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Wu Nien-Chen, Elaine Jin, Kelly Lee, Chen Xisheng, Jonathan Chang ... see more see more... , Ru-Yun Tang , Hsu Shu Yuan , Issei Ogata , Nianzhen Wu , Nien-Jen Wu , Hsi-Sheng Chen , Su-Yun Ko

Master Taiwanese director Edward Yang spins this intricate and complex yarn about life's everyday crises. The film focuses on N.J. Jian (Wu Nien-Jen, a noted writer/director in his own right); his wif... read more read more...e, Min-Min (Elaine Jin); and their two children, teenager Ting-Ting (Kelly Lee) and young Yang-Yang (Jonathan Chang). Their middle-class existence seems stable and secure until a series of incidents throws all of their lives out of kilter. The misfortunes start at the wedding of Min-Min's ne'er-do-well brother, Ah-Di (Chen Xisheng), when his jilted ex-girlfriend Yun-Yun (Tseng Hsin-yi) bursts into the proceedings and lambastes the bride. Upset by the ruckus and feeling unwell, Min-Min's mother goes home early only to suffer a stroke and slip into a coma. After the wedding, N.J. runs into his first love, Sherry (Ke Suyun), who is married to a rich American. This chance encounter shakes N.J. to his very foundations, forcing him to reevaluate his life. At the same time, N.J.'s computer company deliberates on whether or not to collaborate with a renowned Japanese games designer, Ota (Issey Ogata), sending N.J. to Japan to negotiate a contract. Confronted by her mother's coma, Min-Min also takes stock of her life and finds it lacking. On the brink of a nervous breakdown, she suddenly joins a religious retreat. In Japan, N.J. warms to his potential business partner Ota, spending long evenings discussing life and love in hip Tokyo jazz clubs. There, N.J. also meets up with Sherry; they relive old memories and flirt with infidelity. At the same, Ting-Ting, who quietly blames herself for her grandmother's coma, learns her first hard lessons about love, while Yang-Yang causes trouble at school and wrestles with the truths of the adult world. This film won the Golden Palm for Best Direction at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival and was an official selection for the 2000 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

Flixster Users

91% liked it

6,658 ratings

Critics

96% liked it

78 critics

Unrated, 2 hr. 53 min.

Directed by: Edward Yang

Release Date: October 6, 2000

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DVD Release Date: May 8, 2001

Stats: 565 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (565)

  • SirPant
    May 16, 2011
    SirPant
    I was going to state that this is a melodrama of epic proportions but thinking about it its really not a melodrama at all. It is epic though and not just because it's 3 hours long, but because it fits all aspects of life into such a short amount of time so delicately you could be... read more forgiven for not realising how much you've actually witnessed. Nearly every aspect of life is covered, it's never preachy or convoluted or contrived though, the attention to detail is very through too, it's a brilliantly observed slice of life. The conclusion made by the little boy through his photographs is cinema gold and sums up the film perfectly. This is a real joy to watch, make sure you're not interrupted for 3 three hours and indulge yourself, you won't regret it!
  • jennifxu
    April 30, 2011
    jennifxu
    Much much duller than I had anticipated but strangely, thoroughly watchable. Everything hits you later, in your bed, hours after you finish the film. Its premise is extremely simple but it's a very portrait of a family, their neighbors, and their loves.
  • binky013
    July 22, 2010
    binky013
    Why are we afraid of the first time? Every day in life is a first time. Every morning is new. We never live the same day twice. We're never afraid of getting up every morning. Why?

    I'm still puzzling over the authenticity of this line from Mr. Ota. I'm not altogether sure th

    ... read moreis movie supports his assertion.

    In other words, I'm thinking his statement may be ironic given the way this film goes.

    Aside from a kind of surprising murder that I'm also still puzzling over, this is a very gentle and fairly objective examination of the very partially understood nature of the lives we live. The difference between what we can do to direct our lives and the way that our lives become directed by forces outside ourselves and often beyond our control is examined in the lives of many characters in this film. Perhaps even more important is the idea that we cannot understand our lives fully, no matter how hard we may try to do so. The clock is ticking loudly here, and it is impossible to slow down our being swept up in the forward movement of time. For most of us, we do the best we can, with what little time we have, and with what little we know or understand of our lives, and we hope for the best.
  • lesleyanorton
    May 13, 2010
    lesleyanorton
    Taiwanese drama about three generations of family (though the granny spends most of her screen time in a coma). Slow moving and detailed but it grows on you, like films will when they're nearly three hours long.
  • AlexHallTheFilmMaker
    January 18, 2012
    AlexHallTheFilmMaker
    One of the few films that I can think of other than Robert Bresson's "Au Hasard Balthazar" or Vittorio De Sica's neo-realist masterpiece "The Bicycle Thief" that truly encapsulates the human experience. Isn't that the over all goal of cinema, anyways?
  • georgej20088
    June 2, 2009
    georgej20088
    Great long movie, a little bit of everything, thinking movie and family relationships... Japanese view...
  • Darrenth
    June 1, 2008
    Darrenth
    The observant Edward Yang turns his camera on the everyday life of a middle-class family, resuscitating the stagnant genre of family ethics films. Pungent alienation hovers over the air of Taipei, where the characters struggle to find consolation and connection in strangers, frie... read morends, and family. In this bittersweet masterpiece, the late Taiwanese director affirms that the most moving work of art is rooted in the quotidian. The thrills of sexual seduction, the sweet intoxication of first love, the drabness of routine work, the undercurrent of bourgeois anxiety, the clamorous joy of wedding, the throbbing pain of death are masterfully interwoven into an ode to city life.
  • kklee3
    March 15, 2008
    kklee3
    a triumph of the human spirit. i hate that phrase. but i think it applies in this case. this thoughtful and sensitive examination of life, love, and longing stands out like pink balloons in a sea of limp magnolias and little yellow vans.
  • flixsterbum
    December 31, 2007
    flixsterbum
    I wouldn't recommend this to just anyone; this is a movie for pretty hardcore film lovers. It's a very slow, beautifully composed film that follows the life of a family in Taiwan through the course of a year. The shots themselves are beautifully arranged. There is very little ... read morecamera movement, mostly static shots with long takes, but composed in such a way that they make ordinary places like living rooms and hallways lovely to look at. My only complaint is that it felt like all the characters were kept at a distance from us. With the exception of the mother's frustration with not know what to say to her mother, all of the emotional scenes are shot from long shot, and in some cases with the characters' backs to us, so we're never really let in and must watch as mere voyeurs. And while there was some humor throughout, all of it very sly and subtle, besides A-Di everyone was so unbelievably somber throughout, even little Yang Yang, who delivered some funny lines with Buster Keaton seriousness. There were no moments of genuine happiness and laughter, every smile and chuckle tinged with sadness and regret. Still and all, an artfully contructed film that's worth the experience.
  • eatsatjoes
    July 1, 2007
    eatsatjoes
    Very good film. A transitional film of growth and learning by understanding, laughter, and sadness. Very cute film!

View All Yi Yi Reviews

Critic Reviews

Geoff Pevere
May 21, 2001
Geoff Pevere, Toronto Star

Life-affirming in the most genuine, respectful and least mechanical sense. Full Review

Rick Groen
May 14, 2001
Rick Groen, Globe and Mail

The artistry is undeniable -- tough insights blended with graceful compassion, gloomy certainties flecked with rays of hope. Full Review

Peter Travers
May 8, 2001
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

A marvel of delicacy and humor.

Chris Vognar
April 26, 2001
Chris Vognar, Dallas Morning News

This intimate family portrait peels away layer after layer of unspoken truth and hidden life. Full Review

Carrie Rickey
March 22, 2001
Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer

Keenly observed.

Joe Baltake
March 12, 2001
Joe Baltake, Sacramento Bee

The filmmaker and his young hero are both obsessed with the minutiae of life, and together they sensitize us to it. Full Review

Michael Atkinson
March 2, 2001
Michael Atkinson, Mr. Showbiz

A five-course meal of a movie, with drinks, for mature moviegoers for whom most films have come to resemble brainless carnival rides, not works of art.

Eric Harrison
March 2, 2001
Eric Harrison, Houston Chronicle

Chances are, you'll watch most of it with a smile on your face, and you'll miss these characters when it's over. Full Review

Roger Ebert
March 2, 2001
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

Only rarely is a film this observant and tender about the ups and downs of daily existence. Full Review

Michael Wilmington
March 1, 2001
Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune

An amazing experience: as if a TV soap opera, packed with the usual catastrophes, were done with unaccustomed depth and real storytelling genius.

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

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