Yi Yi - A One and a Two (2000) — Review

I finally got around to watching Yi Yi, an epic family drama by the late Edward Yang. It took me quite some time to obtain a copy since it’s pretty much unavailable in Europe.

I ended up borrowing the DVD from the library. American audiences, on the other hand, got a nice Criterion Collection release. Why is such a great film not available in Europe?

I was a little bit sceptical at first — because of all the universal acclaim this movie regularly receives. But Yi Yi really does deserve all the praise it gets. Yang masterfully arranges the various episodes about each member of a upper class family from Taipei into a coherent whole, all the while employing impressive cinematography. The cross cutting is some of the best I ever saw, it seems almost effortless and even surpasses Chris Nolan’s. Some time has passed since watching the movie but the stories still resonate with me.

Edward Yang takes his time in Yi Yi, proving the confidence of a seasoned director. The stories are interspersed with interesting stretches of philosophical dialogue. What probably surprised me the most about Yi Yi are Yang’s comments on video games (!) here. He sneaks in some profound game criticism into what is is ostensibly a family drama. So there you have it: even more reason to give Yi Yi a shot. If you can find it.