A Brighter Summer Day

I’ve often thought about how film is a unique creative expression in that the limits of greatness are almost unparalleled. This film is perhaps the best example of that fact. What makes Edward Yang so great is that his films smother you with the world they create, making you engrossed in the world, then stabbing you in the chest with an explosive moment. You are always following the plot, and the details are meticulously laid out so the plot is moving steadily throughout a very long runtime, but you get so engrossed in the world he builds that everything feels sudden. There is so much depth, so much nuance, so much artistic intention to every shot, I could watch this film once a year for the rest of my life and find something new in almost every frame every time without fail. But beyond that, this film is a tragic tale of the effects of insecurity, military instability, and the soul crushing effects of adolescent love. A film this long guarantees every character gets their screen time and Yang does not squander a second making anyone feel less important. A story in equal parts universal and deeply, deeply personal. If Yi Yi is a reflection of Edward Yang’s bleak view of the cruxes of the contemporary Taiwanese family, then A Brighter Summer’s Day is his diary of the painful journey that brought forth the former.