Blu-Ray Review: Criterion Collection Inducts Taiwanese Masterpiece ‘Yi Yi’

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CHICAGO – Taiwan has an interesting cinematic history, as outlined in the strong interview with Asian-cinema critic Tony Rayns on the recently-released Blu-ray of Edward Yang’s “Yi Yi (A One and a Two…).” The country didn’t really have a film industry until the ’50s and then it was purely propaganda for the next several decades as China tried to win over the hearts of the residents after taking over from Japan. Consequently, the films of Taiwan have an interesting perspective on history and arguably the best film in the nation’s entire existence captures that perspective in the beloved “Yi Yi.”

Blu-Ray Rating: 4.5/5.0

Yang uses an epic running time (near three hours) to tell an intimate story, that of a family over the course of an average year. Starring the great Nianzhen Wu, one of the pioneers in the changing Taiwanese cinema in the ’70s, “Yi Yi” is a simple story, well-told. It opens with a wedding and ends with a funeral, and features a range of human emotions throughout. It is a film with laughing, crying, heartache, romance, regret, and happiness. It is about interesting people living life as so many of us do, through rituals such as weddings, funerals, births, etc. We mark our years and really our lives by such moments. “Yi Yi” is a deceptively simple film, one that lingers in the memory like the great stories always do.

Yi Yi was released on Blu-Ray on March 15th, 2011
Photo credit: Courtesy of The Criterion Collection

It is not a film for everyone given its pace, but those wishing there were more human stories told in the era of CGI should definitely check it out. And, of course, it’s a perfect fit for the Criterion Collection, a modern international classic that deserves the rapturous acclaim it has achieved (it made many lists of the best films of the decade) and seems like a natural inclusion in the most important series in DVD and Blu-ray history.

Yi Yi was released on Blu-Ray on March 15th, 2011 Photo credit: Courtesy of The Criterion Collection

This time around, the special features are a bit underwhelming, although the aforementioned interview is very interesting and Rayns also appears on a commentary track. Of course, the visual restoration is perfect. The colors feel soft, not overly polished for 1080p but “just right.” The movie looks great. I forgot about the excellence of the film’s cinematography and Yang’s subtle eye for composition. The audio track is perfectly appropriate with a solid 2.0 Mandarin track.

Fans of The Criterion Collection probably have a healthy collection of French and Japanese cinema but might not have a single Taiwanese entry on their shelf. If you’re looking for a cinematic journey into a part of the world that you may not know about already, you couldn’t make a better choice than the Criterion Collection edition of “Yi Yi (A One and a Two…).”

Synopsis:
“The extraordinary internationally embraced Yi Yi, directed by the late Taiwanese master Edward Yang, follows a middle-class family in Taipei over the course of one year, beginning with a wedding and ending with a funeral. Whether chronicling middle-aged father NJ’s tentative flirtations with an old flame or precocious young son Yang-Yang’s attempts at capturing reality with his beloved camera, the filmmaker deftly imbues every gorgeous frame with a compassionate clarity. Warm, sprawling, and dazzling, this intimate epic is one of the undisputed masterworks of the new century.”

Special Features:
o Audio commentary by writer-director Edward Yang and noted Asian-cinema critic Tony Rayns
o Video interview with Rayns about the New Taiwanese Cinema movement
o U.S. theatrical trailer
o A booklet featuring an essay by film writer Kent Jones and notes from the director

By BRIAN TALLERICO Content Director HollywoodChicago.com brian@hollywoodchicago.com