Yi-Yi (2000)

VHS CASE

Length of film:  173 Minutes

Rated: 15

Genre: Drama, Romance

Director: Edward Yang

Starring: Nien- Jen Wu, Elaine Jin, Issei Ogata, Kelly Lee, Jonathan Chang, Hsi-Sheng Chen, Su- Yun Ko, Pang Chang Yu

IMDB Rank: 8.1 /10

Part 1 Time: 86 Minutes

Part 2 Time: 87 Minutes

Where does the first part end? Yang-Yang (Jonathan Chang) hides in a classroom while watching a film about the origins of life.

Final line of dialogue on the first part: “It’s believed that thunder created all life on earth 400 million years ago, a bolt of lightning created the first amino acid the origin of life. That was the beginning of everything,” states a narrator within the film Yang-Yang is watching.

First line of dialogue on the second part: Ting-Ting (Kelly Lee) stands in the rain on a street corner. She meets Fatty (Pang Chang Yu) and states, “I can’t help you! You two can’t fight like this!”

How jarring is it when the first part ends? Minimal, as all the primary and secondary characters are in the midst of dealing with their particular life changing situations. How will these events ultimately affect each individual?

Which part is better? The film explores the struggles, conflicts, and feelings of family members as they deal with various situations at different life stages. Many of the intertwining plot arcs are not resolved until the second half of the film, which does a fantastic job of showing the raw human emotions (i.e.love, loneliness, commitment and frustration) within each character. For this reason part two is better than the first half.

Academy Awards: None

Other Awards: 2000 Palme d’Or (Nominated)