and 1 as a writer.
Esther Liu plays a close friend Huang Su Fei. She also has been a prominent singer. She has 34 acting credits including "Light the Night" (2021-2022).
Wallace Huo plays her husband, Chang Kai. He has 35 acting credits, 1 for producing and 4 for soundtrack including a cameo in "Light the Night" (2021-2022).
Bo-Chieh Wang played the younger Cheng Kuang-Chi. He has 43 acting credits including "Life of Pi" (2012) and "Light the Night" (2021-2022).
Chen Yiven plays Mark, the manager who hired Le-Le for a stand up comedy platform and encouraged her telling personal stories, but not to the point of deflating the audience. He has 42 acting credits, 5 directing and 3 for writing including "A Sun" (2019) and "The Falls" (2021)
Some of the listed Taiwanese films are covered in a previous blog: http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2023/08/taiwan.html
You can watch "Forget You Not" subtitled or dubbed on Netflix. I highly recommend it, but you might need a strong stomach. At the same time you will find many moments very touching
As usual I have bolded the first mention of films I have seen. They are not necessarily a recommendation, but generally I found them worthy of my time. If you follow the link you might be able to determine if a particular film is worth following up.
