THE UNIFORM (夜校女生) (2025)

Genre: Drama
Director:  Chuang Ching-shen
Cast: Chen Yan-fei, Chloe Xiang, Bruce Chiu, Chi Chin
Runtime: 1 hr 46 mins
Rating: PG
Released By: Golden Village 
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 3 April 2025

Synopsis: In 1997, Ai enrolls in the night school at First Girls' High, a "special" system of education in Taiwan, to pursue education of higher quality. However, night school students are always considered less capable than their day school counterparts, and Ai thus has a strong sense of inferiority. Later, she and her day school bestie both fall in love with the same student from an all-boy school. Ai decides to pretend to be a day school student but this gradually pushes her into a whirlpool of lies which is later exposed.

Movie Review:

At first glance, the Chinese title of this Taiwanese film might lead you to expect a horror flick. Literally translated as "The Girl from the Night School", it conjures up eerie images of a tormented spirit haunting hallways after dark. The English title “The Uniform” doesn’t offer much clarity either - perhaps hinting at a cursed school uniform? Another version of the movie poster features a lonely Chen Yan-fei looking quietly forlorn. Is she haunted? Trapped in turmoil?

But how wrong those assumptions would be. Directed by Chuang Ching-shen, this film is anything but a ghost story. Instead, it’s a teen romance - very much in the tradition of Taiwanese favorites like Giddens Ko’s You Are the Apple of My Eye (2011) and Frankie Chen’s Our Times (2015).

If you're into coming-of-age stories with a good ol’ love triangle, this one's for you. Set in 1997 Taiwan, it follows Ai (played by Chen), who ends up in the night school at the prestigious First Girls’ High after not making the cut for the regular day school. It’s an interesting setup that we haven’t heard of before. Apparently, the day school students are seen as the “superior” ones, which adds an extra layer to the drama.

Students from the day and night classes share the same classroom, which is how Ai, who is feeling a little inferior as a night school student, gets to know Min (Chole Xiang), a confident and upbeat girl who lights up the room. The two start leaving notes for each other under the desk they share, and their bond grows stronger. Before long, they’re swapping uniforms to skip class, and that’s when the meaning behind the movie’s English title makes sense.

The two girls become best friends, and as you might expect, they end up falling for the same guy, Luke (Bruce Chiu). With his charming good looks, it’s no surprise hearts flutter when he drops a cheesy line like “May the force be with you."

With Ai and Min’s contrasting personalities, their approaches to love naturally differ. It might just take you back to those awkward, dreamy school days, when you admired your crush from afar or found yourself acting like a completely different person around them.

While the plot is fairly predictable, the 106-minute journey is told mostly through Ai’s eyes, as she navigates the pressure of keeping up appearances, especially given her modest family background. She and her younger sister live with their widowed mother (Chi Chin) in a cramped apartment. To make ends meet, their mother gives tuition and doesn’t mind picking up discarded furniture to save money.

Chen and Xiang are fully immersed in their roles, delivering engaging performances that carry the film. One particularly charming detail is how Ai writes letters to her idol, Nicole Kidman, sharing her dreams and aspirations. When a surprise reply arrives with the line “Tom and I are doing fine,” it’s a genuinely chuckle-worthy moment.

The film also weaves in notable real-life events, such as Taiwanese rock band Mayday performing in bars and pubs to promote rock music in 1997, and the devastating 921 earthquake that struck on 21 September 1999. These thoughtful touches will resonate with viewers familiar with the events, adding an extra layer of connection to the story.

Movie Rating:

(Fans of Taiwanese coming-of-age tales will embrace this movie, which adds a bittersweet love triangle to the mix)

Review by John Li