"Miao Miao," a shallow exploration of the sexual and emotional friction between friends, treads over a broad range of themes, leaving its viewers as muddled as each of the film's leading characters.

Female leads of ethnic Japanese-Taiwanese Miao Miao, played by Ke Jia-yan, and Xiao-ai, Sandrine Pinna, play the typecast giddy schoolgirls, with their friendship blossoming almost immediately after Miao Miao's return to Taiwan from Japan.

Before long, however, Miao Miao's attentions are snared by brooding CD store owner Chen Fei (Fan Chih-Wei). Yet her advances are frustrated at every turn by the silent young stud, who dons a pair of headphones night and day in a symbolic attempt to shut out the world around him.

Miao Miao is slowly drawn away from the enthusiasm of school life and generally withdraws into her own world of Chen Fei obsession.

Xiao-ai, on the other hand, seems to have blossomed into a responsible and emotionally sensitive young woman, whose positive expressions of affection and consideration for her beloved friend are contrasted with the actions of a desperate Miao Miao.

The film is ultimately given its most enjoyable aesthetics by its glossy, art-toned production value, which flounders each time it skims the surface of its subject matter.

Yet Director Cheng Hsiao-Tse's debut has made it clear that even the most superficial and unoriginal scripts can provide enjoyable entertainment.