SpuffyWeb
Sadly Over-hyped
Moustroll
Good movie but grossly overrated
Kinley
This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows
Ersbel Oraph
I have watched this movie some other time. And I have been impressed. I have no idea why. I have completely forgotten this one. I have went back without knowing because of Sean Baker. And watching it I got bored. And than more bored. And than I started to recall scenes. Scenes with faceless actors doing the same. And the movie was so long, by half time I recalled part of the story.The visual style is stunning. And it is spectacular in the way the director cheats and changes the scene. Take the old lady brought home to die. Each character interacts with her from a different angle. But the angle is not just another angle, many pieces are rearranged to show the same.Still, that is not enough to compensate for a bland story with too many characters. And I feel so sorry for the production team. Every scene is carefully crafted. The musician neighbor fights with a boy in front of the whole building. The character would have avoided both making a scene and doing anything explicit before an audience of neighbors, yet the scene is important to show the disconnect between the characters: they know too much, and yet so little of the humans around them. And this is underlined by the lack of sound. So sublime! Yet sublime scene after another leads to a long show saying nothing, leaving just the bitter taste of a blind emotion.A great movie and a waste of time at the same time.Contact me with Questions, Comments or Suggestions ryitfork @ bitmail.ch
ganil-95282
YI YI is one of the most celebrated movie of the 2000's and the last film of Edward Yang which was shot in Taipei city. It is really a beautiful piece of art cinema.The movie revolves around the life of middle aged partner in a computer firm Mr. N.J. Jian(Nien Jen Wu) and his family. The movie features a marriage, childbirth, suicide attempt, murder and finally a death. It shows how with change in time the cultures and traditions are left behind but still same story repeats from generation to generation, from N.J.'s life to his teenage daughter, to his little son in primary school.The movie is quite long, slightly less than three hours, and moves at a slow and even pace. There is no build up or climax scene which represents its proximity with the real life. Being an art film, it does not follow any standard techniques of narration, camera techniques or story telling and relies hugely on director's own creative genius. At many instances the camera takes long reflective shots from outside rather than accompanying the characters giving us a feeling of outsider watching everything happening but are not actually a part of it. The use of reflective shots with the huzz and buzz of city in background shows that everyone has his own problems in life and no one has time to stop for anyone.Everything in the movie has a deeper meaning associated with it when looked at closely. Even the innocent talks of the little Yang Yang(N.J.'s son) have one of the biggest truths of life which are ignored by everyone. The whole movie talks in metaphor. The phenomenon of lightning is used to show the emerging love in Yang Yang for the class monitor. Also Yang Yang clicking the photos of the back of head of people to show them what they can't see has a deeper meaning.Overall the movie was really a masterpiece, though quite longer than the normal. The creativity of the director makes this film with a very normal story outstanding. The most peculiar point in the film is its closeness with the actual life which helps in building a connection with the audience. The movie is not just a story, it is an experience which you enjoy every time you recall a part of it.
daitran199980
The last time that I gave 5 out of 5 stars is one month ago, that movie is Steamboat Bill, Jr. (1928). Since I saw that movie, I couldn't find any full-stars movie. Finally I found!What amazing movie! 2000 is the best year of the cinema, the best of Asian too! We had 2 great Hong Kong movies, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, In the Mood for Love and "Masterpiece" Taiwan, Yi Yi in the same year!Almost people, include Critics, thought that ITMFL and CTHD are the best Chinese- language movies that they've ever seen but I don't think like that. CTHD has the beautiful story, great scene, ITMFL has the great cinematography, great love but both of them have the sad ending that 2 people can't be happy... And Yi Yi, it's not only the movie, it's life, my life and your life. Many relationship that you can see in this movie that you saw or will see in your real life: family, friends, wife-husband, boyfriend-girlfriend, ex boyfriend-ex girlfriend...
Sergeant_Tibbs
In the early new century, late Taiwanese director Edward Yang broke out from under the radar with his epic modern masterpiece and last film Yi yi (2000), a tender refreshing subtle drama centred around a domestic family. Remaining one of the most critically acclaimed films of the century, it's a shame that Yang left us before making another film but did broaden eyes to his other obscure works such as A Brighter Summer Day (1991) and The Terrorizers (1986); as all the practiced methods in these films come to their highest point of intimacy in Yi yi. Shuffling between a range of moods and themes, the focus and basic premise of Yi yi is a middle-class family in Taipei over the course of one year, beginning at a wedding and ending at a funeral. The characters disband and we follow each subplot discovering and developing each of them; the father (N.J.) spends time with his long lost first love, imagining what his life could have been and studying his past behaviour; the mother (Min-Min) who feels trapped in her status of housewife; the daughter (Ting-Ting) who discovers first love; and the son (Yang-Yang) who evaluates his surroundings. Other prominent characters include the husband and bride of the afore mentioned wedding and the soon to be deceased.The pivotal theme of Yi yi is in general the love we give and receive all throughout life – although this is not demonstrated in any chronological order within the film. First, there's the love a baby receives (which the bride from the wedding carries throughout the film) from the whole family and the parents – of which this mutual and constant love remains for eternity. Then as a young child, Yang-Yang, he just begins to notice girls and the effect they have on him. His sister plays the teenager representation, who seeks the opposite gender for sexual attention; a supposed illusion of love. As an adult, or when maturity is apparently complete and they're getting married, there's the love from the family and the strong attraction between the couple themselves. Later in middle age, when possibly this appeal fades (as presented by the fact N.J. and Min-Min take some time apart) there's the assumed love from ones children, peers and the sensation of reminiscing past 'loves'. Once one reaches old age there's the love from and to the whole family. Another theme is the representation of modern family life, working on superstition, traditions and behaviour. This being shown by the fact the entire family lives near or together, especially when one is weak. Also, the wedding is intentionally set on a particular date just because it's a supposedly lucky day on the almanac calendar (also giving their child a 'lucky' name). It also shows how materials and possessions are useless without any form of love.N.J. is one of my favourite and most fascinating characters in cinema. He's passive, understanding and rarely aggressive; even stereotyped by his colleagues as the 'honest-looking type'. For example, when he witnesses an unfriendly brawl due to an unwelcome guest, he avoids joining in and waits for it to calm down before considering making his entrance. But by this disturbance, he feels the occasion is ruined and kindly refuses to join though he doesn't judge any of the people involved. When Yang-Yang prefers to eat McDonalds rather than food at the wedding he indulges and makes no fuss. After this particular scene, he encounters an ex-girlfriend by an elevator who confronts him for standing her up at a date several years ago. N.J. does not respond. Throughout a much later set meeting in the third act, we discover that N.J. was in fact the nervous type, which leads us to evaluate his current behaviour against his old one – there's the use of parallels by having his study of his past behaviour over his daughter and her boyfriend's first date, following these patterns. Though he has reached a new stage in his life and he's finally comfortable with the woman, he doesn't feel the attraction. When it comes to business, he is very calculating, understanding what to do but when he feels pressure he escapes to music. Plus he is co-operative but not dominating.Due to all these themes and the effect of personal impact it had on me, I refer to this film as the most enlightening and life-affirming film of all-time for me. This is mostly because the film has entirely convinced me that its theories are true and they are very comforting and therapeutic, despite the equal balance of happiness and sadness. According to the director, Yi yi literally translates to "A One and a Two…", like the phrase bands say before their performance. It's as if everyone is only getting ready and this is one big rehearsal. Or it is one big irony because, as Edward Yang has stated; 'few things in life are as simple as ones and twos", unlike the situations in the film. It is an incredibly rewarding and satisfying experience, if emotionally draining. There's also a very reassuring quote from the film I love; "My uncle says… we live three times as long since man invented movies. It means movies give us twice what we get from daily life. For example, murder. We never killed anyone, but we all know what it's like to kill. That's what we get from the movies." This is the natural beauty of film and my inspiration. I think the thought of this film could carry me throughout my whole life.One of my favourite films of all-time.10/10
