Summary
Based on a true story of rival youth gangs in 1960s Taiwan.
My Thoughts
How does one approach writing a review for a movie like “A Brighter Summer Day”? I’m not sure. No matter what I write, it wont ever be enough to convey my feelings about this movie, but I’ll try. To call this film an epic is an understatement, but it is in every aspect of the word. This film has everything: a love story, betrayals, humor, revelations, life lessons, murder, intrigue, huge and diverse sets, incredible cinematography, memorable major and minor characters; but not only that, Yang comments on the political climate of Taiwan at the time this story takes place, he makes observation on the difficulties of growing up and finding your place in the world, he has insights on fragility of adolescent friendships and the difficulties of parenthood, and he talks with ease about the feeling of detachment that comes with youth. Edward Yang has done nothing less than created a world where every frame breathes with life and art and truth, and leaving the world filled me with a sense of remorse, and a want to go back. Though this is the longest movie I’ve reviewed for this site, I never found myself growing tired of the storyline or plot; I was constantly engaged and pulled from one scene to the next. I always needed to know what was coming next, and that’s good for a movie that’s darn near four hours long.
Are you lonesome tonight?
As one might guess for a film of this length there are many different plotlines that weave together to form this movie, but the storyline we focus on the most involves a student named Xiao Si’r (Chen Chang, “Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon”), a girl Si’r fancies, named Ming (Lisa Yang), and the rival youth gangs that terrorize the school they both attend, named the 217 Boys and the Little Park Boys. The two rival groups belong to different socioeconomic groups; the 217s are kids of the Military officers, and the Little Park Boys are children of the Civil servants. While Si’r never fully joins any of the gangs, he does hang out with the Little Park Boys more than the 217s, primarily because Ming is dating Honey, the leader of the Little Park Boys. The two groups, while they really existed, also seem to be further metaphors for the social discord between two different groups of people, forced to be together under less-than-perfect situations. It’s implied that, because of the way the war ended, the families living in Taiwan are living side by side with refugees, none of whom are remarkably happy with where they are. Si’r’s mother and father make references to being happier in Shanghai, before they were forced to move, but they don’t have the means to return. The refugee status also puts a lot of pressure on the father, as he is suspected of being sympathetic to their enemies’ cause, and even suspicion can result in prison time and torture. All of this is just the background information; it’s the easel on which Yang begins to paint his epic, but it’s incredibly important for some of the points Yang makes throughout this film. Beyond Si’r and his family, there are a few other important characters; one of them is Si’r’s best friend Cat (Chi-tsan Wang, “Mahjong”), a boy with a proclivity for singing Elvis songs. His character almost represents staying on the straight and narrow when compared to Si’r’s journey in this movie. While Si’r gets tenuously involved with the youth gangs, Cat stays away from them to focus on his singing, and in the end, he’s rewarded for it. Sly (Hung-Yu Chen) is another important character, he takes over as leader of the Little Park Boys when Honey is forced into hiding. As you can guess, there are dozens of overlapping storylines and characters, and recurring issues and themes; to try to talk about all of them would be impossible. This movie has so much going on that even as completely captured by the film as I was, I’m sure I missed multiple things. This is a film much like Yang’s other masterpiece, “Yi Yi”, I’m sure I’ll return to multiple times in my life, and get different things out of it every time.
This film really feels like two different movies, almost divided directly down the middle as a lighter film and a darker one. Light and dark are constant symbols in this film, too. Lights and candles are constantly being extinguished or lit, and Si’r in particular seems to constantly be playing with a flashlight, perhaps representing his own struggle of dealing with the light and dark parts of himself. One half of the film lives up to its title; it feels warm and sunny and fun. There’s lots of humor and the characters seem happy and at ease; that’s not to say that there aren’t warnings of what’s to come. There’s almost always a sense foreboding, as if something horrible might be just over the horizon. Though there isn’t an intermission proper, the second half of the film, that is, the dark half, starts a little beyond the two hour mark with a shockingly violent confrontation between the two gangs, and almost immediately, we can tell things wont be the same after what has happened. The film after that, while every once in a while it has some humor, is far more brooding and tense, and the idea of a Brighter Summer Day becomes somewhat wistful. But while the writing and intricacies of the story and characters are incredible, the brilliance of the film does not end there.
Yang is a master of one-shot scenes. I don’t know how many scenes throughout this film are done in one shot, but it’s impressive. Many times the movement of the camera isn’t overly complex, but the way that the characters play with spatial relationships always makes the frame interesting. There are scenes where the camera will follow a character down a street, then break off and follow another character, only to come back to the first character again; all of this is done by a simple backing up motion from the camera. The mise-en-scene in both this film and “Yi Yi” are incredible; from the beginning to the end of this four-hour epic, there are never any shots that look out of place. The settings in every scene have purpose and are crafted with such elegance and care, that it’s hard not to just wonder at how this cinematic marvel was conceived.
Verdict
This is a wonderful movie. I’ve never been more engaged in every scene in an epic film like this. In most epics, there are parts that tend to drag, or bits that just don’t work as well as others, but not so in this movie. Yang is always trying something new, or making a comment or observation on the little details on life. This film is a Holy Grail for those that love epic films that defy genre or appreciate contemporary foreign cinema. While I’m sure its length will deter most viewers, those that can stick it out will be bountifully rewarded.
Review Written By: