Yi Yi and The Terrorizers would be the best depending on which day you ask me. Out of the 4 Yang films I’ve seen, Taipei Story is my least favourite but it’s still a very strong film
Really glad to see you cover this film, I think it's underrated. I like the point about Edward Yang perhaps having a weakness at directing actors, but being most skilled in constructing complexity and technical execution. I think that is his architectural mind at work, and I always felt a strong presence of that aspect in most of his films. It is particularly strong in Taipei Story, in which the effects of rapid urbanization and the changes to the way of life that entails (on self concept and relationships with others being key in that film, among other things) seems to play a strong undercurrent. Btw, my reading of the "Confucian" part of the title was the way modernity (very broad term, but you know, market forces, globalization, consumerism, increased emphasis placed on individuality and ambitious pursuits, and so on...) clashes with the Confucian legacy in Taiwanese society (then more "Chinese" then it is today, as you allude to). The social change is happening so fast, it's creating a clash in the psyche, hence the "confused" (childish, erratic) behavior of most everyone in the film. However, this might be a relatively superficial and straightforward reading that is missing a lot of nuance. I saw the movie 3 or so years ago, I'll also pay more attention to the "Confucian" aspect when I watch the film again.
What’s you favorite Edward Yang film? What’s your least favorite?
Yi Yi and The Terrorizers would be the best depending on which day you ask me. Out of the 4 Yang films I’ve seen, Taipei Story is my least favourite but it’s still a very strong film
Confucian confusion is the best. But all of his films are masterpieces.
Really glad to see you cover this film, I think it's underrated. I like the point about Edward Yang perhaps having a weakness at directing actors, but being most skilled in constructing complexity and technical execution. I think that is his architectural mind at work, and I always felt a strong presence of that aspect in most of his films. It is particularly strong in Taipei Story, in which the effects of rapid urbanization and the changes to the way of life that entails (on self concept and relationships with others being key in that film, among other things) seems to play a strong undercurrent. Btw, my reading of the "Confucian" part of the title was the way modernity (very broad term, but you know, market forces, globalization, consumerism, increased emphasis placed on individuality and ambitious pursuits, and so on...) clashes with the Confucian legacy in Taiwanese society (then more "Chinese" then it is today, as you allude to). The social change is happening so fast, it's creating a clash in the psyche, hence the "confused" (childish, erratic) behavior of most everyone in the film. However, this might be a relatively superficial and straightforward reading that is missing a lot of nuance. I saw the movie 3 or so years ago, I'll also pay more attention to the "Confucian" aspect when I watch the film again.