YI YI - A ONE AND A TWO ©1+2 Seisaku Iinkai
Edward Yang’s Yi Yi (Yi Yi – A One and a Two): a depiction of modern struggles
Winner of the Award for Best Director in Cannes in 2000, Yi Yi (Yi Yi – A One and a Two) was Edward Yang’s last feature film. This intimate depiction, which is today considered to be one of the greats of contemporary Asian cinema, resonates as a human and melancholy testament of the Taiwanese director. Now newly restored and presented as part of The Cannes Classics selection.
Born in 1947 in Shanghai and trained in electrical engineering in the United States before turning to cinema, Edward Yang directed That Day, on the Beach, his first feature film, in 1983. He subsequently directed films that have become essential viewing such as Taipei Story (1985) and A Brighter Summer Day (1991), both centered on social change going on in Taiwan at the time, and which made him a leading figure in Taiwan New Wave Cinema.
A subtle auteur and a perfectionist, Edward Yang’s style combines fixed shots, meticulous composition and spliced timelines. Behind his precise and elegant narration appears a sharp view of modern society, personified through characters with deep-rooted flaws.
“I don’t want to impose my point of view. I want to present things as naturally and as neutrally as possible, and leave it up to the viewers to make up their own mind,” states Yang to explain why he loves filming from a distance so much: to better portray the silence or uncomfortable moments, where everything is playing out internally.
A father in crisis, his lost teenage daughter and his young dreamer son navigate remorse, hope and disappointment. Yi Yi (Yi Yi – A One and a Two) follows the Jian family in Taipei. Through the overlapping gazes of three generations, Yang masterfully and delicately depicts ordinary struggles, showing the regrets of the past and the uncertainties of the future. A delicate and melancholy family saga, Yi Yi (Yi Yi – A One and a Two) represents the pinnacle of Edward Yang’s work.
