Someday or One Day
In 2009, 28-year-old Li Zi Wei and 17-year-old Huang Yu Xuan met each other. These are two innocent and unaffected lives that could each feel like marks from their past and present lives. However, they could not find sufficient proof to fill up the emptiness at the bottom of their hearts. An accident let them fall into another Mobius loop that had already happened countless times. Only then did they realize that in different times and spaces, they once had a deep, true love that had passed through countless timelines to search for each other with no regrets. But in that story, their deepest love came at the highest price. If they could start again, would they choose to meet by chance in ordinary life or be scarred by the memories etched in their heart and bones? Or perhaps they can choose to hurt and love all over again, betting on a different ending?
The film earned $62.7M at the global box office.
Plot Structure
Story beats plotted across runtime
Narrative Arc
Emotional journey through the story's key moments
Story Circle
Blueprint 15-beat structure
Arcplot Score Breakdown
Weighted: Precision (70%) + Arc (15%) + Theme (15%)
Someday or One Day (2022) exemplifies meticulously timed story structure, characteristic of Huang Tien-jen's storytelling approach. This structural analysis examines how the film's 10-point plot structure maps to proven narrative frameworks across 1 hour and 47 minutes. With an Arcplot score of 6.5, the film balances conventional beats with creative variation.
Structural Analysis
The Status Quo at 1 minutes (1% through the runtime) establishes Huang Yu-Xuan grieves deeply for her boyfriend Wang Quan-Sheng, who died a year ago. She lives in isolation, unable to move forward, surrounded by memories of their relationship.. Significantly, this early placement immediately immerses viewers in the story world.
At 54 minutes, the Midpoint arrives at 50% of the runtime—precisely centered, creating perfect narrative symmetry. The analysis reveals that this crucial beat Yu-Xuan discovers the tragic truth: the real Chen Yun-Ru died by suicide, and the timeline is more complex than she understood. The stakes raise as she realizes changing the past could erase her present., fundamentally raising what's at risk. The emotional intensity shifts, dividing the narrative into clear before-and-after phases.
The Collapse moment at 80 minutes (75% through) represents the emotional nadir. Here, Yu-Xuan is pulled back to 2019 and discovers that her changes have altered reality—the people she loves have different fates, and she faces the devastating possibility of losing both Zi-Wei and Quan-Sheng permanently., reveals the protagonist at their lowest point. This beat's placement in the final quarter sets up the climactic reversal.
The Synthesis at 86 minutes initiates the final act resolution at 80% of the runtime. The final confrontation with fate. Yu-Xuan takes action to ensure the right timeline, making the ultimate sacrifice. The complex time loop resolves as all versions of the characters find their proper places., demonstrating the transformation achieved throughout the journey.
Emotional Journey
Someday or One Day's emotional architecture traces a deliberate progression across 10 carefully calibrated beats.
Narrative Framework
This structural analysis employs systematic plot point analysis that identifies crucial turning points. By mapping Someday or One Day against these established plot points, we can identify how Huang Tien-jen utilizes or subverts traditional narrative conventions. The plot point approach reveals not only adherence to structural principles but also creative choices that distinguish Someday or One Day within the mystery genre.
Comparative Analysis
Additional mystery films include Oblivion, From Darkness and American Gigolo.
Plot Points by Act
Act I
SetupStatus Quo
Huang Yu-Xuan grieves deeply for her boyfriend Wang Quan-Sheng, who died a year ago. She lives in isolation, unable to move forward, surrounded by memories of their relationship.
Theme
Yu-Xuan's friend tells her: "If you could go back, would you choose differently?" The film's central question about fate, choice, and whether love transcends time is introduced.
Worldbuilding
Establishing Yu-Xuan's grief-stricken present day life in 2019, her inability to let go of Quan-Sheng, the depth of their past relationship through flashbacks, and her emotional paralysis.
Resistance
Yu-Xuan struggles to understand the time travel, navigates 1998 as Yun-Ru, and discovers Li Zi-Wei, who looks exactly like her deceased boyfriend. She debates whether to get close to him or maintain distance.
Act II
ConfrontationPremise
The "fun and games" of living in 1998, falling for Zi-Wei, the joy of youth recaptured, and exploring the mystery of why she was sent back. Yu-Xuan experiences happiness she thought was lost forever.
Midpoint
Yu-Xuan discovers the tragic truth: the real Chen Yun-Ru died by suicide, and the timeline is more complex than she understood. The stakes raise as she realizes changing the past could erase her present.
Opposition
The timeline becomes increasingly unstable. Yu-Xuan struggles to prevent Yun-Ru's death while maintaining her relationship with Zi-Wei. The past and present begin to collide, threatening both timelines.
Collapse
Yu-Xuan is pulled back to 2019 and discovers that her changes have altered reality—the people she loves have different fates, and she faces the devastating possibility of losing both Zi-Wei and Quan-Sheng permanently.
Crisis
Yu-Xuan grieves in the altered timeline, processing what she's lost and gained. She confronts the dark truth about fate, sacrifice, and whether her interference helped or harmed those she loved.
Act III
ResolutionSynthesis
The final confrontation with fate. Yu-Xuan takes action to ensure the right timeline, making the ultimate sacrifice. The complex time loop resolves as all versions of the characters find their proper places.