Jiayu Liu: How I See Through You’s Unique Blend of Love, the Afterlife, and Modern Storytelling
You can push back against eventual change or you can explore and embrace it to create something that works in the way you want it to. For filmmaker Jiayu Liu, delving into the latest iteration of storytelling while still creating more “traditional” productions is the answer. While her work on such films as Farewell has garnered her awards from the World Film Festival in Cannes (including one for Best Director), Jiayu is cognizant that younger generations prefer their content online and on-the-go. Ms. Liu recently directed and served as co-producer for the adventurous How I See Through You, a tale of romance and horror with surprising and incredibly gratifying twists. This miniseries is currently available on Dramabox and Goodshot as one of their most lauded and popular offerings. Not since ABC’s mid 1960’s series Dark Shadows have we seen such an idyllic and intriguing blend of horror and romance. How I See Through You has something for those who are enticed by both the darkness and the light.
Set in present times, a young woman named Mia finds herself in a hotel that is haunted. This is the just the beginning of the oddities as Mia will experience ghosts, murders, and an understanding of her previous lives that she was oblivious to. Roland is one of the ghosts who inhabit the hotel and Mia becomes aware that, not only does she have an attraction to him, but they also have a link that is decades long and far deeper than she would ever guess. While the story is packed with numerous twists, some more obvious and some less, the production value of How I See Through You makes you feel as if you’re watching an episodic film on any one of the major streaming platforms. This partnered with the more “indie” approach to taking liberties with telling this story results in an immensely enjoyable viewing experience. To put it succinctly, How I See Through You is loaded with charm. It’s difficult to put your finger precisely on one aspect but it certainly is rooted in the direction of Jiayu Liu who has envisioned a unique personality for this story.
Though not intuitive, the dichotomous blending of horror and romance can be intoxicating when sculpted by expert hands. Jiayu confirms, “Balancing romance and horror was indeed a challenge and I tackled it by incorporating flashbacks into pivotal moments of emotional progression between the characters. These flashbacks alternated between the childhood memories of the female lead and the past life recollections of the male lead, intertwining romance with suspense.” She adds, “During intimate scenes where the two characters embraced, I added a sense of unease by incorporating shaky and unsettling camera movements. At times, I utilized shots reflected in mirrors to create a sense of discomfort and unease, further blurring the lines between reality and the supernatural. This technique added an extra layer of tension to the romantic moments, enhancing the overall emotional impact and keeping the audience engaged throughout the narrative.”
Essential in bringing the audience on board to a sense of the love shared by Mia and Roland is the painstaking attention to character development which evolves throughout the story. As the story progresses, Mia finds herself reluctantly accepting certain false truths about her past life. This creates a sense of internal conflict as she begins to question whether her past self may have been responsible for Roland’s death. This internal struggle not only adds depth to Mia’s character but also introduces a layer of suspense and horror as she grapples with the possibility of her own dark past. Simultaneously, Roland’s character undergoes a parallel evolution as he gradually regains fragments of his past life memories. This process establishes complexity to his character as Roland struggles to reconcile his current feelings for Mia with the revelations from his past. As Roland’s memories resurface, doubts begin to creep into their relationship, casting a shadow over their love and adding an element of suspense to their interactions. How I See Through You reminds us that passion can exist in the most benevolent and the most nefarious of actions; which of these can only be discovered through viewing the entire series.
https://www.dramaboxapp.com/film/41000100789
Writer : Calvin Hooney
