Running Time: 173 minutes
Directed By: Edward Yang
Written By: Edward Yang
Main Cast: Nien-Jen Wu, Kelly Lee, Jonathan Chang, Elaine Jin, Hsi-Sheng Chen
Click here to view the trailer
NOTE: So Blogger is now forcing everyone to use their new template and that doesn't sit well with me, because I really prefer the old one. However, if I have to, I have to. Be aware that the posters that appear at the top of each post will now be MASSIVE, as there doesn't seem to be a way to resize your images anymore. Everything else still looks fairly normal, so I guess I'll get used to it eventually.
TAIWAN NEVER LOOKED SO GOOD
Although I hate to do so, it took me three sit-downs to watch "Yi Yi". It wasn't the films fault though; it's just that every night when I'd sit down to watch it, I'd get too tired to give it my full attention and would have to stop or risk disliking it based on my sleepy state.
To layout the plot of "Yi Yi" in detail would take entirely too long, as it clocks in at nearly three hours and follows several different characters with several different plot lines. The main character is NJ (Wu), a father and business man, who works for a computer gaming company. Throughout the film his company falls under a crisis where they need to develop new technology and NJ is assigned the task of schmoozing with a high profile game creator, in hopes of partnering with him. The two hit it off, having intellectual and heart to heart conversations, often veering away from business talk. NJ also meets up with an old flame and tries to right a wrong he committed as a teenager. NJ's mother-in-law has fallen into a coma and as a result, his wife (Jin) has a nervous breakdown and leaves him to go live at a Buddhist temple. NJ's son is curious, asking a questions that are more advanced for a child of his age. NJ's daughter (Lee) is a shy teenager, who makes friends with their new neighbor, another teenage girl and gets involved with her boyfriend, Fatty. The other main character is A-Di (Chen), NJ's business partner who is recently married and in debt. The film takes a look at the life of this family and their perils.
SPOILER ALERT!
You know, it's kind of funny that the last film I watched was "Spring in a Small Town" - another film of Eastern Asia - which I cited as having a really strong plot, but lacking in other departments, like photography and music. In "Yi Yi" it's the exact opposite problem, as I'd call the photography and music pretty much flawless and it was the plot that fell short of capturing my attention. "Yi Yi" just seemed to be shooting in too many different directions and lacked the structure that would have normally allowed me to identify with characters and take a vested interest in what was happening and what was going to happen. I cared most for NJ, but really was never able to connect with any of the other characters, as the plot was just too "wonky". Possibly there were too many characters and too many unnecessary storylines going on at once. Each character was involved in different plots of their own. For example, you had A-Di, who was a newlywed with a baby on the way, had a bitter ex-girlfriend, was having the same business struggles as NJ and was facing debt. That's, at least, two too many plot lines for one character, in a film where there were several main characters. Also, what was the point of continually teasing that characters were dying? It struck me as extremely odd that Yang had the characters of A-Di and Yang-Yang fall into situations where it looked as though they perished, only to have them show up in the next frame, unscathed. There had to be reasoning behind that, but I can't decipher it for the life of me. Otherwise, why include it?
Despite all that, I have a feeling that the cinematography alone will have me remembering this film fondly. It was absolutely gorgeous. In fact, I wish I understood Mandarin so that I didn't have to constantly look away from the beauty to read the subtitles. Every frame captivated you, dazzling you with sights from the city, using reflections in windows to provide a unique shot or using long shots to establish perspective and allow the atmosphere to envelope the characters. There was also a soft, piano score that provided the perfect background for this family and helped in allowing me to get closer to the characters.
RATING: 7/10 The plot isn't entirely as bad as I made it out to be, like I said, it's just too much and not as well organized as I'd have liked it to be. To everything else, including performances, I give an A+.
MOVIES WATCHED: 428
MOVIES LEFT TO WATCH: 573
COMING SOON:
La Vie en rose (2007 - Olivier Dahan)
Atonement (2007 - Joe Wright)
On the Town (1949 - Kelly, Donen)
Fires Were Started (1943 - Humphrey Jennings)
April 21, 2012 12:52pm
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