Review of Yi Yi (2000) by Tcurran2 — 11 Mar 2018

The word "masterpiece" is thrown around so often in our cultural milieau that it has become trite. Yi Yi is anything but that. In writing this review, I find myself struggling for the words to describe its profundity.

Ernest Hemingway once said that the hardest thing to do is to write "straight honest prose about human beings." Yi Yi doesn't write those words, it shows us with each forlorn character isolated in the frame, alone with their thoughts.

Those thoughts consume them as they ponder their anxieties that come with their middle class existence - lover's quarrels, social ostracization, etc. Edward Yang's (this would be his final film before his death) use of vibrant contrasts in color are seemingly antithetical to the minimalist approach of Yasujiro Ozu, yet the film is reminiscent of the humanism that could be found in that master director's work, such as in Tokyo Story (1953).

Divided only by age, the characters in this film all want for the same thing - life, love, and the pursuit of happiness. However, they cannot see how their shared experiences relate to one another. Their inner focus on the self is a product of an individualistic narcissism that permeates every aspect of modern society.

But it's easy enough to try and interpret what Yang was trying to express. Harder still is it to look at those images, as it reflects our own experiences back onto us. In the end you'll weep. Not solely because the ending's emotional weight carries such an immense impact, but because you'll know that you have likely experienced what these characters have gown through, and didn't know how to express it.

Yang has done it for you. You need only to watch - and learn.