I can’t really explain to you what it is that makes “Yi Yi” such a good movie. It sure isn’t the plot, which can be summed up in about three sentences despite the film’s three hour running time. It isn’t even the originality of the conflicts — frankly, on paper, nothing interesting happens in “Yi Yi,” a story about an extended family (and a family of neighbors) going through every day struggles in life. There’s just enough soap opera going on to keep the shred of a story moving but, basically, we are totally in the hands of Edward Yang who is somehow creating an engrossing picture out of thin air. What does it is the quality of the acting and, more importantly, the unique shooting style and, to some extent, that we in the US don’t see that much every day footage of life in a modern Asian city. This film is a great antidote for anyone convinced that all Asian films involve swordfights and kickboxing. Someone out there online quipped that Edward Yang is like the Eric Rohmer gone to Taipei — that’s true to a sense, if Rohmer were to have a more adventuresome color palette and more curious framing. Also: many fantastic uses (perhaps the most in one movie I’ve ever seen?) of the “Magnificent Ambersons shot” where a reflection and a subject are blended in a shot of/through a window.
Now: question: why did it take me so long to see “Yi Yi?” It seems like it is right up my alley, it got terrific reviews when it came out — J. Hoberman liked it, the French liked it, it played an extended (and extended) run at Film Forum. What gives? Truth: I could never get past the marketing. Take a look at the American poster.
I remember when my friend Ed suggested we see “Yi Yi” and I pointed to the poster and said, “Come on, I’m gonna spend three hours with this adoreable kid as he has life lessons??! Please, I don’t have time for that!” And while the adoreable kid probably did get some butts in seats, it is a (thank god) misleading poster. The kid isn’t in it that much and, while he is adoreable, there are no swelling strings as he learns life lessons. (Yi Yi isn’t the kid’s name.) It isn’t another Kolya. (Another movie I never saw.)
