Metacritic reviews

A subtly comic, ultimately moving film about modern adult relationships.

Director Chen Kuo-fu adds a refreshingly wry humor to this view and then deftly throws in some wrenching moments and an ultimately astounding final twist.

Although rife with comic possibilities, The Personals develops into a somber tale of personal identity.

Both witty and poignant.

Liu is dazzling as the heroine, and the movie as a whole strikes a lovely balance between comedy and compassion.

The repetitious structure begins to grow wearing about two-thirds through, but the conclusion has an emotional wallop that justifies the wait.

Each scene is beautifully written and exquisitely shot, and the sum total is an unusually perceptive picture of urban loneliness.

By no means any kind of masterpiece, but viewed as one might any number of American or European independents of similar theme and nature, it not only stands its ground, but is at times one or two notches better than many of them.

It's an anti- romantic comedy that resolves on a minor chord of grief.

An intelligent, perceptive film. It's good enough to make you wish Chen hadn't sacrificed emotional complexity for a last-minute surprise.