July 25, 2012 - "Yi Yi" (2000)

Yi Yi, 2000
Director: Edward Yang
Origin: Taiwan | Japan
Languages: Mandarin | Hokkien
Running time: 173 min

Among movie critics' highest-rated foreign films of 2000, Yi Yi chronicles three generations of a Taiwanese family mired in a crisis of self-doubt. The film focuses mostly on computer worker N.J. (Nien-Jen Wu) and his wife and two children. A chance meeting with a former lover compels N.J. to question the assumptions on which his life is based. Warm and thoughtful, Yi Yi posits that truth is something we may never know. (from Netflix.com)

U.S. box office: $901,359

----

Review of last week's film ("Something Like Happiness", four stars)
Steven says: The theme of this movie centers around what passes for happiness. We've been here before with similarly titled films, but the relationships seem more real, more grounded in truth. For sure, the characters aren't normal - what would a movie be with normal people in it, right? But their struggles, emotions, and consequences are places we've been ourselves. The introductory scenes are sparse and lack engagement, but somewhere in the 20-25 minute range, everything clicks and there's no turning back. You'll love, despise, ache and cringe throughout this movie.