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Poster for Seventeen Years to Earth

Seventeen Years to Earth

Seen it?

1998 | 23 min | Romance, Drama

Monday Morning Maybeearly rating

Why it’s a Monday Morning Maybe

With a box office flop and almost no lasting buzz, this one could be a tough watch. Keep your phone handy.

Based on critics, audiences, awards, box office and buzz. Details below.

Is it for you?

Who'll love it
Made for romantics. If you loved Past Lives or The Way We Were, start here.
The mood
Warm and romantic.
The pace
Takes its time with its characters, at 23 min.
What might put you off
Nothing much for most grown-ups.

For 17 years, from the age of about six or seven, Kathy Chu keeps a diary. It's a complete fiction, denying disappointments (when her older sister doesn't want to spend time with her, Kathy invents and records a happy encounter) and rejections (she's teased for being Asian, but she writes about what fun she had with friends). Her hopes to be a writer compound the irony of her journal's disconnection. In college and after graduation, one of her closest friends is Kirby, who is also Asian. She denies any romantic attraction, and when they do become lovers, it's her diary that brings a crisis to their relationship and to her identify. Kathy falls back to earth.

How it earned its rating

  • CriticsNot counted

    Not enough reviews on record yet

  • AudiencesNot counted

    Not measured yet: not enough ratings

  • AwardsNot counted

    Awards data unavailable, so this isn't counted

  • Reach & staying powerWeak

    Streaming release that reached a small audience so far

  • Buzz & cultural impactWeak

    Not enough engagement data yet

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Cast & crew

Directed by Perry Lin

  • Gina ChaiKathy Chu
  • Stella MaYoung Kathy
  • Jim ChuKirby Wang
  • Jo ShuiNarrator