A moving, touching, and warm story. The film's style is realistic. Music is rare, and the photography and cuts are ordinary. The highlight is the storyline.

When I started watching, I was doubtful that this film of an American boyhood might be too distant from my life and that I would not relate. But indeed, I am touched after watching. And I relate a lot with Mason Jr. since the film makes me think of my own boyhood, and we were both born in the 90s. But I believe western people would be touched more.

I like Mason Sr., the father. He is interesting and romantic/artistic. He took his son camping, took the kids to baseball games, sent his own organized Beatles album to Mason Jr. as his birthday present, played volleyball with the kids, once had a band, and made proper sex education for the kids. Mason Sr. is a cool dad, though perhaps a little bit irresponsible when he was young.

I respect Olivia, the kids' mother. She is a strong and independent woman. One line of her when she was fighting with her early boyfriend moved me: I was someone's daughter, and then I was somebody's fuckin' mother. I guess many parents are as unprepared as she is. As a single mother, she already had a tough time. Then she married the college teacher Bill, who seemed to be wealthy. They had a happy time as a blended family. But Bill later became an alcoholic and turned abusive. This was devastating to her. And she went through all this and had her own career as a psychology lecturer at a community college. She raised the two kids successfully, nearly only by herself. Her sobbing at Mason's leaving for college reminded my mom's tears when I left China to study in Europe.

Compared to Mason Jr., my boyhood was similar and also different. I can relate to his moving and leaving childhood friends, the heartbreaking after breaking up with his puppy love, the freshness of leaving his parents and starting college, and the confusion about the meaning of life as a young adult. I also had a big celebration party/banquet for the college entrance, though it was not as sleek and glossy as Mason's. I'd like to quote a few lines between Mason Jr. and his father before he went to college.

Mason: So what's the point?

Father: Of what?

Mason: I don't know. Any of this. Everything.

Father: Everything? (father chuckles) What's the point? I mean, I sure as shit I don't know. Neither does anybody else, okay? We're all just winging it, you know? The good news is you're feeling stuff. And you've got to hold on to that. You get older, and you don't feel as much. Your skin gets tougher. The point is those pictures you took...

Unlike Mason, my family is not broken. My boyhood is more focused on studying, on preparing for exams. The stressful schoolwork, or the stress I introjected on myself, made my boyhood less colorful and free. I guess this is the same for most Chinese kids and I wish I could be more rebellious when I grew up. As a result, I didn't have as much time to explore myself and the world as Mason did. He dated more girls, had a passion for photography and would pursue his passion in college. I once had a passion for photography, but that passion somehow faded.

The director (Richard Linklater) has also directed the Before Trilogy, which is similar to Boyhood in that both revolve around the effects of the passage of time. The director is probably an optimistic person, so he reveals a warming and all-forgiving tune after time passed by. I'm not sure how close this story is to reality. It just seems too good to be true. Maybe the American middle-class WASP people's lives are good as this.