Yi yi (2000)

Director:

Edward Yang

Writer:

Edward Yang (written by)

Release Date:

20 September 2000 (France)

Genre:

Drama | Music | Romance

Plot:

Each member of a family in Taipei asks hard questions about life's meaning as they live through everyday quandaries...

Plot Keywords:

Love | Coma | Business | Money | First Love

Awards:

9 wins & 11 nominations

Cast

Nien-Jen Wu	...	N.J.
Elaine Jin	...	Min-Min
Issei Ogata	...	Ota
Kelly Lee	...	Ting-Ting
Jonathan Chang	...	Yang-Yang
Hsi-Sheng Chen	...	Ah-Di
Su-Yun Ko	...	Sherry
Shu-shen Hsiao	...	Hsiao Yen
Adriene Lin	...	Li-Li
Pang Chang Yu	...	Fatty
Ru-Yun Tang	...	NJ's Mother
Shu-Yuan Hsu
Hsin-Yi Tseng	...	Yun-Yun
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Yiwen Chen
An-an Hsu
Yue-Lin Ko	...	The Soldier (as Ke Yulun)
Kai-Li Peng	...	Cellist in cello concert scene
Congsheng Tang	...	Blue Shirt
Edward Yang	...	Pianist in cello concert scene

Directed by
Edward Yang

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Edward Yang		written by

Produced by
Shin'ya Kawai	....	associate producer
Osamu Kunota	....	associate producer
Michiyo Satô	....	assistant producer
Naoko Tsukeda	....	associate producer
Wei-yen Yu	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Kai-Li Peng

Cinematography by
Wei-han Yang

Film Editing by
Bo-Wen Chen

Production Design by
Peng

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Yu-Hui Wang	....	assistant director
Shih-Ping Yang	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Du-Che Tu	....	sound (as Du-Chih Du)

Other crew
Tony Rayns	....	subtitles: English

Production Companies

• AtomFilms
• Nemuru Otoko Seisaku Iinkai
• Omega Project
• Pony Canyon

Distributors

• Diaphana Films (2000) (France) (theatrical)
• Golem Distribución (2001) (Spain) (theatrical)
• Kuzui Enterprises (2000) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Národní Filmový Archiv (NFA) (2002) (Czech Republic) (theatrical)
• Omuro Pictures (2000) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Upstream Pictures (2001) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• WinStar Cinema (2000) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Criterion Collection, The (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• Dutch FilmWorks (DFW) (2007) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• E Stars Films (2004) (China) (TV)
• Filmfreak Distributie (2002) (Netherlands) (VHS)
• Fox Lorber (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• Madman Entertainment (2003) (Australia) (DVD)
• trigon-film (2004) (Switzerland) (DVD) (subtitled)

Also Known As:

Yan Yan - Natsu no omoide (Japan)
Yi yi: A One and a Two... (International: English title)
1+2 (Finland) [fi]
Eine Eins und eine Zwei (Germany) (festival title) [de]
I raz, i dwa (Poland) [pl]
Yi yi (Spain) [es]
Yi yi (France) [fr]
Yi yi - E uno... e due! (Italy) [it]
Yi yi - ensam tillsammans (Sweden) [sv]

Runtime:

173 min

Country:

Taiwan | Japan

Language:

Mandarin | Taiwanese | Hokkien | English | Japanese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Portugal:M/12 | Finland:S | France:U | Germany:6 | Hong Kong:IIA | South Korea:All | Spain:13 | Sweden:7 | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:Not Rated | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Taipei City, Taiwan

Company:

AtomFilms

Trivia:

Issei Ogata's English dialog was re-written and even improvised during the shooting by Ogata himself. Yang wanted to have his Japanese character speaking realistically, not in the stereotypical manner Japanese characters in English-speaking films often do.

Movie Connections:

References Pretty Woman (1990)

Soundtrack:

Sonata in C-sharp Minor, Op. 27, No.2, Moonlight

Contemplative and Contemporary

This movie is a beautiful piece of art. Every shot of the movie is like a painting in its own right. Hats off to cinematographer Wei-han Yang for getting so many splendid images on film. From his serene reflective shots against a city nocturnal background, to innovative bird eye-view shots, to neat mirror shots, to the perspective of the bedridden grandmother in a coma, to cars passing by in front of the actors, to gorgeous corporate buildings... everything on camera was meticulously thought out.

Director Edward Yang uses this visual candy diligently and incorporates it nicely into his narrative. His script is very poetic and allows for a lot of reflective pause... which is, you've guessed it, supported by silent stunning images. The characters feel very real and their problems and concerns move us. The little boy is simply adorable and his perspective on life is quite refreshing. The dialogue is rich and intelligent and if you listen carefully you'll understand why this movie is so long... But the length does not drag the movie out. Rather it allows us to think and to appreciate. There is enough material in this movie (both words and images) to have anyone musing for days if he so desires.

The ending of the movie is very well done and you don't really know if you feel like laughing or crying at that point, but you certainly know that you have just witnessed an amazing movie, a movie without proper description. Because like Yang chose to do, I should just be silent and let you enjoy.