Only four movies in today’s blog, but the first, A Brighter Summer Day, is 4 hours long (and the fourth is 3 hours) so that balances out. The breakout from Taiwanese director Edward Yang and widely called his masterpiece (and one of the best films of the 90s), it follows a teenager named Si’r who’s just been demoted to night school for poor grades. His father begs to allow Si’r to stay in day school, knowing that night school is rife with gangs and ne’er-do-wells, but the administration is adamant. In the beginning, Si’r is able to skate the boundary between the 217s and the Little Park Boys, but his good friend is a member of the latter group, even while Si’r gains the ire of Sly, who is currently leading the gang. Si’r is also attracted to Ming, whose boyfriend is the “true’ leader of the Little Park Boys, but he’s been away and hiding, with a rumor that he’s running from the police for killing a member of the 217s. A new rough-and-tumble kid in the area, Ma, is also out to stake a claim in the hierarchy. This film has a ton of characters and a lot of moving parts, so much so that it can make your head spin for awhile (doesn’t help obviously that it isn’t in my native language), but I did eventually catch up. The struggle is well worth the payoff in the end. It takes place around 1960, a tumultuous time in Taiwan. Si’r and others his age are too young to remember living in mainland China, but their parents have gone through much in the last decade or so, going from living under Japanese rule before WW2, to independence, to fleeing China when communists came out on top during the civil war. They still think they’ll eventually return to China once “the commies fall.” All of this is shown in the movie as a backdrop, and it later comes to the fore, when Si’r’s father is questioned by authorities over his former friends and colleagues, now communists. Si’r is trying to navigate all of this, and while he wants to do good, his slow path towards a calamitous event that shook the nation (which really happened, this is actually based on a true story) is enthralling. ★★★★½
Yang’s next film, A Confucian Confusion, is much different in feel. Taking place in modern day and a comedy to boot, it also has a large cast. Molly runs a media production company. Her fiance Akeem suspects she is having an affair, but with whom is the big question. Birdy produces plays and is Molly’s old friend, and he likes to womanize with interns and whatnot. Qiqi is Molly’s assistant, and her boyfriend Ming has his sights on Molly too. Feng is the new girl at the office, and the accountant Larry has problems of his own. All of these characters flit in and out of each other’s paths in a round-about story. Not nearly as engaging as A Brighter Summer Day, these characters are all one-dimensional, and they don’t talk or react like adults, more like children. I had a hard time connecting, or frankly liking, any of these people. There are some funny moments in the last 40 minutes when all hell breaks loose, which re-arrested my attention, but there’s no emotional depth here. ★★½
Mahjong is another comedy, but I enjoyed this one a lot more. The characters were certainly easier to follow, even though there’s a lot of them and all are constantly in motion. The main core is a group of 4 roommates, “Red Fish,” “Hong Kong,” Luen-Luen, and “Little Buddha.” They share everything, even girlfriends, but each is on a different path. Red Fish holds a lot of animosity towards his absent father, who he thinks ran off with a woman, but in reality the father is dodging debts. When Red Fish sees the woman who began the affair a decade ago, he convinces Hong Kong to sleep with her and Little Buddha to hustle her. Luen-Luen seems to be along for the ride for the most of the film, but he has an important role to play with Marthe, a French woman who came to Taipei for an ex-lover but who is left stranded with no money. The only one in the group who speaks English, Luen-Luen acts as translator and takes Marthe under his wing to protect her from hustlers, even those who are his friends. Lots of side plots involving Angela, Jay (a flamboyant hair stylist), and Red Fish’s dad. It’s a very funny movie, but also lots of emotion here and there, especially with Luen-Luen and Marthe. ★★★½
Yi Yi is film perfection. A quiet, understated film but with huge emotional heft, it follows a family of four in Taipei: father NJ, mother Min-Min, teenage daughter Ting-Ting, and 8-year-old son Yang-Yang. One day, Min-Min’s elderly mother falls and hits her head, landing in a coma. Ting-Ting is wracked with guilt, because grandma fell while taking out the trash, which was supposed to be Ting-Ting’s chore. The comatose grandma is moved into an extra room in the apartment, and the doctor encourages the family members to each talk to her, saying she may hear them even if she isn’t responding. For Min-Min, the pressure is too great, and she leaves to go to a retreat. Ting-Ting finds solace in a new boyfriend, who is the ex of her neighbor. Lots of drama incoming from that triangle. NJ runs into an old flame, Sherry, whom he almost married 30 years ago before disappearing the night before the two were to elope, and the two reconnect and talk old times. Yang-Yang is often bullied at school, by other children and a terrible teacher, and he takes comfort in a new hobby of photography. He is often the forgotten member of the family, with everyone else dealing with their own stuff. This is poignantly shown when the camera he’s been shooting with is developed, and it’s just the back of peoples’ heads, though he says its because he’s trying to show people things they can’t see themselves. Ignoring him leads to a frightening moment late in the film. Absolutely incredible movie. I love this quote from Kenneth Turan in his review upon the film’s release in 2000, “It’s a delicate film but a strong one, graced with the ability to see life whole, the grief hidden in happiness as well as the humor inherent in sadness.” Tragically Edward Yang never gave us any more masterpieces. He died at the young age of 59 in 2007 after a 7 year battle with colon cancer. ★★★★★
- TV series recently watched: Mayor of Kingstown (season 4), Pluribus (season 1), Tulsa King (season 3)
- Book currently reading: Amber and Blood by Margaret Weis
Jons Movie Takes 