YI YI (7.9/10)

Edward Yang, 2000.
The story chronicles a year in the life of an upper middle class family living in contemporary Taiwan, beginning with a wedding and ending with a funeral. Each of the family members have their own distinct subplots; ranging from the innocent misadventures of a youth exploring the world, to the pangs of adolescence, to the difficulty of realizing ones place in the world, and the reflections on a life lived. The remarkable thing is that while each story has its own progression, character development, climax, and resolution it fits in with perfect harmony to the overall dynamic of the story. In essence it is akin to watching numerous short films within the framework of a larger picture; Yang does this exceptionally well.

Yi Yi is easily one of the best films I have seen in the past six months. However, for the death of me I could not think of anything insightful to say about it. Recently I realized that while amazingly well done, it is not the least bit interesting; the family leads a relatively vapid existence, granted they have their moments but overall their story is definitely not extraordinary by any means. The film is successful because the average viewer can relate to it. While only a select few can recall the bittersweet experience of discovering a severed human ear in a field, everyone can relate to the joys of affirming life and the sorrows of death, to the idiosyncrasies of family and friends. This ability to connect to the characters on a personal level makes the film extremely enjoyable to watch, and is the same reason why Homer, Marge, Lisa, Bart and Maggie Simpson are icons of global popular culture.