The best Richie Jen’s romance movies

When Ah Bu, a girl from a small fishing town in Taiwan, finds a glass bottle with a romantic message, she travels to Hong Kong to find her prince charming. As it turns out, her prince charming, Albert, happens to be gay. But all is not lost when Ah Bu meets the dashing Chi Wu. Meanwhile, Ah Bu's boyfriend from Taiwan comes looking for her, as the action and romance follow Ah Bu back to Taiwan.

Wise, reflective and bittersweet, director/actor Sylvia Chang's Taipei-set triptych weaves through the lives of a 40-year-old divorcée (Chang), a thirtysomething flight attendant (Rene Liu) and an aspiring pop singer (Angelica Lee). Co-written by the three principals, the script's meditations on love, friendship and life choices are as thoughtful and intriguing as the performances are unforced.

Nice guy Moses, who cries whenever he tells a lie, is about to inherit a large fortune. Materialistic Didi learns of this and tries to win his affection.

A young man, blind and dumb, works as an audio tape typist in a hospital and fostering a tender and sincere relationship with a beautiful but introverted nurse. When hit by a car, he is the sixty billionth human being to die on earth, and is on transit to Polaris, en route to a yet more sophisticated form of existence in Vega. Given a reprieve of five days and a chance to be reunited with his love on earth, he cannot reveal his true identity behind the temporary facade he must present to her. Both boy and girl eventually learn, through a tangle of difficult and miraculous events, how love and good things always find ways of creeping into people's lives when people are not greedy and least expect these blessings.

Introverted Weichung has been married to Feng for nine years. They have one son together, and Feng would like to have another child with him. One day Stephen, an old friend who now organises weddings, appears and encourages Weichung to return to the gay life he had previously. Anxious not to lose his wife, Weichung tentatively begins seeing a flight attendant behind Feng’s back.

Mi, a propane delivery girl, declares to the heavens that she must marry a rich man. On a flight to Milan Me meets Christmas, a cute, rich Hong Kong resident who immediately takes a shine to Mi. She thinks she’s hit the jackpot, but as soon as they land the two are pick-pocketed by a local. Undaunted, they go on a “poor man’s date” making the run of Milan without a penny. And the two get along famously, leading Me to the conclusion that her cynical gold-digging plans have worked.

Bingo leads a carefree city life that revolves around work, friends and dating. Her yuppie life is turned upside down one passionate night when her hot date Dr. V discovers a lump on her left breast.

Tired of her family constantly nagging her to get married, spoiled heiress Yeh Fenfen (Shu Qi) books a stay at a beautiful villa on the Penghu Islands, which are the subject of a classic song on a tape left for her by her mother. When she arrives at her destination, she's dismayed to find that the gorgeous villa is actually a rundown B&B owned by Wu (Richie Jen). It turns out that Wu's friends, hoping to drum up some business for the B&B, falsified a few details about the state of the property on the internet. Angered by the deception, Fenfen packs her bags and leaves the next day. But, when she loses all of her luggage on the boat ride, Fenfen has no choice but to head back to the island.