A Taipei Love Triangle

With the possible exception of "Christian Slater vehicle," few words chill the heart of a movie critic faster than "coming-of-age story." Before the sepia tones have drenched the opening frames, we already know what we're in for: turgid nostalgia, with teenage protagonists not so much living as waiting around for their by-the-numbers life-changing experiences. The Taiwanese film Blue Gate Crossing grasps, however, that adolescence is more than a sweetly remembered holding pattern for adulthood. The story of two Taipei high-school girlfriends and the boy who comes between them, Blue Gate Crossing achieves innocence without naivet, sweetness without sacrificing realism. Its characters...