Yi Yi

Watched in the Filmhouse, Scotland Yi Yi is a film I've been eagerly trying to watch for a while now, and I even recently picked up the 4K criterion. But now that I got the chance to catch this in a very cool cinema, I know I had to take it. This is my first Edward Yang film, so this is definitely hard to compare to anything I have ever seen. This is a tale about everything in life you can think of, and its execution couldn't have been better, which is super impressive, considering its gigantic scale. The story is pretty much a slice of life, revolving around a family living a mostly quiet life in a Taiwanese town. All of the individual family members have their own narratives that partly come together in a beautiful way. All of them go through incredible character development and all have their own complications and problems. I can't even say which one is my favorite character, as they all feel so grounded and authentic, thanks to the one-of-its-kind writing. Music plays a big part in this film, and I love the usage of it. It's filled with a beautiful soundtrack while also keeping the topic itself relevant with thematic depth. It's full of wisdom and perspectives that are so inspiring and thoughtful. The direction, of course, is phenomenal, and I can't believe Edward Yang pulled this off. The performances are astonishing from everyone, and the screenplay shows how far it can really go in this spectrum. The pacing was quite nice, considering the 3 hours didn't feel like a task at all and my eyes were glued to the screen. I did feel the length at times, but not necessarily in a bad way. All in all, Yi Yi just undeniably is a perfect film. From the very first smile to the final speech, everything felt in harmony and like it absolutely knew its identity. This is a masterpiece that will stay with me for a while until I eventually rewatch this to get more and more out of it, since I feel like there's something to miss in every frame. 9.5/10