Yang's 'Yi Yi' a celebration of life

Global cinema lost one of its masters last week with the death of Taiwanese filmmaker Edward Yang. He passed away in Beverly Hills at age 59, after a years-long struggle with cancer.

Yang, who lived his adult life in the U.S., was best known for his seventh and final film, "Yi Yi." It picked up a swarm of awards upon release in 2000, including best picture from the National Society of Film Critics and best director at the Cannes film fest.

The Criterion Collection released "Yi Yi" last July, vastly improving on what by all accounts was a botched 2001 release by Fox Lorber video. The New York Times, a champion of the film from its film festival days, wrote a case study of the DVD's resurrection and restoration.

"Yi Yi" is the only one of Yang's films I've seen (I pulled it off the shelf after reading the director's obituary). It will not be the last.

The domestic epic is built around three milestones in a modern middle-class family's life: a wedding, a birth and a funeral. In the U.S., the title refers to the jazz musician's countdown "A one and a two ... " but in Asia the title signaled "one one," a reflection of the characters' solitary paths inside and outside the family. Both make sense -- this is a rich and satisfying work with many plot lines and many possible interpretations. (I saw it in part as a film about the premature end of a boy's childhood.)

Yang uses walls, hallways and glass windows to frame his scenes, bringing to mind Antonioni and serious Woody Allen. The characters fuss about and pace in and out of view while the camera stands its ground. "Yi Yi" speaks of alienation, dysfunctional families and the pools of madness below the surface of urban life, but can be downright funny. Ultimately it's a warm and life-affirming movie. At almost 3 hours, "Yi Yi" is not for impatient viewers.

Yang and his friend Tony Rayans, a critic, did the low-key commentary in which they break down the key elements and themes. In another extra, the film critic CliffsNotes the history of Taiwanese cinema, which he says essentially came to halt in the years before this film was made. "Yi Yi" was hailed worldwide, but still hasn't been released in Taiwan.

Thompson on Hollywood has a thoughtful appreciation of the director by John Anderson.

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