Yi Yi

Last Saturday, while I was doing my usual Ashar prayers in the afternoon, this movie popped out into my head and at that moment I realized: i have to watch this movie asap. and then, I decided to download it (again). It's very usual for me actually, to download it again while the first file has already been on my computer. The download finished at the next day; it took a long time for it to finish because the services in my area is still unwell because of the heavy rainstorm disaster in my town and the surrounding areas. I've had a rough time actually because of this calamity. It's been weeks, and the internet and electricity still haven't been recovered yet. my government sucks a lot. can't do a task that easily. Anyway, this movie has been on my watchlist for quite a long time and I never got the chance to see it because I got so many watching slumps for the past time. This movie has a runtime about almost 3 hours and it seems impossible for me to watch it for a one sitting because I didn't have quite enough time to give it a shot. But now, i finally got the chance to see it. This is my first Edward Yang movie btw. Before this film, i actually wanted to watch A Brighter Summer Day, first. But because it is so long, i've decided to watch it for some other time. Compare to the film It's a Wonderful Life by Frank Capra, i can tell this movie has the exact same themes of it and that is: the meaning of life. everyone keeps going through their daily lives but never ask one question: what is the meaning of life? Just like George Bailey, NJ struggles to maintain his life while dealing with his own problems and his family's — troubles always come and no one is there to help you. But the truth is, you are not alone. Your work may seem burdening your life but that doesn't mean you will let it get in the way. Life has more purpose than your work. Life is more meaningful than that. Once you started to realize that your life is turning upside down, you will realize that your family is there to help you—even though they have their own personal problems as well. We had dreams but that doesn't mean that we can let it ruin our lives. We can chase it, but most importantly we can't let our relationship to our loved ones be abandoned. There is quote from the movie "we never live the same day twice". It means everytime we get up in the morning, brushing our teeth, go to work, there is always something new to will never happen again. Even though it may look the same, but there's always a new change whether it's in our family or society itself. Yi Yi has a meaningful message within it. Just like It's Wonderful Life, it taught us to cherished the lives that we've already had. everyday is meaningful and unique. even though we don't have the life we've wanted at least we must try to move on and appreciate life better. trouble will always come, but we must face it bravely. This movie is giving us so many messages but sadly not many have watched it. it's so sad that Taiwan didn't make a submission for this movie at the oscars but instead they submit Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon—which is fine though, i still love that movie; Ang Lee is a brilliant visionary for the Asian cinema. cmiiw because i don't know how the Academy Award submissions actually works lol. Anyhow this film is a brilliant masterpiece that it may seem long but deserves to be one of the top ranks of mainstream cinema. I consider this movie to be the best of 2000s. Thank You Edward Yang, for giving us the opportunity to experience life more grateful than ever.