"Knight of Dreams" Romantic Love Movie1
〈Ideas〉
 This story is structured with two emotional plotlines, featuring twin protagonists. One plotline revolves around the relationship between Michael, an exchange student from Venice, Italy, and Chen Mengru, a local student, as they navigate their love as a cross-cultural couple. The other plotline features Wen Aihua, an exchange student from China, and Tang Huaimin, a local indigenous student, as they break down cultural barriers and class consciousness to pursue their love. These two plotlines intertwine and spark youthful romanticism. The film primarily conveys three concepts: first, the unwavering love of the male protagonist, Michael, for the female protagonist, Chen Mengru. Even when Mengru goes missing after falling off a cliff, Michael holds onto hope and never gives up on searching for her. Second, as Mengru faces a significant turning point in her life, losing her memory and changing her appearance through plastic surgery to enter another family as a new person, she transforms from a street artist into a shining fashion model on the runway. However, as she gradually recovers her memories, she doesn't lose herself in the glittering glamour of her new identity, and returns to her original family and Michael, finding her true self. Third, a wealthy heiress from Shanghai, China, overcomes cultural differences and prejudices based on class and ethnicity, pursuing true love with determination, and finally achieving a happy ending.

The scenes in this film include many popular tourist destinations among foreign and Chinese visitors to Taiwan, such as Sun Moon Lake, Alishan, Taipei (including Tamsui), and the Eastern Rift Valley. The film heavily emphasizes Taiwan's beautiful landscape and scenery as a way to market the island. As for the storyline, it features university exchange students as the protagonists and explores the various problems that male and female students may encounter during cultural exchanges between different countries and across the Taiwan Strait. It is full of youthful energy and possesses both an international perspective and a cross-strait sentiment. If the film can receive strong support from the government's cultural departments for production, it has a good chance of crossing national borders and participating in various international film festivals, shining on the global stage and bringing Taiwan's cultural and creative industries to the broader Chinese community and international audience. It would provide an opportunity for people to learn about Taiwan's beautiful and romantic landscape, diverse ethnic society, and inclusive ocean culture.

Story Synopsis:

The story revolves around a group of exchange students from Europe, Southeast Asia, and Mainland China who come to study at the National Taipei University of Arts for a year through exchange programs with sister schools overseas and across the Taiwan Strait.

Vivian Chen, known as the department beauty, is a smart and gentle young woman with outstanding looks, and she has many admirers. Wu Benyun, a handsome and wealthy student, has a lot of female attention but is actively pursuing Vivian out of vanity. However, Vivian keeps a safe distance from him due to her distrust of his reputation. Michael, a shy and honest Italian student, is not good at socializing. Vivian discovers that Michael is struggling financially, so she invites him to set up a portrait painting booth with her in the park to help him out. As they spend more time together, they fall in love and become an international couple. Michael's sincerity and simplicity win over Vivian's family, and he decides to establish a foundation before returning to Taiwan to be with Vivian.

Wen Aihua, a wealthy heiress from Shanghai, China, has a sunny disposition, an outgoing personality, and a beautiful appearance, all of which attract the attention of her classmates, local student Tang Huaimin, and Liu Tianlin from Beijing, China, who comes from an artistic family and is talented in painting. Liu exudes a romantic air, but is quite arrogant and often acts superior to his peers. Initially, Wen Aihua has a good impression of Liu Tianlin, but his hot-and-cold attitude towards her, coupled with the fact that there is a girl named Xu Manfei who admires him, gradually makes Wen Aihua feel that Liu Tianlin only wants to play with her feelings. On the other hand, Tang Huaimin falls in love with Wen Aihua at first sight, and even though he is mocked by Liu Tianlin, he still courageously pursues her with encouragement from Chen Mengru. When Liu Tianlin realizes that Wen Aihua has turned to Tang Huaimin, he becomes more proactive, but it is already too late to salvage their relationship.


One year later, after the exchange program ends, Michael leaves Taiwan to return to Europe, and the long-distance couple keeps in touch through email. Wen Aihua returns to Shanghai, but her parents strongly oppose her relationship with Tang Huaimin, a Taiwanese aborigine, and demand that Wen Aihua cut off all contact with him. Tang Huaimin seeks help from Chen Mengru, who cleverly plays matchmaker and helps the two pass messages to each other. With Chen Mengru's assistance, Wen Aihua escapes from Shanghai and returns to Taiwan to be with Tang Huaimin. When Wen Aihua's parents come to Taiwan and find Wen Aihua and Tang Huaimin together, they are moved by their love for each other and decide to support their relationship.

Michael worked hard and saved money to realize his dream of opening a store. However, at this time, Chen Mengru had an accident and fell off a cliff, not only disfiguring her appearance but also losing her memory, and disappeared without a trace. Photographer Lin Fengmian rescued Chen Mengru and saw that she resembled his missing girlfriend, Qiu Haiyun. So, taking advantage of Chen Mengru's amnesia and his possessive nature, he had Chen undergo plastic surgery to become Qiu Haiyun, and Chen accepted Lin's arrangement to live in the Qiu family.

Michael received news of Chen Mengru's disappearance and came all the way to Taiwan, setting up a painting booth to search for her. With the support of Tang Huaimin and Wen Aihua, he finally found a clue in Qiu Haiyun. Michael intuitively felt that Qiu Haiyun was exactly the same as Chen Mengru in terms of voice and expression. So, he actively investigated and finally found an opportunity to awaken Qiu Haiyun's original memory. After restoring Chen Mengru's identity, she decided to return to Michael's side, and the two lovers finally reunited.



Story Summary:

Three students from the Department of Fine Arts at Taiwan University of Arts, Wu Benyun, Chen Mengru, and Tang Huaimin, went to Taoyuan Airport to welcome the exchange students from their department: Michael (Italy), Liu Tianqin (China), Wen Aihua (China), and Xu Manfei (USA). The exchange students quickly became friends with the local students.

Chen Mengru (Vivian Chen) is a gentle and elegant girl with delicate features and a well-proportioned figure. She is recognized as the most beautiful girl in the department and has no shortage of suitors. Wu Benyun, who has a handsome appearance and a charming personality, is quite popular with girls. He has admired Chen Mengru for a long time and has confessed to her several times, but she has never given him an answer because she has doubts about his reputation as a "playboy".

Liu Tianlin, from Beijing, comes from an artistic family and has a deep knowledge of art. He is highly respected by his teachers and is also skilled in Chinese music, particularly in playing the suona and the erhu. During a talent show on campus, he showed his exceptional talent and became the center of attention, attracting the attention of Wen Aihua and Xu Manfei. Michael, on the other hand, has an introverted and simple personality. Unlike other exchange students who are outgoing and good at socializing, Michael's sincerity and simplicity make his friends gen uinely accept him and give him warmth and care.

One day, Mengru saw Michael eating toast with mineral water outside the campus convenience store. After she inquired about it, she learned that Michael's family was not well-off, and he had to arrange his own living expenses in Taiwan. So on weekends, Mengru accompanied Michael to set up a portrait stand in Beitou Park, drawing portraits for tourists to earn a living.

Liu Tianlin looked down on his local classmates, thinking that not only were they not proficient in art, but they also didn't know how to plan their learning and life. He believed they spent their days just playing around and lacked goals for the future. This kind of arrogance occasionally showed in his interactions with his classmates. Although Wen Aihua initially had a good impression of Liu Tianlin, after witnessing his disrespectful attitude towards Tang Huaimin and Wu Benyun a few times, and seeing Xu Manfei pampering Liu Tianlin, she became more reserved towards him.


On the night before the winter vacation began, in the girls' dormitory, Xu Manfei announced in a victorious manner that she would be taking Liu Tianlin back to California to meet her parents, and Aihua gave her heartfelt blessings. Aihua and Mengru confided in each other, with Aihua admitting that between Huaimin and Tianlin, she chose the sincere and down-to-earth Huaimin, while Mengru said that although the handsome Wu Benyun had been pursuing her, she had a negative impression of him and would rather be with the simple and honest Michael. The two agreed to bring their boyfriends and first go to Ali Mountain to visit Aihua, and then together travel to Sun Moon Lake.

The two couples went to the Dabang tribe in Ali Mountain, where Aihua was warmly welcomed by Tang's parents and sister Meilan, and they saw Tang's tea garden and coffee plantation. Huaimin took the three of them to play in the Danya Valley and they encountered a heavy rainstorm, seeking shelter in a hunting lodge. The two couples were honest with each other while drying their clothes, but did not overstep any boundaries. Aihua gradually fell in love with the simple life in the mountains, but she was not yet ready to let her parents in Shanghai know about her relationship in Taiwan.

Chen Mengru brought Michael to meet her family in Nantou Sun Moon Lake. Chen's mother did not want her daughter to marry someone from faraway Italy and urged her to find a local partner instead. Michael interacted with Chen's family in a sincere and down-to-earth manner, and Chen's father Zhenxing and younger brother Zhiming gradually developed a liking for him. Mengru, Michael, Huaimin, and Ai Hua set up a portrait painting stall near the Waterhead Pavilion, drawing portraits for tourists and experiencing the life of street artists.

At the beginning of the new semester, Michael and Chen Mengru's relationship continued to develop steadily, making it difficult for Wu Benyun to intervene. Tang Huaimin and Wen Aihua's relationship also became official, and although Liu Tianlin wanted to win back Wen Aihua, he was unsuccessful, while Xu Mengfei continued to cling to Tianlin.

After the end of the semester, the exchange students were about to leave Taipei. The Chen family at Sun Moon Lake hosted a farewell banquet for Michael, and he promised to officially propose after completing his studies and obtaining his parents' approval. Chen Mengru's family accompanied Michael to the airport to see him off. Wen  Aihua promised to come back to Taiwan and stay with Huaimin after graduating from university.

After six months, the four of them graduated from university. Michael worked as a designer for a high-end bag production company, saving money to gradually realize his dream of buying a storefront and creating his own brand of handbags. He planned to come to Taiwan to marry Mengru, while Mengru traveled around to various places for inspiration and actively prepared to participate in art exhibitions across Taiwan.

Wen Aihua wanted to fly to Taiwan, but her mother learned about Aihua's relationship with Huaimin from Aihua's laptop. She didn't want Aihua to marry and move far away to Taiwan, so she planned to arrange a blind date for Aihua with the son of a business partner, Jiangyang. Aihua's father also wanted Jiangyang to take over the family business in the future and didn't want Aihua to leave Shanghai, so they placed her under house arrest and put her under Jiangyang's supervision. Aihua and her two friends tried to communicate with her family, but to no avail. Aihua decided to follow her heart and escape to Taiwan. Aihua's younger sister, Meihua, sympathized with her sister's situation and secretly helped her.

Wen's family saw Aihua at Chen Mengru's home near Sun Moon Lake, Tang Huaimin urgently sought help from Chen Mengru, and the two went to Danshui to find Wu Benyun. The three of them came up with a plan to use the "golden cicada shedding its shell" strategy. Chen Mengru went to Shanghai to secretly meet with Aihua and discuss their plan. They pretended to meet with clients and Chen Mengru cleverly disguised herself as Aihua to fool the spies that Jiangyang sent to watch Aihua. Aihua escaped in time and headed straight to the airport to meet Tang Huaimin. Tang hid Aihua at Chen Mengru's home near Sun Moon Lake, while Aihua's parents and Jiangyang traced her to Ali Mountain. They threatened Tang's family but failed, and Wen's father eventually agreed to accept Tang's conditions in order to see his daughter Aihua.

and Aihua slowly explained her decision to her parents. Wen's father didn't want to lose his daughter and reluctantly agreed to let Aihua stay. Chen Mengru and her brother took Huaimin and Aihua's sisters on a sightseeing boat tour of Sun Moon Lake, leaving a beautiful impression on Meihua.

A year later, Michael bought the storefront and began decorating it. He finally obtained his parents' approval and informed Chen Meng-ju through email that he would soon come to Taiwan. However, at this time, Meng-ju had an accident and fell off a cliff while sketching in Taitung. From then on, she lost contact with her family and Michael. The Chen family was extremely worried and contacted Tang Huai-min to go to Taitung to search for her and place a missing person ad. Michael immediately put down his work and flew to Taiwan, heading straight to the Chen family in Sun Moon Lake.

Meng-ju was rescued by a young photographer, Lin Feng-mian. From the ID in Meng-ju's wallet, Lin Feng-mian learned her name, hometown, and original appearance. Meng-ju suffered a head injury and lost her memory, and her facial features were also distorted. Lin Feng-mian thought of his former girlfriend, Qiu Hai-yun, who had lost touch after studying abroad in Europe. He felt that Meng-ju's appearance was somewhat similar to that of Hai-yun, so while treating her, he asked the doctor to perform plastic surgery on Meng-ju to make her look like the woman in Hai-yun's photo, and changed her name to Qiu Hai-yun.

After Chiu Hai-yun was discharged from the hospital, Lin Feng-mian arranged for her to return to her family's home in Beitou. Hai-yun's parents thought that Lin had found their daughter and Hai-yun herself believed that she had truly assimilated into the Chiu family, accepting that she was "Chiu Hai-yun". However, Hai-yun still felt unfamiliar with the Chiu family, the items in her room, and the photos of Chiu Hai-yun in the photo album, and she couldn't help but have doubts.

Michael told Chen's family that he was going to contact some classmates and search every city and town to find Chen Meng-ju back. Chen's father, deeply moved, let Michael ride the Yamaha motorcycle and embark on an island-wide search journey with Tang Huai-min and Wen Ai-hua. Whenever they arrived at a city or town, Michael would set up a portrait stall in a lively location and Huai-min would play the guitar and sing songs to attract curious crowds. Michael painted two portraits of Meng-ju based on her salon photos, one of her profile and the other of her full face, and displayed them on both sides of the portrait stall, along with a Chinese missing person notice. Tourists who saw the two portraits and the "Searching for Unmarried Fiancée Chen Meng-ju" notice expressed sympathy and encouragement to Michael. The touching story was even reported in the media, but Lin Feng-mian saw it and became more guarded.

Lin Fengmian introduced Qiu Haiyun to the modeling agency "Qingxiu Jiaren" where he worked and carefully trained her, hoping to make her famous in the fashion modeling industry. Lin Fengmian was a popular figure in front of the general manager Shao Yuting, and the creative director Zhao Jiamei had always had feelings for Lin Fengmian. However, Lin Fengmian only had eyes and heart for Haiyun, and Jiamei didn't want to lose him, so she reluctantly complied with the company's policy. Qiu Haiyun, with her clean and artistic appearance, quickly became famous.

One day, Lin Fengmian took the models to the Tamsui Fisherman's Wharf for an outdoor photo shoot, where Michael, Tang Huaimin, and Wen Aihua happened to be setting up their art booth. Tang Huaimin's guitar playing caught Qiu Haiyun's (actually Chen Mengru) curiosity, as she still had some memories of drawing portraits at a booth. During a break in the filming and photography, Qiu Haiyun sat down at Michael's art booth and asked him to draw her. As she stared at the Yamaha motorcycle behind Michael, fragments of memories surfaced in her mind, and she had a strong intuition that she was somehow connected to the motorcycle. She then noticed the two portraits of Chen Mengru and the missing person poster written by Michael, and her curiosity grew as she asked him questions, feeling more and more familiar with him. At the same time, Michael sensed something from Qiu Haiyun's voice and eyes.

Just then, Lin Fengmian came to find Haiyun and saw the two portraits and the missing person poster. He had a sense of crisis and instinctively knew he could not let Haiyun meet Michael, so he fooled and tricked Haiyun into leaving the scene

In the evening, the three of them returned to their lodging at Wu Benyun's workshop, an old classmate. They discussed the encounter with Qiu Haiyun today with Wu Benyun. Tang Huaimin and Wen Aihua reminded Michael that even though Chen Mengru's appearance has changed, it is unlikely that her voice would change as well. This boosted Michael's confidence, and he immediately searched online and found the modeling company where Qiu Haiyun worked.

Michael rode his motorcycle to the modeling company and waited outside the door. He saw Qiu Haiyun and Lin Fengmen walk out together, and he tried to approach Qiu Haiyun to introduce himself, but Lin Fengmen deliberately obstructed him in a rude manner. Michael watched as Qiu Haiyun got into the car with Lin Fengmen and left. He then followed them on his motorcycle, weaving through the streets and alleys.

From inside the car, Qiu Haiyun saw Michael and his motorcycle following them through the rearview mirror. She became suspicious after observing Lin Fengmen's behavior earlier and began to question him. Although Lin Fengmen cleverly came up with an excuse to respond, it was not enough to alleviate Qiu Haiyun's doubts.