The revolves around a couple who move to an expensive apartment in Taipei as a former baseball player returns from America with little prospect of a future while his girlfriend struggles to find work after resigning from her job as she is eager to move to America. It’s a film that explores a couple whose relationship begins to disintegrate amongst a growing sense of major changes in and around Taipei as the woman wants to be part of this new world though her boyfriend struggles to make ends meet as he works for his family’s textile business which is going through issues while coping with his own failures as a once-promising baseball player. The film’s screenplay by Edward Yang, Hou Hsiao-hsien, and Chu Tien-wen is largely straightforward in explore the lives of the office worker Chin (Tsai Chin) and her boyfriend Lung (Hou Hsiao-hsien) as they both diverge into paths of their own as it play into what they want but also the struggles of achieving that goal. Chin was working in an office until she resigned over issues in a failing business as she still wants to socialize with people who work in the same field including her boss Mr. Ke (Ke I-cheng) who has feelings for her.
Lung learns that a former baseball player in Ch’en (Wu Nien-jen) has become a taxi driver and is also going through his struggles after doing military service with a wife that is often neglectful towards their children in favor of gambling. Lung also tries to maintain work in his family’s textile business despite the fact that his mother and sister both live in America as he constantly has to talk to his brother-in-law. Adding to his troubles is Chin’s estranged father (Wu Ping-nan) who has been in some serious financial troubles where Lung wants to help him despite the fact that Chin implores that he doesn’t as it would threaten their plans to go to America.
Yang’s direction does have elements of style as much of the film’s compositions are straightforward as it aims for some realism in its visuals. Shot on actual location in Taipei, Taiwan, the city itself is a character in the film as it plays up this representation of a world that is becoming vibrant and being part of a bigger world that it’s caught up on. A world that Chin wants to be in as it includes a scene of her hanging with her younger sister Ling (Lin Hsiu-ling) at a club and later on a nighttime ride through the city with its vibrant lights. The usage of wide and medium shots doesn’t just play into the scope of the city and its locations in and out of the city but also to display this growing schism between Chin and Lung as the latter is often seen in smaller and claustrophobic locations as well as places that are often in decay as he tends to feel awkward during a scene where he’s with Chin and her friends. Notably as one of them would harass Lung about his failed baseball career leading to a fight as Yang doesn’t feature a lot of close-ups in his films except in certain bits as it plays into the uncertainty into Lung and Chin’s disintegrating relationship.
Yang also play into this dramatic subplot that involves Lung and Chin’s father as it plays into Lung’s need to help people as there’s a scene late in the film where the two are having a drink as Chin’s father is talking about what the city used to be and what it has become now. It adds to Lung’s clinging to the past as he faces this uncertainty but also this feeling of failure as he had a lot of promise as a baseball player but failed to live up to expectations in the big leagues. Chin’s frustrations over Lung’s lack of progress to change anything as well as a visit from a former flame in Gwan (Ke Su-yun) that would play into their schism. Also serving as the film’s music composer with cello performances from Yo-Yo Ma, Yang’s score is somber as it adds to the drama with its lush orchestral arrangements and Ma’s cello just adding that sense of uncertainty for both Lung and Chin. Overall, Yang crafts a compelling and evocative film about a couple living in Taipei as they start to disintegrate over ideas of modernism and tradition.
Cinematographer Yang Wei-han does brilliant work with the film’s cinematography with its emphasis on natural lighting including for many of the interior scenes where the usage of low-level lights for the nighttime scenes add to the air of realism as well as the vibrant exterior scenes at night. Editors Wang Chi-yang and Sung Fan-chen do excellent work with the editing as it is largely straightforward to play into the drama as well as a few moments of humor in the film. Production designer Tsai Cheng-pin does fantastic work with the look of the apartment Chin and Lung live in to play into this clash of their ideals along with the places they go to. Costume designer Chen Chih-chan does terrific work with the costumes as it is largely straightforward from the fashionable look of Chin to the more casual look of Lung. The sound work of Tu Tu-chih is superb as it play into the atmosphere of the locations that include a club where Ling takes Chin to and a bar where Lung almost gets into a fight as the music soundtrack features pieces from Lionel Richie, Kenny Loggins, Michael Jackson, and Tina Turner.
The film’s incredible cast feature some notable small roles from Lai Te-nan as an old baseball coach of Lung, Chen Shu-fang as an executive who wants to give a job to Chin, Ke I-cheng as an executive Chin worked for as he pines for her, Yang Li-yin as Ch’en’s wife who neglects her children in favor of gambling, Mei Fang as Chin’s mother, Wu Ping-nan as Chin’s estranged father whose financial troubles forces Lung to help him, Ke Su-yun as a former flame of Lung in Gwan who was also a childhood friend of Chin, Lin Hsiu-ling as Chin’s younger sister Ling who has an interest in American and Japanese culture, and Wu Nien-jen as Ch’en as a former baseball player turned cab driver who tries to help Lung find more work as they lament over their failures to become professional baseball players.
Finally, there’s the duo of Tsai Chin and Hou Hsiao-hsien in phenomenal performances in their respective roles as Chin and Lung. Hsiao-hsien provides this low-key yet somber performance as a man who feels like he’s lost as he tries to help out Chin’s estranged father and Ch’en but also lamenting over the fact that he could’ve been someone special in baseball. Chin’s performance is also reserved as a woman struggling to find a job as well as be part of this new Taiwan as well as a desire to go to America yet Chin also provides this frustration and anguish of a woman that wants to be a part of something instead of being out of step with the times like Lung as Chin and Hsiao-hsien also have this great rapport together in playing up this schism that is growing between their characters.
Taipei Story is a sensational film from Edward Yang that features great performances from Tsai Chin and Hou Hsiao-hsien. Along with its ensemble cast, themes of tradition vs. modernism, Yang’s lush music score with Yo-Yo Ma’s cello performances, and its ravishing visuals. The film is a captivating drama that explores a couple coming apart over changes and this need to conform to society with one of them unable to due to old values that he holds dearly. In the end, Taipei Story is a spectacular film from Edward Yang.
Edward Yang Films: (In Our Time-Desires/Expectations) – (That Day, on the Beach) – (The Terrorizers) – A Brighter Summer Day - (A Confucian Confusion) – (Mahjong) – Yi Yi
© thevoid99 2021
Directed by Edward Yang and screenplay by Yang, Hung Hung, Lai Ming-Tang, and Alex Yang, A Brighter Summer Day is the story of a boy living in 1960 Taiwan as he becomes infatuated with street gang violence, rock n’ roll, romance, and other things during a tumultuous time in the country. The film is a look into a period of time in the course of four years where innocence is lost as well as the emergence of Western culture into Taiwan and how it would affect the youth of the country as it is partially based on a real-life incident that would haunt the country for many years. Starring Chang Chen, Lisa Yang, Chang Kuo-Chu, Elaine Jin, Wang Chuan, Chang Han, Chiang Hsiu-Chiung, Wong Chi-Zan, Lawrence Ko, Tan Chih-Kang, Chang Ming-Hsin, Jung Chun-Lung, Zhou Hui-Guo, Tang Hisao-Tsui, Lin Hong-Ming, Bosen Wang, Chen Hung-Yu, Hsu Ming, and Cho Ming. A Brighter Summer Day is a majestic and evocative film from Edward Yang.
Set more than a decade after the Chinese Civil War, the film revolves the life of a teenage boy in 1960 Taiwan as he finds himself in the middle of a gang war over social and political differences while dealing with his first crush and the chaos in his family life. The film takes place in the course of an entire school year for this young boy as he deals with not just growing pains but also this crisis in identity at a time when many young kids and teenagers are trying to find their place in the world in this island wondering if they’re going to return to China or just settle in Taiwan for good. For their adult-parents and relatives, it’s not just wondering if they’re going to return to China but also the future of their own children whether they would remain in Taiwan or return to China.
The film’s screenplay that is written by Edward and Alex Yang with Hung Hung and Lai Ming-Tang follows a lot of different storyline and characters throughout the film yet the main narrative revolves around Xiao S’ir (Chang Chen) who is a fourteen year old boy who was once a bright and hard-working student as he’s first seen in this scene set in 1959 where his father (Chang Kuo-Chu) is pleading with an administrator to keep him in school forcing S’ir to attend night school with other juvenile delinquents. In this school, S’ir would befriend several students who are part of two different street gangs that come from different social circles. The Little Park kids are boys whose families work for the government while the 217 gang are children of military personnel as it causes some tension with S’ir leaning toward the Little Park kids as his father works for the government as well. He also befriends a few kids from the 217 faction as well as have his first major crush on a young girl named Ming (Lisa Yang) who he sees at the school.
The storyline relating S’ir is the main narrative as there’s also little subplots as it relates to his older brother Lao Er (Chang Han) who has been going to pool halls at night where he owes money to local hoods forcing him to steal family heirlooms where his older sister (Wang Chuan) is suspicious as it’s already creating problems for a family that is starting to crack due to financial issues and Mr. Xiao’s problems with the way things are working within the government which would get him in trouble with the authorities. The script also shows the sense of tension between the two factions which would intensify when the Little Parks’ leader Honey (Lin Hong-Ming) return when he hears that the two factions are making a deal which only causes more trouble. It would change things in the second half from this story about gangs in Taipei to the troubling aftermath involving violence and S’ir dealing with growing pains as well as the chaos in his family when his father is away. It would lead him to explore ideas of love and sex but also things he is unprepared for as it leads to a very eerie third act.
Edward Yang’s direction is truly entrancing for not just some of the compositions he creates but also for the setting and emphasis on what is happening during this time in Taiwan. Shot on location various locations in and around Taipei and other parts of Taiwan, the film is presented with this tone of something that is changing where everyone is still attached to the old ideas of pre-civil war China but it’s become less important as the reality of what Taiwan would become is evident. Yang would use a lot of wide shots to play into these rural locations as well as the different places these characters would go to such as an ice cream parlor or the home of a few posh kids who also attend the school that S’ir goes to. Yang would use some crane shots for a few of the wide shots while he would maintain an air of intimacy with his approach to close-ups and medium shots.
Yang’s direction also have these brief but intense moments of violence such as a gang attack during the second act where it’s more about the element of surprise and the intensity of the violence with S’ir watching very closely. It’s a moment that would play into his growth as a person where he is dealing with so much at a young age while still wanting to retain some idea of innocence by listening to Elvis Presley records with friends or play sports like baseball and basketball. The third act begins with the arrest of Mr. Xiao as it would set the tone for his own revelation about his own connections in the government. It would also play into S’ir as he would deal with jealousy, heartbreak, and the realities of his own upbringing as he lives in a rural area of Taipei while a few of his friends live in posh houses and have all of the freedoms that he couldn’t have. All of which would lead to something horrific as it would affect not just families but also kids forcing to come to terms with themselves in this small island they might live in forever. Overall, Yang crafts an intoxicating and rapturous film about the year in the life of a young boy coming of age in 1960s Taiwan.
Cinematographers Chang Hui-Kung and Li Long-Yu do amazing work with the film’s cinematography in the way it captures the gorgeous colors of some of the trees and mountain-field locations as well as the usage of lighting for some of the scenes set at night. Editor Bowen Chen does excellent work with the editing as it is largely straightforward for much of the film with the exception of the gang attack scene with its swift and frenetic editing that play into the action as well as sense of terror. Production designer Yu Wei-Yen and set decorator Edward Yang do brilliant work with the look of the home of the Xiao family as well as the ice cream parlor where they have a rock n’ roll band play every once in a while as well as some of the buildings at the town.
Costume designer Wu Le-Chin does fantastic work with the costumes from the khaki-like uniforms of the students as well as some of the clothes that was prevalent during the late 1950s/early 1960s including denim blue jeans in which a young girl is wearing. The sound work of Tu Duu-Chih is superb for the way it captures the atmosphere of live music as well as some of the natural sounds on a certain location. The film’s soundtrack consists a mixture of traditional Chinese and Japanese music as well as some rock n’ roll to play into the cultural divide between the old and new generation as much of the rock n’ roll music consists of songs made famous by Elvis Presley.
The film’s incredible cast feature some notable small roles and appearances from Cho Ming as the local store owner Uncle Fat, Tang Hsiao-Tsui as a young girl named Jade who would go out with Sly and later Ma, Bosen Wang and Zhou Hui-Guo as a couple of students in Deuce and Tiger respectively, Hsu Ming as a government official named Wang who is a friend of Mr. Xiao, Chang Ming-Hsin and Jung Chun-Lung as a couple of other students at the school who are in gangs in Underpants and Sex Bomb respectively, Stephanie Lai as S’ir’s youngest sister, Chiang Hsiu-Chiung as S’ir’s older middle sister who is religious, Lin Hong-Ming as a former gang leader in Honey who deals with his disappearance and disillusionment with gangs, and Lawrence Ko as one of S’ir’s close friends in Airplane who has an interest in girls and rock n’ roll like S’ir. Tan Chih-Kang is terrific as the rich delinquent Ma as a teenager that has managed to get a lot of girls while Chen Hung-Yu is superb as Sly as a member of the 217 gang whose father has connections to get people to play at venues he owns.
Wang Chuan is fantastic as S’ir’s eldest sister who knows how to speak English and can transcribe lyrics while eager to go to college in America. Chang Han is wonderful as S’ir’s eldest brother Lao Er as a young man who finds himself dealing with a gambling debt as well as trying to redeem himself only to be tempted back to that world of gambling. Wong Chi-Zan is brilliant as Cat as a young delinquent who befriends S’ir as he aspires to be a singer to express his love for Elvis. Elaine Jin is excellent as S’ir’s mother who copes with the financial struggles with the family as well as her concern for S’ir in his education. Chang Kuo-Chu is amazing as S’ir’s father as this government official that is eager to try and get his son back to day school as well as doing what he can to support his family only to become a suspect of espionage relating to his connection with Chinese officials. Lisa Yang is remarkable as Ming as a young teenager who is dating a gang leader as she struggles with her own family issues but also her identity as she becomes close to S’ir. Finally, there’s Chang Chen in a phenomenal performance as Xiao S’ir as a teenage boy who deals with growing pains as well as his own identity and role in the world while coping with love, rock n’ roll, and other things as it’s a very restrained as well as displaying that anguish and confusion into what teenagers go through.
A Brighter Summer Day is an outstanding film from Edward Yang. Featuring a great cast, gorgeous visuals, a riveting story of identity and growing up, and its setting during a crucial period in Taiwan’s history. It’s a film that offers so much in a story that is complex as well as displaying an intimate look into the life of a young boy in 1960s Taiwan. In the end, A Brighter Summer Day is a magnificent film from Edward Yang.
Edward Yang Films: (In Our Time-Desires/Expectations) – (That Day, on the Beach) – Taipei Story – (The Terrorizers) – (A Confucian Confusion) – (Mahjong) – Yi Yi
© thevoid99 2017
Written and directed by Edward Yang, Yi Yi: A One and a Two is the story of a year in the life of a middle-class family in Taipei, Taiwan where an engineer copes with a lot of things including the re-emergence of an old flame while his children both deal with growing pains. The film is a tale of a family’s life through three generations where a lot happens in the span of an entire year. Starring Nianzhen Wu, Elaine Jin, Kelly Lee, Jonathan Chang, and Issey Ogata. Yi Yi: A One and a Two is a dazzling and touching film from Edward Yang.
Set in the course of a year in Taipei, the film is about the life of a family where an engineer struggles with his job while dealing with all sorts of things in his family including his comatose mother and a wife who is being treated for depression. At the same time, an old flame returns to his life while his 8-year old son and 13-year old daughter both go into growing pains. It’s a film that goes through a lot where it begins with a wedding and ends with a funeral as it play into the many trials and tribulations of this family led by its patriarch in NJ (Nianzhen Wu). NJ is a man that tries to live honestly as he can not just at home but also at work where he is aware of the financial problems of his company as he wants to do things right.
Edward Yang’s screenplay is multi-layered in not just following NJ’s life but also his teenager daughter Ting-Ting (Kelly Lee) and eight year old son Yang-Yang (Jonathan Chang) who both go into their own adventures. Even NJ’s brother-in-law A-Di (Xisheng Chen) who gets married in the beginning of the film would have an arc as he deals with not just marriage but also an old flame and money troubles. All of which play into this family that isn’t just coping with changes but growing pains where NJ would go through a journey of his own while his wife Min-Min (Elaine Jin) would be away for treatment. Ting-Ting’s journey relates to being a go-between for her friend and her boyfriend where she finds herself falling in love for the latter while Yang-Yang becomes a troublemaker in school where he would discover a love for photography.
Yang’s direction is definitely understated as well as maintaining something that is quite very simple. Shot largely on location in Taipei with some shots set in Tokyo and towns near the city, Yang creates a film that is like a family portrait told in the span of a year. The first sequence is this wedding for A-Di and his bride Xiao Yin (Shushen Xiao) as it is quite lavish and lively where a lot happens during the reception. Even as it would introduce a lot of the characters in the film including NJ’s old girlfriend Sherry (Suyun Ke) who is at the hotel by pure coincidence as they hadn’t seen each other in 30 years. Much of the direction doesn’t include a lot of close-ups but rather a lot of medium and wide shots since there’s a lot of people that NJ and many of the characters would encounter including this Japanese software mogul named Ota (Issey Ogata) that NJ would have a personal connection with.
The direction also has Yang create scenes that parallel the journeys of characters such as NJ in Japan with Sherry where they look at the sites and then be inter-cut with Ting-Ting on a date with Fatty (Yupang Chang). It’s a sequence in the film’s second half that showcases the similarities between father and daughter while there are also moments that display an innocence as it relates to Yang-Yang. Yang would just let things play out naturally where it also showcases a family just trying to adjust as they’re also taking care of NJ’s comatose grandmother. Much of the drama is quite restrained as well as some of its intense moments while Yang would also inject some humor into the film where it all plays into how families deal with one another. Overall, Yang creates an intoxicating yet heartfelt film about the life of a family in the span of a year.
Cinematographers Weihan Yang and Longyu Li do brilliant work with the film‘s cinematography as it has this sense of natural yet evocative look for many of the scenes set in the daytime as well as in some of the interiors while many of the scenes at night have a stylish flair in its look while maintaining something that feels real. Editor Bowen Chen does nice work with the editing as it is mostly straightforward with some stylish cuts such as the sequence that parallel NJ and Ting-Ting‘s own outings as well as a few jump-cuts. Sound designer Duzhi Du does excellent work with the sound to capture the energy of the scenes at the wedding reception along with some of the moments that occur around the city. Production designer/music composer Kaili Peng, with art director Zhengkai Wang, does fantastic work with not just the look of the home of NJ but also the look of the reception and the Japanese restaurant that NJ eats with Ota. Peng’s score is amazing as it’s just mainly a somber piano with elements of blues-based guitars as it says a lot to film’s understated tone.
The film’s incredible cast include some notable small roles from Ruyun Tang as NJ’s comatose mother whom Ting-Ting is fond of, Adrian Lin as Ting-Ting’s friend/neighbor Lili, Michael Tao as NJ’s co-worker/friend Da-Da, Shuyuan Xu as Lili’s mother who would cause some serious trouble for her family, Yupang Chang as Lili’s boyfriend Fatty who would fall for Ting-Ting but also has feelings for Lili, Shushen Xiao as A-Di’s bride Xiao Yan who has a hard time being married to A-Di as well as being pregnant, and Xinyi Zeng as A-Di’s former girlfriend Yun-Yun who would help A-Di deal with some debts despite being treated with disdain by Xiao Yan. Suyun Ke is wonderful as NJ’s former girlfriend Sherry Chang-Breitner as a woman NJ hadn’t seen in three decades where they re-establish a friendship where Ke displays an anguish and heartbreak over the fact that she still loves NJ. Xisheng Chen is superb as NJ’s brother-in-law A-Di as this young man coping with marriage as well as money problems where he is reluctant to turn to his brother-in-law for help.
Issey Ogata is fantastic as the Japanese software mogul Ota as a man who is about principles and doing what is right as he proves to be someone that NJ can work with as well as trust in the very devious world of business. Elaine Jin is excellent as NJ’s wife Min-Min as a doctor who has been taking care of NJ’s comatose mother until she has a nervous breakdown that would put her temporarily out of action for much of the film. Jonathan Cheng is brilliant as Yang-Yang as this 8-year old boy who takes an interest in photography despite being mocked by the school principal as his curiosity and energy makes the character a delight to watch. Kelly Lee is amazing as Ting-Ting as a teenage girl who copes with her grandmother’s illness as she also experiences love for the very first time as it is presented with a natural and understated performance. Finally, there’s Nianzhen Wu in a tremendous performance as NJ as a father who tries to bring the family together while dealing with the chaos of his professional life as well as the appearance of an old flame where he admits to still have feelings for her but also loves his family as it’s a performance that is restrained but also touching.
Yi Yi: A One and a Two is a magnificent film from Edward Yang. Featuring a great cast, gorgeous images, wonderful music, and compelling themes on family and growing up. It’s a film that manages to be more than just a family drama as it offers so much in the way a family’s life is told in the span of one year. In the end, Yi Yi: A One and a Two is an outstanding film from Edward Yang.
Edward Yang Films: (In Our Time-Desires/Expectations) - (That Day, on the Beach) - Taipei Story - (The Terrorizers) - A Brighter Summer Day - (A Confucian Confusion) - (Mahjong)
© thevoid99 2016
