A Focus on "Slice of Life" Films - VOLUME: II

Out of all the filmmakers I have watched, discussed and researched about, Edward Yang has been one of the most interesting one,
however his upbringing as an artist is what interests me. He was always into films but he didn't pursue it for the longest time, rather than that he focused on his academics and graduated with a degree in electrical engineering. Even when he joined an American film school he considered it to be way too commercial for his liking and quickly left without completing it.
However it took a turn for the better after he consumed various works of Herzog and Antonioni. They rekindled his interest in cinema but even when he became quite well known by receiving critical acclaim for his work he didn't consider selling or distributing his films for money as the primary source of income. That wasn't his goal as an artist and seeing that the Taiwanese cinema wasn't in the best state and was simply out of his control.
Which sounds like a noble venture but that is the precise reason why his films aren't readily available, at least the desired quality. As only five out of his seven films can be found and that number at it's entirety isn't a lot either, hence I couldn't use more works from his catalogue, but the ones he left with are more than enough and should or deserve to be celebrated.

[@VamshiOhgs]

An aspect of Edward Yang's films that can be seen as a downside is the runtime, which isn't a negative factor but it can be quite daunting to watch films that are 3-4 hours long no matter how satisfying the conclusion or enriching the experience can be. His stories are vital and a must watch however the length can deter some people, so does the excessive amount of characters in them, such a bombardment of information can easily become overwhelming. Again that isn't inherently bad but it does mean that a single watch isn't going to be satisfactory or enough to appreciate the excellence of the work at hand, there is too much to take in no matter how cleverly structured they might be.
This also means there was bound to be couple of points about the films focused in here that I wasn't able to cover, with Yi Yi and Taipei Story I managed to discuss almost everything that I wanted to, either verbally or via text pops ups in the video. But that wasn't possible with A Brighter Summer Day, I choose to focus on the journey of the children as that's what makes the films such a memorable experience for me.
Although I did point out almost every vital character, there were a handful of them that I couldn't fit into the script either because that would've disturbed the flow or made it a lot longer and tough to be digestable, so I will just mention the prominent ones in here.
Out of all the family members the father does get the most amount of screen time and plays a prominent role in the film, such as his favours to his childhood friend that always had a fishy tone to them. He is righteous in nature but doesn't reject his requests, hence the aftermath of being a scapegoat for someone else's corruption completely changes him, breaking his moral compass and makes him paranoid of his surrounding. His career is doomed but the family persevere through those tough times and the turmoil that came with it, and they too have lots of interesting aspects about them.
There is an obvious sense of them trying to preserve their past, from the father bringing his old and dated radio to the mother being so protective of the watch that was gifted to her, however it isn't limited to just materialistic goods. The father relocated to a different place but his ideals didn't change, as it is a significant piece of his identity and without them he cannot continue living, hence the drastic alteration in his personality when he forced to break them.
While the mother is more adaptive in nature, because if they don't their future isn't going to be secure, their past is important but they can't be negligent to their present and all the changes that came with it, which is why she always worries about their well being rather than abiding to the principles that isn't going to do them any good in that situation.
The children on the other hand are quite different, the oldest daughter and son are affected in different ways, one tries to find comfort through fashion, stability and following the path to an ideal prospering life, while the other gives in to the gang culture for monetary gain, not a deliberate action but it is simply forced upon him.
Leaving us with the other siblings, the religious middle daughter and the youngest one, while the former doesn't get a lot of screen time her final words to the boy has a great effect on him and factors into him killing the girl. she makes him aware of the reality and his ungrateful gestures but it doesn't influence him in a positive manner but quite the opposite, and the youngest one has the most unique situation, that being lacking any past, their current place and activities is what will shape everything regarding her.