Yi Yi (2000)

This title translates literally to "One One," which could imply "One by One" or "One After Another." In English, it has sometimes been marketed as A One and a Two. The only interpretation that makes any sense in context to me is "One After Another," and that's still not very specific. In any case, its consistently high ratings caught my attention.

The story is difficult to summarize, because the Jian family in Taipei has a lot of different things going on. Probably the most central arc involves married NJ meeting married ex-girlfriend Sherry for the first time in ages; she's still sore about his sudden disappearance from her life and wants some form of closure. He also struggles with an ailing company, which assigns him to kiss up to potential client Mr. Ota. NJ's mother-in-law goes into a coma, and the family is advised to talk to her in the hopes of guiding her out, but they tend to feel a lot of stress when they do, not least NJ's wife, Min-Min. NJ's teen daughter, Ting-Ting, feels especially guilty because of the circumstances that may have led to the coma; she copes by making a new friend, Lili, but this also draws her into a messy relationship web. NJ's brother-in-law, A-Di, is newly married and expecting but turns to his ex-girlfriend for support when his financial missteps create a marital rift. Finally, NJ's prepubescent son, Yang-Yang (they sure like repetition), gets picked on by bigger girls, and his unorthodox ways get him on his teacher's bad side.

Now that I've said all that, it's no wonder the run time is nearly three hours. Even the relatively simple plots take a while to do justice. Alas, I'm rarely fond of having that many alternating on screen, especially when they barely intersect. I split the viewing over two days, which made it more digestible in a way, but then I had to think harder to follow...when I remembered to care enough.

I'm sure a big part of the appeal is in realism. With that in mind, I had more tolerance for the deliberate pacing and the scarcity of strongly dramatic moments. That said, I can barely fathom what goes on with the guy who dates first Lili and then Ting-Ting.

One advantage to realism is a sense of education. Since IMDb doesn't list any errors, I can only assume that this is an authentic depiction of Taiwan, which I've probably never seen before in any movie. It looks a bit more, shall we say, westernized than mainland China. NJ and Ota even converse in English, despite Mandarin and Japanese being more similar to each other. The main behavioral aspect that would look out of place in the West is superstition, most manifest in A-Di, who's concerned about dates for the wedding and birth and delays naming the baby until he can come up with something super lucky.

I think the scenes that interested me most overall featured Yang-Yang, if only because he's cute and uncomplicated. At the same time, they may present the most artistry in the picture, what with his thinking outside the box. And his brief nudity; just thought I'd warn you.

Officially, YY is unrated. I added a tag for an R rating anyway, because some of the subtitles use the kind of swearing the MPAA wouldn't allow under PG-13.

Once again, I can only conclude that the majority of voters for a super-lauded film have artier taste than mine. Still, it could have been a lot less satisfying.