PANGZI: Life is a mixture of happy and sad things. Movies are so lifelike - that's why we love them.
TING-TING: Then who needs movies? Just stay home and live life.
PANGZI: My uncle says we live three times as long since man invented movies.
TING-TING: How can that be?
PANGZI: It means movies give us twice what we get from daily life.[1]
Hello everyone, and a million hugs and welcome to this week's post. I watched Edward Yang's beautiful Yi Yi yesterday, and I can't wait to share my thoughts while the scenes are fresh in my head. While it was a long watch, (2 hours and 53 minutes!) it was one of the most moving films I've ever seen. I recommend you if you haven't watched it yet or are intimidated by its duration (like me). Thank you for being here and I hope you enjoy reading the post!
Yi Yi is Edward Yang's seventh and last feature film, also known as his masterpiece. The film received many positive reviews when it first released in North America and Europe, leading Yang to win the Best Director Award at Cannes Film Festival in 2000. Yang is known for his natural depiction of contemporary Taiwanese families, and he's most famous for his contributions to Taiwanese New Wave Cinema. In a well-conducted interview, Yang talks about the mainstream filmmaking in Taiwan before the New Wave movement. He says that movies were only for national propaganda to reach a bigger audience, and with the movement he and other notable directors brought to Taiwanese cinema, there opened an opportunity to depict the true Taiwanese culture to the big screen. What Yang and his friends did to bring innovation to their country's cinema was remarkable to me, it takes great courage to step away from the mainstream and stay with your style. That's why Edward Yang and his works will always hold a special place for me.
Let's talk about a few characters as each of them was crafted delicately by the writer and performed brilliantly by the actors. I'd like to start with my favorite: Ting-Ting, the teen daughter of NJ. Ting-Ting is a melancholic teen that finds herself in the middle of a love triangle at some point during the film [2]. She thinks she betrays her best friend by falling for her ex-boyfriend, and that causes this character to go through lots of guilt and regret. After witnessing too much drama in her life, and especially after hearing about the horrible murder that her ex-lover committed, she questions the morals of life. As the film is built on each character questioning different aspects of life, I especially liked Ting-Ting's existential questioning and found it close to me the most. When she meets with her dear grandma in a dream, she gives this meaningful monologue that affected me deeply:" Why is the world so different from what we thought it was? Now that you're awake and see it again... has it changed at all? Now I've closed my eyes... the world I see... is so beautiful."
The way each character was depicted in the movie was very tender yet simple, that's probably why the story reaches deep into your heart and gives you a true cinematic experience. Let's move on to Yang-Yang, NJ's son, an eccentric 8-year-old that steals the movie every time he appears on screen! Yang-Yang is a kid that goes through loneliness, and he is often picked on by his peers. He, however, doesn't change his personality and stays true to himself. Throughout the movie, we see Yang-Yang asking the most interesting questions to his father, photographing people's back of their heads, and finally giving a touching farewell speech to his grandma in the end. Yang-Yang represents a world adults often forget exists: a life full of wonder and enthusiasm. Oftentimes during the movie, I wished Yang-Yang's parts wouldn't be over so that I could stay in his world a little longer.
Reaching the end of this post, I'm giving this movie 9 out of 10 because of the unforgettable experience it gave me. The characters and their symbolization can be discussed for hours, or days even, but I think it's enough to talk briskly about my favorite ones overall. I recommend the soundtrack strongly as it fits the movie's mood perfectly. You can also check out this amazing overlapping scenes edit on Youtube, capturing my favorite parts of the film. Thank you so much for reading this far, and please don't forget to check out my Instagram, Twitter, and Tumblr, all with the same nickname moviesatdawn. Did I mention the commenting section? No? You can also comment down below or send me an email at moviesatdawn@gmail.com to make me the happiest person in the world. Take care and see you next week!
OTA: Why are we afraid of the first time? Every day in life is a first time. Every morning is new. We never live the same day twice. We're never afraid of getting up every morning. Why?
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