Yi Yi
Rewatching Yi Yi in theaters might be the second best decision I've made in the past five years. Rewatching Yi Yi after seeing everything Edward Yang has to offer in his short-lived but legendary directorial career is the best decision I've made in the past five years.
To say that you must rewatch Yi Yi if you've finished all of Edward Yang's films is an understatement. My initial thoughts on Yi Yi when I'd first seen it a few months ago was that it was too huge that it almost tethered on being formless, if that makes sense. In trying to say so much about everything through such quiet poetry, it couldn't possibly tackle everything satisfactorily. I can safely say that that criticism is simply no longer an issue. Min Min's subplot of losing her identity through societal roles is intentionally underdeveloped compared to everything else because we've seen this theme tackled before in other Yang's movies, notably Terrorizers. Yang doesn't seem to develop the erosion of Taiwan identity through Western invasion other than a cheeky McDonald's joke? Just watch Mahjong. The almost out of nowhere and weirdly dark yet comical way Ting Ting' subplot ends? It's a homage to A Brighter Summer Day, Yang's even poking fun at it in a clever parody. NJ's plot of reuniting with his first love is a fantastic callback to That Day on The Beach, like a "What If?" scenario for two other characters in that movie. Everything feels almost similar to other Yang's movies, but this time it's filtered through the eyes of someone who has clearly grown and matured throughout the course of his filmmaking career.
There's nothing in his filmography that's quite like Yi Yi. This movie is light like air while all his other movies feel oppressive. Sure, there's messed up and dark things happening in this one as with all his other films, but even then it never threatens to upset the tranquility or zen in this film. It does an impressive balancing act of immersing you into the problems of the characters, but also pulling back and showing you how small their problems really are in the large scale of life. The parallels are woven in the very editing itself, with NJ and Sherry's first love frequently jumping to Ting Ting and Yang Yang's "first love". It gives the movie such weight and power, that the initially formless and many thesis-es finally come into shape.
After watching through all his movies, Yi Yi finally unlocks its secrets. And I have to say, it might just be the most rewarding cinematic experience I've had the honour to have.
PS: Not much else to add other than how much I love the characters. NJ is such a likable, realistic and powerful lead, Yang Yang and Mr Ota are simply the purest characters ever put to film (that one take magic trick is just...wow), Ting Ting deserves absolutely zero of that bullshit given to her, and I felt a lot more for Sherry this time around.