Review of Yi Yi (2000) by Bach P — 03 Jan 2008

"Yi Yi" analyzes the ups and downs of everyday life for our very eyes. For three full hours, we soak in and embrace a Taipei family's life, following three generations in the household. There's the adults, who are mixed in a realm of money relationships, there's the teenagers, who are just getting the gist of it, and there's the children, who are barely hinting at it.

We see how relationships change in adults, and how they start as kids. The film's premise is simple, but it's deeply layered. It really feels like a lifetimes worth of material. There's a ton of great scenes to get caught up in as well, one is short segment where the teenager goes on a date, and her companion explains how life is three-fold with film.

We live our own lives he says, then we live two more through film. The girl is baffled, and tries to shrug it off, but he pushes an example from his uncle. "We don't kill people in real life, but through film, we know what it's like.

" For them, it ends up being kind of a cheesy scene, but the idea is still a great one, and i'm glad they put it in. For me, "Yi Yi" is a dozen lives for anyone who sees it. It gives us tons of ideas to reflect on and some perspective to our lives that we wouldn't ordinarily consider.

A rare film that perfectly manages to capture modern society. Picture perfect.