For most of its running time, "Secret" lives up to its marketing as a sappy, beautifully shot and competently directed love story featuring Taiwan's own Jay Chou, the singer turned actor and now first-time director and screenwriter.

Following a convention established by Jackie Chan-in which, regardless of the picture he stars in and his character's Chinese name, his English name in the subtitling is always "Jackie"-Chou plays Jay, a transfer student at Tam Kang Senior High School of Arts.

He majors in piano. So does Rain (Kwai Lun-mei), an Audrey Hepburnish character who mysteriously comes and goes, often disappearing for days at a time. Jay and Rain go through those awkward, tentative steps of first love. "Just cherish our moments together," Rain says before vanishing again.

In between the wooing, "Secret" delivers the usual scenes from high school, featuring jocks, nerds and rivals for our main characters' affections.

But where does Rain disappear to? And why does she play an odd piano composition before she does? In revealing the "secret" alluded to in its title, the film turns abruptly into paranormal territory, though there are plenty of visual cues and clues that it flashes back to later in the picture.

Chou does a decent job behind the camera, and he sure knows how to present a polished, slick production.

running time (电影)片长;演出时间

sappy (adj.) 多愁善感的

convention (n.) 惯例;习俗

to come and go 来来去去;忽隐忽现

tentative (adj.) 迟疑的;没把握的

to woo (v.) 向…求爱;努力获得

affection (n.) 感情;情爱

composition (n.) 乐曲;作品

to be alluded to 间接提及;暗示

paranormal (adj.) 超自然的;科学无法解释的