This Taiwanese was one I found listed in the book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, I read that it was a bloody long film, but also it was rated highly by critics, I was prepared to try it, directed by Edward Yang (A One and a Two (Yi Yi)). Based on a true story, one that shook the nation, it is set in the early 1960s, taking place over four years in Taiwan. It centre around the gradual, unyielding fall of a young boy, Xiao Si'r (Chen Chang), going from innocent teenager to juvenile delinquent. The film is primarily about the conflict between two youth gangs, the gang leader and girlfriend are involved in the conflict between gangs of children of formerly-mainland families and those of Taiwanese families, it conflict culminates in an act of violence, where the girlfriend is murdered. Also starring Lisa Yang as Ming, Kuo-Chu Chang as the Father, Elaine Jin as the Mother, Chuan Wang as the Eldest Sister, Han Chang as the Elder Brother, Hsiu-Chiung Chiang as the Middle Sister and Stephanie Lai as the Youngest Sister. I don't think it is just me that would struggle to remember everything that happens in the film, it is almost exactly 4 hours long, it is mainly about youth and social issues of the time, with some rock and roll, and political turmoil in the backdrop, the gang war stuff is less interesting, it has some interesting moments, it is certainly not the sort of thing I watch more than once, unless it was shorter, but I do remember liking this drama. Very good!
52 Reviews
A nation's identity crisis
jandesimpson27 March 2002
Edward Yang's "A Brighter Summer Day" is an enormous film, not only in length but in its ambitious attempt, through homing in on a particular group of people in a specific time and place, to define the attitudes of a nation undergoing an identity crisis. The time is the early '60's, the place a suburb of Taipei, the characters mostly groups of adolescents. Like his great fellow compatriot Hou Xiaoxian, Yang hurls happenings at you without explaining who is who. He makes an enormous demand on his audience in forcing us to make all the connections. As his cast here runs into dozens and many scenes take place in semi-darkness, it is far from easy, particularly for a Western viewer to whom so many Orientals look alike, to make these connections on a first viewing. Indeed I would say that after four viewings I am still working out who is who. That I have not given up and am still in the process of unravelling can only be ascribed to a gut reaction from the first that this is a work of tremendous integrity and skill. The film deals mainly with gang warfare between rival groups of youngsters, which, it is suggested, reflects their search for identity at a time when their parents have lost theirs after years of Japanese occupation followed by the post-revolutionary separation from their Chinese mainland roots. As a diversion from gang warfare some of the youngsters find an outlet in American music, particularly the songs of Elvis. The film mainly follows the course of one boy, S'ir, as he moves from early to late adolescence. There are others who are presented as having a stronger sense of character; Ma, the "General's son" for instance who lives in a household a cut above the rest and Honey, a young man in a sailor suit, who exudes a sense of honesty and authority that holds the others in thrall. But it is S'ir whom the film doggedly follows, S'ir who seems to possess nothing much more than a bad temper and a developing desire, perhaps mainly through peer pressure, to have a young girl who will be faithful to him. It is his frustration in trying to achieve this that leads the film towards a climax that is as ugly as it is tragic. However, not before we have lived through a number of scenes that are wholly remarkable, none more so that a savage attack between rival gangs, some resorting to samurai swords - a reaction perhaps to their parents' detestation of all thing Japanese - which takes place in semi-darkness in a powercut during a tropical storm; the very stuff of late Goya, merciless and unblinking.
Welcome to hell on earth.
Abyss474 April 2013
This bleak Taiwanese epic based on a true story exposes the dark side of growing up in a harsh environment at a young age. I know what you're thinking, "Wow, so original." But, even though it's far from being the first film of its kind, let alone the best, it manages to stay unpredictable throughout and packs plenty of surprises; think of the grand sweep of The Godfather flicks and that's similar to what you get here. Visually, it doesn't really stand out in any significant way - at least from the print I saw. Instead, going for a more down-to-earth, gritty approach, which I liked because it suited the material. With that said, Director Edward Yang makes great use of long shots and keeps things very subtle, and I honestly can't think of a single bad or out-of-place angle in the film. The cast consisting almost entirely of nonprofessionals is very natural in their roles, even eerily believable at times when the film reaches disturbing moments - and there's a lot of those. It's a no-holds barred film that refuses to compromise itself for the sake of making the viewer feel safe or comfortable.
As a coming-of-age film, it's one of the very best. As a tragic romance, it delivers due to its Shakespearean quality. As a crime film, it can stand toe-to-toe with some of the very best of them. Even more impressive is that the film is able to cover so many important and (still) relevant issues and effectively explore the human condition without any heavy-handed morals or messages. The film is as straightforward and honest as they come, making it that much more engaging. And yet, despite all its qualities, it's not a film with universal appeal. Most would frown at its bleak approach and wonder where all the praise comes from. Others would skip it entirely due to it being a slow 4 hour film with no exploitative elements. Others would be wishing everyone were killed off and/or there was more action and pretentious imagery they could easily gravitate towards. Others.....well, I think you get the picture. Ultimately, those who would get the most out of this film are those who are willing to acknowledge that the world is a messed up place and some movies are going to reflect that. So, if you're easily offended, go back to watching "safe" Hollywood pictures, because you won't be able to appreciate this underrated gem. And yeah, that's me being a condescending prick. Sue me, what I say is true, and those who have seen the film know I'm right.
I'm going to go ahead and admit right off the bat that what I just wrote does not do justice to the film's level of substance and depth. This is merely a description. Others have gone far more in-depth into what makes the film so good than I'm capable of doing from a single viewing, so I recommend reading what they've wrote as well.
As a coming-of-age film, it's one of the very best. As a tragic romance, it delivers due to its Shakespearean quality. As a crime film, it can stand toe-to-toe with some of the very best of them. Even more impressive is that the film is able to cover so many important and (still) relevant issues and effectively explore the human condition without any heavy-handed morals or messages. The film is as straightforward and honest as they come, making it that much more engaging. And yet, despite all its qualities, it's not a film with universal appeal. Most would frown at its bleak approach and wonder where all the praise comes from. Others would skip it entirely due to it being a slow 4 hour film with no exploitative elements. Others would be wishing everyone were killed off and/or there was more action and pretentious imagery they could easily gravitate towards. Others.....well, I think you get the picture. Ultimately, those who would get the most out of this film are those who are willing to acknowledge that the world is a messed up place and some movies are going to reflect that. So, if you're easily offended, go back to watching "safe" Hollywood pictures, because you won't be able to appreciate this underrated gem. And yeah, that's me being a condescending prick. Sue me, what I say is true, and those who have seen the film know I'm right.
I'm going to go ahead and admit right off the bat that what I just wrote does not do justice to the film's level of substance and depth. This is merely a description. Others have gone far more in-depth into what makes the film so good than I'm capable of doing from a single viewing, so I recommend reading what they've wrote as well.
one of the greatest films of all time
cranesareflying31 March 2001
This film is prefaced in a historical context, with the understanding that Chinese Taiwan was formed in 1949 with several million Chinese being forced to cross over into Taiwan from mainland China, into a world they knew nothing about, so they were required to build their new lives with great insecurity about the future, and this film is about their first generation of offspring, the anxieties of the parents created a world of anxieties for their children, who search for their own greater security and their own self identity through the formation of street gangs, whose inner turmoil is largely a reflection of the world around them. The Taiwanese identity is revealed to be a sense of perpetual exile.
Edward Yang's own father fled from Shanghai. Artifacts from other countries have great impact in this film, the use of Japanese samurai swords which are ultimately used as murder weapons, Russian novels are read by teenagers and understood as `swordsmen' novels, a family's observation that the Chinese fought the Japanese for 20 years only to then live in Japanese houses listening to Japanese music, an old tape recorder that has been left behind by the WWII American forces is used to adapt American lyrics and American rock n roll music for the Chinese, the film features American doo-wop music, first love, cigarettes, casual dress, the influence of Hollywood motion picture magazines and movies, the voice of John Wayne can be heard in one of the movie theaters, the title of the film comes from the Elvis Presley song, `Are You Lonesome Tonight,' a comment on the dark cloud hanging over everyone's heads, hardly a brighter, summer day.
The film took 5 years in preparation, and although completed in 1991, it has never found a distributor, it involves a cast of over 100 speaking parts, largely non-professional teen-age actors, 92 different sets, it takes place in the poorer Tapei district in 1961, using the filmmaker's own memories of his adolescence, shot at his high school, inspired by a true incident of a 14 year old boy murdering a 13 year old girl, the first juvenile murder case in Taiwan's history, the film opens and closes with an old, broken down radio broadcasting the lists of graduating students. In this context of a repressive, militaristic government, family chaos, the constant threat of gang fights, the need for a good education, the idea that hard work can bring success, is seen as paramount.
For all those `Yi Yi' fans who don't understand the complexity of this film, let me just remind you about the title, `A Brighter, Summer Day,' this is a film for which those words have no meaning, and unlike `Yi Yi,' which had the charming optimism of Yang-Yang, an as yet undeveloped child who has a future, `Yi Yi ` was much more a `perfect' film, everything was neatly examined and explained, there's a perfect symmetry, on whole it's balanced, it feels like a complete experience, but `A Brighter Summer Day' offers no such peace of mind, it's a raw emotional roller coaster where the last hour or so is filled with such complete anguish and despair, nearly all the family members have their singular moments where they are the focus of the pain and anguish, the understated personal horrors can leave one breathless. Most of the world's viewing audience of films have been spared this kind of personal degradation, and therefore have no personal reference points to connect with such despair, but Yang, to his credit, spares no one. The film's greatness lies in it's complete lack of artifice, it's meticulously chosen shot selection, brilliant imagery mixed with an equally brilliant narrative, a devastating portrait of children on the precipice of darkness, one of the more complex human examinations of the after-effects of a subjugated nation, which is still, at heart, a police state, yet there is a breaking out from the bonds of repression by rebellious teen-age kids who have affectations of violence and a love of Elvis, freedom, and rock n roll.
Edward Yang's own father fled from Shanghai. Artifacts from other countries have great impact in this film, the use of Japanese samurai swords which are ultimately used as murder weapons, Russian novels are read by teenagers and understood as `swordsmen' novels, a family's observation that the Chinese fought the Japanese for 20 years only to then live in Japanese houses listening to Japanese music, an old tape recorder that has been left behind by the WWII American forces is used to adapt American lyrics and American rock n roll music for the Chinese, the film features American doo-wop music, first love, cigarettes, casual dress, the influence of Hollywood motion picture magazines and movies, the voice of John Wayne can be heard in one of the movie theaters, the title of the film comes from the Elvis Presley song, `Are You Lonesome Tonight,' a comment on the dark cloud hanging over everyone's heads, hardly a brighter, summer day.
The film took 5 years in preparation, and although completed in 1991, it has never found a distributor, it involves a cast of over 100 speaking parts, largely non-professional teen-age actors, 92 different sets, it takes place in the poorer Tapei district in 1961, using the filmmaker's own memories of his adolescence, shot at his high school, inspired by a true incident of a 14 year old boy murdering a 13 year old girl, the first juvenile murder case in Taiwan's history, the film opens and closes with an old, broken down radio broadcasting the lists of graduating students. In this context of a repressive, militaristic government, family chaos, the constant threat of gang fights, the need for a good education, the idea that hard work can bring success, is seen as paramount.
For all those `Yi Yi' fans who don't understand the complexity of this film, let me just remind you about the title, `A Brighter, Summer Day,' this is a film for which those words have no meaning, and unlike `Yi Yi,' which had the charming optimism of Yang-Yang, an as yet undeveloped child who has a future, `Yi Yi ` was much more a `perfect' film, everything was neatly examined and explained, there's a perfect symmetry, on whole it's balanced, it feels like a complete experience, but `A Brighter Summer Day' offers no such peace of mind, it's a raw emotional roller coaster where the last hour or so is filled with such complete anguish and despair, nearly all the family members have their singular moments where they are the focus of the pain and anguish, the understated personal horrors can leave one breathless. Most of the world's viewing audience of films have been spared this kind of personal degradation, and therefore have no personal reference points to connect with such despair, but Yang, to his credit, spares no one. The film's greatness lies in it's complete lack of artifice, it's meticulously chosen shot selection, brilliant imagery mixed with an equally brilliant narrative, a devastating portrait of children on the precipice of darkness, one of the more complex human examinations of the after-effects of a subjugated nation, which is still, at heart, a police state, yet there is a breaking out from the bonds of repression by rebellious teen-age kids who have affectations of violence and a love of Elvis, freedom, and rock n roll.
Touchingly intimate
howard.schumann21 May 2007
Warning: Spoilers
After the Communist victory in the civil war of 1949, some 1.3 million refugees from Mainland China came to Taiwan. It was a time when the island was governed by a dictatorship in which all political parties other than the Kuomintang were outlawed, and political opponents were persecuted, jailed, and executed, a continuation of the White Terror campaign launched after the 2/28 incident. Uncertain about their future and shaken by the weakening of family traditions, immigrant teenagers joined street gangs like the Little Park Gang and fought against indigenous island groups such as the 217 to strengthen their sense of security.
There have been many great films about the teenage years, but few capture the roller coaster emotions, the sudden shifts of friendships and loyalties, the insularity and the need to belong as authentically as Edward Yang's epic four-hour masterpiece A Brighter Summer Day. The film about Taiwanese youth looking for their place in the world takes place in 1960, eleven years after the defeat of Chiang Kai-shek in the Communist Revolution of 1949, and is based on an actual incident that occurred in Taipei in which a 14 year-old boy killed his 13-year old girlfriend, the first juvenile homicide in Taiwan's history.
Shot mostly in darkness, much of the action takes place at night or inside houses, schools, or dance clubs, producing a feeling of growing anxiety. As detailed as a novel, the film lasts almost four hours but nothing seems superfluous and the darkness and uncertainty build slowly towards a powerful and inevitable climax. Young actors were recruited from Taiwan schools and trained for the film over a period of years by Edward Yang, then a teacher in the drama department of the National Institute for the Arts and the performances are impeccable. There are 100 speaking parts in the film though we get to know the characters only by their gang names such as Airplane, Sly, Cat, Worm, Animal, Underpants, Honey, Elephant, Tiger, and Ma.
Xiao S'ir is one of five children and is considered a top prospect to enter college. Chen Chang, who went on to star in such films as Happy Together, 2046, and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, portrays S'ir as a bright and sensitive 14-year old but lacking in respect for authority. Drawn into the culture of gangs, he is ultimately driven to defend what he conceives to be his honor without considering the consequences. His father (Guozhu Zang) is a civil servant who sees his influence waning and his pleas to school officials to forgive S'ir's transgressions often fall on deaf ears. The father is arrested by the police and badgered to reveal his associates in China which brings an added strain to the already vulnerable family.
The influence of other cultures also creates confusion. Both the use of Japanese swords as murder weapons and American music including an Elvis Presley song play a major role in the film and the family's complaint that they fought against the Japanese for years and now are living in a Japanese house listening to Japanese songs is revealing. As the teens struggle to come to terms with an increasingly chaotic world, an offhand remark often leads to unverifiable conclusions and a chain of events that veers out of control. S'ir's world begins to unravel when he falls for a would-be actress named Ming (Lisa Yang) who is the girlfriend of Honey (Lin Hongming), a soulful gang leader who had killed one of Ming's suitors and gone into exile.
When Honey is murdered by Shandong (Alex Yang), a rival gang leader, an all-out confrontation between gangs takes place in a driving rainstorm. As a result of Honey's death, Ming becomes all too available to S'ir's friends, a circumstance that leads to tragedy and the loss of a once promising future, perhaps a metaphor for the island itself. Like Hou Hsiao-hsien's City of Sadness, A Brighter Summer Day is not a political film but a work of art that shows how individual experience is impacted by the flow of time and history.
Interweaving social and political events into a very personal experience, the film touches us with its lyricism, the authenticity of its awareness, and its genuine caring for its characters. Though sweeping in scope, it is full of touchingly intimate moments and, for all the tough talk of the gang members, the characters have an endearing sweetness and innocence, sadly lost forever in an unthinking moment.
There have been many great films about the teenage years, but few capture the roller coaster emotions, the sudden shifts of friendships and loyalties, the insularity and the need to belong as authentically as Edward Yang's epic four-hour masterpiece A Brighter Summer Day. The film about Taiwanese youth looking for their place in the world takes place in 1960, eleven years after the defeat of Chiang Kai-shek in the Communist Revolution of 1949, and is based on an actual incident that occurred in Taipei in which a 14 year-old boy killed his 13-year old girlfriend, the first juvenile homicide in Taiwan's history.
Shot mostly in darkness, much of the action takes place at night or inside houses, schools, or dance clubs, producing a feeling of growing anxiety. As detailed as a novel, the film lasts almost four hours but nothing seems superfluous and the darkness and uncertainty build slowly towards a powerful and inevitable climax. Young actors were recruited from Taiwan schools and trained for the film over a period of years by Edward Yang, then a teacher in the drama department of the National Institute for the Arts and the performances are impeccable. There are 100 speaking parts in the film though we get to know the characters only by their gang names such as Airplane, Sly, Cat, Worm, Animal, Underpants, Honey, Elephant, Tiger, and Ma.
Xiao S'ir is one of five children and is considered a top prospect to enter college. Chen Chang, who went on to star in such films as Happy Together, 2046, and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, portrays S'ir as a bright and sensitive 14-year old but lacking in respect for authority. Drawn into the culture of gangs, he is ultimately driven to defend what he conceives to be his honor without considering the consequences. His father (Guozhu Zang) is a civil servant who sees his influence waning and his pleas to school officials to forgive S'ir's transgressions often fall on deaf ears. The father is arrested by the police and badgered to reveal his associates in China which brings an added strain to the already vulnerable family.
The influence of other cultures also creates confusion. Both the use of Japanese swords as murder weapons and American music including an Elvis Presley song play a major role in the film and the family's complaint that they fought against the Japanese for years and now are living in a Japanese house listening to Japanese songs is revealing. As the teens struggle to come to terms with an increasingly chaotic world, an offhand remark often leads to unverifiable conclusions and a chain of events that veers out of control. S'ir's world begins to unravel when he falls for a would-be actress named Ming (Lisa Yang) who is the girlfriend of Honey (Lin Hongming), a soulful gang leader who had killed one of Ming's suitors and gone into exile.
When Honey is murdered by Shandong (Alex Yang), a rival gang leader, an all-out confrontation between gangs takes place in a driving rainstorm. As a result of Honey's death, Ming becomes all too available to S'ir's friends, a circumstance that leads to tragedy and the loss of a once promising future, perhaps a metaphor for the island itself. Like Hou Hsiao-hsien's City of Sadness, A Brighter Summer Day is not a political film but a work of art that shows how individual experience is impacted by the flow of time and history.
Interweaving social and political events into a very personal experience, the film touches us with its lyricism, the authenticity of its awareness, and its genuine caring for its characters. Though sweeping in scope, it is full of touchingly intimate moments and, for all the tough talk of the gang members, the characters have an endearing sweetness and innocence, sadly lost forever in an unthinking moment.
Incredible epic of Taiwan street gangs
liehtzu4 June 2000
Edward Yang's massive four hour epic "A Brighter Summer Day" is one of the true masterpieces of the 1990s and of the "New Taiwan cinema." It's ostensibly the story of a few rival street gangs in '60s Taiwan, but the film is about a single young man's rites of passage in an era in which his country was experiencing a major upheaval. The film is so meticulous in its construction and its feeling of community (its preparation, filming and post-production took several years) that at the same time its length automatically gives it an epic quality it is a remarkably intimate film that is about as far from an epic in the traditional (Hollywood) sense as possible. There are over a hundred speaking parts in the film and it is necessary to stay focused in order to keep track of what's going on and to whom, which is a good trick to make sure your audience is always paying attention. "A Brighter Summer Day" is a very personal vision that recalls both Yang's own childhood and an actual street murder that shook the nation.
The film itself slowly builds towards this singular act of violence that, when it finally arrives, is both shocking and inevitable. "A Brighter Summer Day" keeps with the trend among the finest films to emerge from Taiwan in that it is very pared down - the cast are all nonactors and there is no non-diagetic music. It is beautifully shot, moving from the interiors of houses, schools, and cheap dance clubs to the open fields of the countryside in summertime. Alternating between violence and serenity, the film is a rhythmic and poetic evocation of a particular era. Its ironic title (in that there is no "brighter summer day" for these characters) is taken from an Elvis song that one of the kids sings at a nightclub. It is a truly exemplary modern masterpiece that got no distribution in the West but deserves to be hunted out at all costs by those who love and cherish the film art.
The film itself slowly builds towards this singular act of violence that, when it finally arrives, is both shocking and inevitable. "A Brighter Summer Day" keeps with the trend among the finest films to emerge from Taiwan in that it is very pared down - the cast are all nonactors and there is no non-diagetic music. It is beautifully shot, moving from the interiors of houses, schools, and cheap dance clubs to the open fields of the countryside in summertime. Alternating between violence and serenity, the film is a rhythmic and poetic evocation of a particular era. Its ironic title (in that there is no "brighter summer day" for these characters) is taken from an Elvis song that one of the kids sings at a nightclub. It is a truly exemplary modern masterpiece that got no distribution in the West but deserves to be hunted out at all costs by those who love and cherish the film art.
A lost masterpiece
xym0726 March 2008
I saw this film on screen in 2005. The place I saw it was an old-fashioned theater in the middle of Seoul, South Korea. The film print was one of the last surviving print of this film, which is now worn out too much for another screening. It was about three years ago, and I frankly do not much about the plot. Two things, however, were still in my mind. First of all, it was much more a film with tranquility. Think about Edward Yang's last film 'Yi Yi.' Do you remember the scene where there were two teenagers walking on the street and there were scarcely any sound effect but someone's monologue? The whole film was like that. The other thing is that, despite of it deals with serious subject matters such as Taiwan's cruel anti-communist regime, it still has a sense of humor: in fact, a plenty of it. For me, now this film is like a lost summer love: passionate but vague. If complicated copyright issues be solved and clean prints of this film to be found, I'd really like to recommend this film; it is a long four-hour movie, but every minute is worth it.
A classic that will stay with you for a long, long time.
crappydoo26 July 2008
I just finished watching this four hour epic and something tells me that this is going to remain with me for a long, long time. I was glad I entered the cinema hall with no foreknowledge of what the film was about or anything about the story, except that it was directed by Edward Yang, whose Yi Yi I liked. Am I not glad I did that? The entire film, especially the second half, is an emotional powerhouse. Its funny, sociological and emotionally brutal.
The four hour run time was quite a deterrent however I planned it well and took one bathroom break but it was all worth it in the end. I would not recommend that you read anything of the story before you watch the film because several of the reviews above have spoilers in them. All I'll say is that it is about street gangs, but like nothing you've ever seen. It about lost childhood and children growing up so fast that its scary. The fact that all of this really happened makes it chilling.
I'm surprised that not many people have seen this film yet because it certainly deserves a classic status. The direction is probably one of the best I've ever experienced and I will definitely seek out other Edward Yang movies to watch.
The acting by all the teenage actors and children is nothing short of brilliant and I can see that some of the key actors never acted in another movie again which I believe is a waste.
I don't think its out on video as yet, however I would highly recommend that you seek it out. In my opinion the film demands total attention and is best watched on the big screen rather than on video.
The four hour run time was quite a deterrent however I planned it well and took one bathroom break but it was all worth it in the end. I would not recommend that you read anything of the story before you watch the film because several of the reviews above have spoilers in them. All I'll say is that it is about street gangs, but like nothing you've ever seen. It about lost childhood and children growing up so fast that its scary. The fact that all of this really happened makes it chilling.
I'm surprised that not many people have seen this film yet because it certainly deserves a classic status. The direction is probably one of the best I've ever experienced and I will definitely seek out other Edward Yang movies to watch.
The acting by all the teenage actors and children is nothing short of brilliant and I can see that some of the key actors never acted in another movie again which I believe is a waste.
I don't think its out on video as yet, however I would highly recommend that you seek it out. In my opinion the film demands total attention and is best watched on the big screen rather than on video.
as a Chinese living in mainland，I should let you know something about that special period in movie.
quanqiutongshi28 June 2017
This movie is a Taiwan movie,I am a Chinese college student living in mainland.I think I should take response to write a review,because I see all the reviewers are not Chinese who cant know the background of this movie.there are something followed about Chines cultures and background.
Fist,in the movie period,china had two governments,one is communist party in mainland,the other is GuoMin party in Taiwan.Korean War made Communist part cant have enough power to invade Taiwan,but Guomin party still wanted to return to mainland by getting help from America.But as we all know,Guomin party just stays in Taiwan to now. And they were just in a fear of communist party military coming into Taiwan.At that special period,another fears were among all ordinary people in Taiwan. The president of Guomin party began to arrest communist spy in Guomin party.in fact,the secret arrest was a terrible horrible to people in Taiwan. This special period is called as 'white fear period',and so many innocent persons dead at that time.
So,you can see tanks were running in road，and dad were arrested for suspects communist spy.At all,the fears were among whole society.
what's more, in 1949 there were million people fleeing to Taiwan for following the Guomin Party. And many knowledge persons and military officers also in the process.this led government couldn'却 have enough money to pay and enough food to feed . many people lose their jobs.This is a hard time for many families. And it was not a peace time. it is a hungry time, Ming's family is a example.
Although,the director want to tell a lesson , don'却 try to change the bad world.but we can know he still have a soft and ideal heart but getting hurt too much.
Fist,in the movie period,china had two governments,one is communist party in mainland,the other is GuoMin party in Taiwan.Korean War made Communist part cant have enough power to invade Taiwan,but Guomin party still wanted to return to mainland by getting help from America.But as we all know,Guomin party just stays in Taiwan to now. And they were just in a fear of communist party military coming into Taiwan.At that special period,another fears were among all ordinary people in Taiwan. The president of Guomin party began to arrest communist spy in Guomin party.in fact,the secret arrest was a terrible horrible to people in Taiwan. This special period is called as 'white fear period',and so many innocent persons dead at that time.
So,you can see tanks were running in road，and dad were arrested for suspects communist spy.At all,the fears were among whole society.
what's more, in 1949 there were million people fleeing to Taiwan for following the Guomin Party. And many knowledge persons and military officers also in the process.this led government couldn'却 have enough money to pay and enough food to feed . many people lose their jobs.This is a hard time for many families. And it was not a peace time. it is a hungry time, Ming's family is a example.
Although,the director want to tell a lesson , don'却 try to change the bad world.but we can know he still have a soft and ideal heart but getting hurt too much.
Ventilated by Yang's deep curiosity and engagement
philosopherjack28 December 2019
Warning: Spoilers
After multiple viewings of Edward Yang's A Brighter Summer Day, I still get confused by some of the details of the gang activity, but there's little doubt that it's an artful disorientation, mirroring the directionless, unproductive stasis of the posturing and skirmishes. The young people at the centre of the movie feel the possibility of a new paradigm - they listen to Elvis and lap up local cover bands (at least some of whom have to learn their lyrics phonetically); they play pool and hang out - but Taiwan of the early 60's doesn't have the open horizons (however illusionary those may ultimately have been) of the America of the same period: school is a more regimented affair, symbolized by the wearing of numbered military-style uniforms, and the economy is sputtering, with the age of supercharged growth still ahead. The troubled protagonist, Si'r, embodies the fractures and limitations: in a different environment, his rebellion would no doubt be transient and containable, but here he's drawn back toward transgression, through violence and lashing out but also more subtly by an overly romantic view of women, a concept of purity that when denied, leads him into extreme tragedy. His parents live through their own more restrained sadness - his father passing through McCarthy-like interrogation and with the loss of a familiar role within government, poised at the end to enter the uncertain world of private enterprise. The film's scheme also includes a movie studio situated next door to the school, an easy lure for cutting class, and adding a further layer to its theme of searching for truth and authenticity - Si'r at one point gets to lash out at the in-house director for his lack of perceptiveness. The film's almost four-hour length reflects an underlying sense of heaviness, of a society in which true distinctive momentum is going to be hard to come by, and yet the film itself is hardly a heavy viewing experience, ventilated by Yang's deep curiosity and engagement.
Good, but long, film
ossie857 April 2023
A Bright Summer Day, directed by Edward Yang, is a Taiwanese coming-of-age film set in the 1960s. While the film does have some redeeming qualities, overall, it falls short of expectations.
The plot of the film is slow-paced, and the story seems disjointed at times. The characters' motivations and struggles are not always clear, making it difficult to become fully invested in their stories. The film also lacks any clear resolution, leaving the audience feeling somewhat unsatisfied.
The performances are generally solid, but some of the performances fall flat, particularly in the earlier parts of the movie. Additionally, the film's soundtrack and cinematography, while well-done, are not particularly memorable.
One notable aspect of the film is the director's attempt at capturing the adolescent experience, as the story does delve deep into the complexities of coming-of-age, particularly in Asian societies. But even in this regard, some of the plot points are a bit clichéd and overdone.
Overall, A Bright Summer Day has its moments, but it is ultimately a forgettable entry in the coming-of-age genre. While some viewers may appreciate the attempt at capturing the nuances of adolescent life, others may find the plot and characters lacking in depth and development. It's a film worth watching, but not one that will stick with you for long.
The plot of the film is slow-paced, and the story seems disjointed at times. The characters' motivations and struggles are not always clear, making it difficult to become fully invested in their stories. The film also lacks any clear resolution, leaving the audience feeling somewhat unsatisfied.
The performances are generally solid, but some of the performances fall flat, particularly in the earlier parts of the movie. Additionally, the film's soundtrack and cinematography, while well-done, are not particularly memorable.
One notable aspect of the film is the director's attempt at capturing the adolescent experience, as the story does delve deep into the complexities of coming-of-age, particularly in Asian societies. But even in this regard, some of the plot points are a bit clichéd and overdone.
Overall, A Bright Summer Day has its moments, but it is ultimately a forgettable entry in the coming-of-age genre. While some viewers may appreciate the attempt at capturing the nuances of adolescent life, others may find the plot and characters lacking in depth and development. It's a film worth watching, but not one that will stick with you for long.
Like Nothing Else Ever Made
truemythmedia13 June 2019
Warning: Spoilers
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.
a brighter summer day
mossgrymk6 August 2022
After about sixty minutes a question formed in my head: Why should I spend four hours watching the kind of disaffected youth movie that "Rebel" or "Boyz" or "Dazed/Confused" did much better in two or less? Consequently, I pulled the plug. C plus.
Too long, too dreary
gbill-7487710 November 2020
Evokes an era so transitional and important to the millions of mainland Chinese who fled to Taiwan after the war, and it was certainly nice to see the representation in what was a thoughtful film from Edward Yang. However, I never truly got invested in these characters or the plot, which is mostly about adolescent males vying for dominance with one another, between gangs and within a gang, leading to tragic events. The way it's told is quite ponderous yet often manages to be confusing, and it's strange that a brutal act of revenge doesn't seem to result in anything. There were some interesting moments related to the detention and questioning of the father for political reasons, but they also don't seem to come to much either. The film is far, far too long at four hours, and in all its dreariness it became a chore to finish for me. I have to be true to that in giving it a score, regardless of the acclaim and how much I wanted to like it.
A Brighter Summer Day is arguably the greatest of Edward Yang's films, a masterpiece of Taiwanese cinema, and a treasure for all cineastes to behold.
Eternality16 March 2011
Warning: Spoilers
I am absolutely amazed by this film. A Brighter Summer Day is arguably the greatest of Edward Yang's films, a masterpiece of Taiwanese cinema, and a treasure for all cineastes to behold. Running at an uncompromising four hours in length, this ambitious epic dissects 1960s Taiwanese society through the eyes of its youths, many of whom were embroiled in street gangs as they attempted to search for a collective identity and find individual meaning in a new land besieged by the ramifications of major social and political changes caused by the civil war defeat by the Chinese Communists in 1949.
Based on a true incident in which a teenage son of a civil servant murdered his girlfriend, A Brighter Summer Day makes use of that incident not as a stepping stone to explore the ills of Taiwanese society, but as a powerful exemplification of the culmination of all the social unrest and civil strife till that point that releases itself in one fatal, inevitable swing of a knife, an action that becomes immortalized in Yang's deeply affecting picture about the coming-of-age of an entire generation of "rebels" that defined Taiwan in the 1960s.
A Brighter Summer Day stars Chang Chen in his acting debut, playing the teenage son in question. Flanked by tens of young, non-professional actors, he gives a composed performance that portrays his character, Xiao Si'r, as a quiet and innocent night school student, forced into circumstances that slowly erode his worldview into one of perpetual darkness. Ironically, the English title of the film sounds optimistic and to some extent, idealistically utopian. But really it is a strong juxtaposition to what occurs in the film, of which Yang's provocative visuals successfully reveal to us the violence and crime that plague the streets of Taiwan.
Yang's strong attention to detail and perfectionist style make A Brighter Summer Day a joy to watch. He uses the camera creatively, employing unorthodox angles shot from, for instance, the point-of-view of characters under a bed or looking down onto a stage. Occasionally, he would pan the camera to a plain wall as characters converse nearby, letting viewers imagine their facial expressions. The use of light (or lack of it) is also superb, most evidently in the violent confrontation between separate gangs shot in almost complete darkness.
The film's cinematography switches effortlessly from being gritty in portraying the rough nightlife of youth troublemakers to poetic when Xiao Si'r and his girlfriend, Ming (Lisa Yang), spend time together. One particular scene is etched in my memory – that of Xiao Si'r and Ming enjoying each other's company in the countryside as soldiers in the distance practice their drills. An old bicycle with a rusty metallic bell is placed prominently in the frame – a subtle reminiscent of Ozu's Late Spring (1949) if you will – suggesting a blissful romance that may or may not blossom.
Despite its length, A Brighter Summer Day engages tremendously through Yang's darkly comic dialogue that not only pulls in a fair share of laughs, but also, and more importantly, showcases his astute observation of human interaction, be it in a family setting or in a wider social environment. While Yi Yi (2000) remains to be Yang's most lasting legacy, well, at least in the eyes of those who know this surprisingly under-appreciated director, it is this rare four-hour director's cut that is his masterpiece. A film of such breathtaking scope that is still unmatched in contemporary Asian cinema, A Brighter Summer Day is one of the greatest films that you would probably never get a chance to see.
GRADE: A+ (www.filmnomenon.blogspot.com) All rights reserved.
Based on a true incident in which a teenage son of a civil servant murdered his girlfriend, A Brighter Summer Day makes use of that incident not as a stepping stone to explore the ills of Taiwanese society, but as a powerful exemplification of the culmination of all the social unrest and civil strife till that point that releases itself in one fatal, inevitable swing of a knife, an action that becomes immortalized in Yang's deeply affecting picture about the coming-of-age of an entire generation of "rebels" that defined Taiwan in the 1960s.
A Brighter Summer Day stars Chang Chen in his acting debut, playing the teenage son in question. Flanked by tens of young, non-professional actors, he gives a composed performance that portrays his character, Xiao Si'r, as a quiet and innocent night school student, forced into circumstances that slowly erode his worldview into one of perpetual darkness. Ironically, the English title of the film sounds optimistic and to some extent, idealistically utopian. But really it is a strong juxtaposition to what occurs in the film, of which Yang's provocative visuals successfully reveal to us the violence and crime that plague the streets of Taiwan.
Yang's strong attention to detail and perfectionist style make A Brighter Summer Day a joy to watch. He uses the camera creatively, employing unorthodox angles shot from, for instance, the point-of-view of characters under a bed or looking down onto a stage. Occasionally, he would pan the camera to a plain wall as characters converse nearby, letting viewers imagine their facial expressions. The use of light (or lack of it) is also superb, most evidently in the violent confrontation between separate gangs shot in almost complete darkness.
The film's cinematography switches effortlessly from being gritty in portraying the rough nightlife of youth troublemakers to poetic when Xiao Si'r and his girlfriend, Ming (Lisa Yang), spend time together. One particular scene is etched in my memory – that of Xiao Si'r and Ming enjoying each other's company in the countryside as soldiers in the distance practice their drills. An old bicycle with a rusty metallic bell is placed prominently in the frame – a subtle reminiscent of Ozu's Late Spring (1949) if you will – suggesting a blissful romance that may or may not blossom.
Despite its length, A Brighter Summer Day engages tremendously through Yang's darkly comic dialogue that not only pulls in a fair share of laughs, but also, and more importantly, showcases his astute observation of human interaction, be it in a family setting or in a wider social environment. While Yi Yi (2000) remains to be Yang's most lasting legacy, well, at least in the eyes of those who know this surprisingly under-appreciated director, it is this rare four-hour director's cut that is his masterpiece. A film of such breathtaking scope that is still unmatched in contemporary Asian cinema, A Brighter Summer Day is one of the greatest films that you would probably never get a chance to see.
GRADE: A+ (www.filmnomenon.blogspot.com) All rights reserved.
a superb film
superfly-137 July 2000
Edward Yang's four-hour study of Taiwanese youth gangs in 1960 and their search for personal and national identity is a stunning film; its scope and narrative power reminded me of seeing "The Godfather" for the first time. One remarkable thing about Yang's direction is the virtual absence of close-ups. The action is often shot through a doorway, window, or facade that obscures part of the world within; there's always a sense of life going on beyond the boundary of the frame. That this film hasn't been released in America is a crime.
a full-course meal of a film, and a very good one
Quinoa198417 February 2021
A Brighter Summer Day was for some time one of those titles that I was maybe vaguely aware of in my 20s but only grew to understand was considered in the Super Advanced Level of Film Buffery (or do I call it the Cineastistas? Who knows) a major landmark film, and a film that is about so much in four hours while being mostly about the lives of normal people trying to live - and uh, you know, would-be or actual teen gangs - between 1959 and 1961 in Taipei in Taiwan.
I've eeen Yi Yi and loved it, so this didn't seem like much of a stretch to take in next. Finally watching it, Id say it is... Good. Really good. There are times it's splendid and even mesmerizing in how Yang elevates the everyday and understated into something close to poetry. And the final twenty to thirty minutes, when it's leading up to and that big incident occurs, it almost feels as though it *should* be greater than it is.
Here's why I think I find myself somewhat at a remove from it, at least on a first go-around: Yang shoots much of this, or at least 40% or so of it, at a remove with characters often far away in the shots or at the least Id wager with long lenses, and while he does also in that other 60% go in tighter on people (for example that interrogation with the Father in the second half), he also is a fan of shrouding characters in darkness in certain major set pieces (ie the gangfights/brawls, one of which with a particularly important weapon), and sometimes that point does work to be evocative of this mysterious connection or lack thereof between teens of opposite sexes (there's a lovely scene of a conversation where the boy and girl are in silhouette and she is walking back and forth on a beam, and it's as though her voice is coming from everywhere). He shoots plainly, simply, often in long takes, sometimes deliberately with a character talking to another off screen.
In other words, this movie is entertaining... But it's also, for lack of a better word, work. This isn't to take away from anyone who immediately connects to this dedicatedly stripped down approach to storytelling. And this approach pays off in particular in the second half (you know, two hours of this four hour epic) as the lives of this family and this boy Si'r are becoming more ensconced in drama they can or cannot control, and when deep wells of emotion do bubble up and roil over.
And most of all what makes much of this so different and (in a good way) unique among epic films of this length and scope is that the main character isnt, until near the end, some dark or brooding character, but a good person who is trying to figure out who he is in relation to the world, that being among these teen roughs like Ma and Honey (the latter being maybe the most memorable character in the film), and he is going through a slow but sure coming of age in this city, and looking back (more intellectually than emotionally) I admire how Yang ties Si'r and his feelings of uncertainty and reticence and trying to be one thing and falling into the demise of his own self into Taiwan at the time itself. It's more when I read other reviews that bring this up, that the film on the whole is like a giant metaphor for the death of a nation in the shade of another one (all being exiles and immigrants from China due to... All what happened there and all), and this eventual crime being so inexplicable and yet maybe it could have or should have been seen coming?
I think that it isn't fair to call some of this dull, I know that. But there is a fine line to walk when having understated and naturalistic dramatic scene after understated and naturalistic dramatic scene, and it being *this* long. If it were even two and a half hours it might be in my estimation astonishing. On the other hand, I also have to admit taking the scissors to the movie as is would take some of the heart out of it (for example, the stuff with the Mom who has Asthma, does that need to be there? It does matter as part of the dramatic fabric of the family, so maybe?)
In a film like this, dramatic or just memorable set pieces really do help to break up the flow of things, and Yang is absolutely not a filmmaker all about that; he does get to them, at least by the time we get to concert scenes and those gang fights, but they aren't his primary focus. At the same time, there just.... Wasn't the level of pathos that clicked for me with the dynamics of these characters.
I fully admit that this could change one day if I have another full day to kick my feet up and dig in to this massive but subtle full course meal of cinema. I also always say I prefer a (in his/her element) filmmaker to do more than less. Do I even feel guilty about giving it four stars? I definitely found much to be taken with here, and Chen's performance is kind of incredible as a kid who is more like a lot of us watching: unsure, decent, and, if put into the wrong path, capable of doing bad things. It works as an empathetic story. It's just.... So much of it?
I've eeen Yi Yi and loved it, so this didn't seem like much of a stretch to take in next. Finally watching it, Id say it is... Good. Really good. There are times it's splendid and even mesmerizing in how Yang elevates the everyday and understated into something close to poetry. And the final twenty to thirty minutes, when it's leading up to and that big incident occurs, it almost feels as though it *should* be greater than it is.
Here's why I think I find myself somewhat at a remove from it, at least on a first go-around: Yang shoots much of this, or at least 40% or so of it, at a remove with characters often far away in the shots or at the least Id wager with long lenses, and while he does also in that other 60% go in tighter on people (for example that interrogation with the Father in the second half), he also is a fan of shrouding characters in darkness in certain major set pieces (ie the gangfights/brawls, one of which with a particularly important weapon), and sometimes that point does work to be evocative of this mysterious connection or lack thereof between teens of opposite sexes (there's a lovely scene of a conversation where the boy and girl are in silhouette and she is walking back and forth on a beam, and it's as though her voice is coming from everywhere). He shoots plainly, simply, often in long takes, sometimes deliberately with a character talking to another off screen.
In other words, this movie is entertaining... But it's also, for lack of a better word, work. This isn't to take away from anyone who immediately connects to this dedicatedly stripped down approach to storytelling. And this approach pays off in particular in the second half (you know, two hours of this four hour epic) as the lives of this family and this boy Si'r are becoming more ensconced in drama they can or cannot control, and when deep wells of emotion do bubble up and roil over.
And most of all what makes much of this so different and (in a good way) unique among epic films of this length and scope is that the main character isnt, until near the end, some dark or brooding character, but a good person who is trying to figure out who he is in relation to the world, that being among these teen roughs like Ma and Honey (the latter being maybe the most memorable character in the film), and he is going through a slow but sure coming of age in this city, and looking back (more intellectually than emotionally) I admire how Yang ties Si'r and his feelings of uncertainty and reticence and trying to be one thing and falling into the demise of his own self into Taiwan at the time itself. It's more when I read other reviews that bring this up, that the film on the whole is like a giant metaphor for the death of a nation in the shade of another one (all being exiles and immigrants from China due to... All what happened there and all), and this eventual crime being so inexplicable and yet maybe it could have or should have been seen coming?
I think that it isn't fair to call some of this dull, I know that. But there is a fine line to walk when having understated and naturalistic dramatic scene after understated and naturalistic dramatic scene, and it being *this* long. If it were even two and a half hours it might be in my estimation astonishing. On the other hand, I also have to admit taking the scissors to the movie as is would take some of the heart out of it (for example, the stuff with the Mom who has Asthma, does that need to be there? It does matter as part of the dramatic fabric of the family, so maybe?)
In a film like this, dramatic or just memorable set pieces really do help to break up the flow of things, and Yang is absolutely not a filmmaker all about that; he does get to them, at least by the time we get to concert scenes and those gang fights, but they aren't his primary focus. At the same time, there just.... Wasn't the level of pathos that clicked for me with the dynamics of these characters.
I fully admit that this could change one day if I have another full day to kick my feet up and dig in to this massive but subtle full course meal of cinema. I also always say I prefer a (in his/her element) filmmaker to do more than less. Do I even feel guilty about giving it four stars? I definitely found much to be taken with here, and Chen's performance is kind of incredible as a kid who is more like a lot of us watching: unsure, decent, and, if put into the wrong path, capable of doing bad things. It works as an empathetic story. It's just.... So much of it?
The Youth in Taiwan
valadas12 July 2019
Very good long movie (almost 4 hours) in every aspect: acting perfiormance cutting, quality of images and plot. In Taiwan the descenfants of those millions of Continental Chinese who fled away thereto after the Maoist takeover of their land don't feel well integrated in the Taiwanese society and form street gangs which fight one another and behave soemetimes violently. We follow this evolution in this movie in such realistyc and natural images and scenes that we Forget we are watching a movie and it looks like if we were watching real life scenes theough some window. The main plot tells the story of a young boy who is torn between opposite forces in society, at home and in love. A fascinating movie.
Arthouse cinema rules
alansabljakovic-3904428 February 2020
Arthouse movies are so underrated on imdb and I don't even know why. I guess this site is for popular movies only and top 250 is ridicilous. Letterboxd is much better site for movie lovers.
4 hours flew by and this is epic movie. It is pretty good but it ain't Raise the Red Lantern.
4 hours flew by and this is epic movie. It is pretty good but it ain't Raise the Red Lantern.
Edward Young's chef-d'uvre needs a BluRay rediscovery
lasttimeisaw15 June 2014
Warning: Spoilers
A 228 minutes saga from the late Taiwanese director Edward Yang (Yi Yi 2000, 10/10; A CONFUCIAN'S CONFUSION 1994, 8/10), A BRIGHTER SUMMER DAY, whose literal translation of its original Chinese title is "The Murder Incident of the Boy on Guling Street", is based on a true event in the 1960s, a 14-year-old boy murdered his 13-year-old girlfriend, and became the first juvenile offender served in jail since millions of mainland Chinese retreated to Taiwan in 1949 after the civil war.
Xiao Si'r (Chen Chang in his film debut) is a high school boy, the fourth child (out of 5) in the family, his parents, played by Kuo-Chu Chang and Elaine Jin, are the first generation of immigrants from mainland China. Significantly introduced by the inter-titles at the beginning, for those who are oblivious of the political context, it is a generation of uncertainty and insecurity, they oscillate between kicking off their new life in an unfamiliar island (e.g. the Japanese house they live in) and wallowing in their past homeland, therefore, as their children, the future is more up in the air, the only viable way is to gang up and act out their adolescent hormone and hot-blooded rebellion by trite brawls, loafing around and merrymaking.
The film is an onerous undertaking for the Taiwan cinema (not only at that time), it encompasses more than one hundred amateur actors with multifarious locations, the epic of its narrative progression is patiently and elegantly drawn out by Yang's dispassionate camera angle (sometimes tilted) and long takes, the flux of emotions is gradual but ample, one memorable example is the killing spree in the pitch-black during the outage, overtly pays the homage of Bushido's code of vengeance, the cruelty of survival stands out markedly.
Before Xiao Si'r meets Ming (Lisa Yang, her one-and-only screen role to date), he is a top student in the class, irrelevant to any gangster behaviors, afterward he falls in love with her in the most implicit and Asian fashion, but she has a boyfriend Honey (Hongming Lin), who is the leader of the Little Park gang. When Xiao Si'r finally meets Honey, there is no hard feeling, Honey's idealistic lonely-hero ambition magnetizes him, and after Honey's death, he follows his suit to be the guardian angel of Ming and involuntarily is involved in the payback carnage.
Ming is the most complicated character in the film, firstly we watch her go back to a big house, presumably think she is from a well-heeled family, then we realize she lives with her single mother, who is the maid of the house, and soon is laid off because of her aggravated illness. Ming is much more mature and worldly than her age, and her innocuous looks can easily deceive audience and the infatuated Xiao Si'r. During the pivotal stabbing sequences, she determinedly hollers "the world will not change for you!", it sharply counters Xiao Si'r's indoctrinated belief "my destiny is in my own hands", two worlds collide, and casualty ensues. Here comes the act of passion and its grim consequences. It is a cri-de-cur from a disillusioned youth, to the adult promiscuity, to the ubiquitous bureaucracy, to the unjust world!
Yang presents an ultra-rich fodder among numerous supporting characters, each one brings about a certain empathy in the societal furnace, Xiao Si'r's family in particular, five children are all imbued with their distinct dispositions and the tenable relationships among siblings are by turns heart-melting and heartily-understanding. Their father undergoes a sea change when being excruciatingly investigated by the national security officials, Kuo-Chu Chang and Elaine Jin are professional thespians among the large cast, both are strikingly captivating without any incongruous histrionics with the rest first-time youngsters.
A BRIGHTER SUMMER DAY is one of the most important contemporary masterpiece of Taiwan cinema, and should be recommended to cinephiles from all over the world with Yang's other legacies, I can write a lengthy essay parsing every single role and contextualizing their incisive bonds under that particular societal backdrop, but first of all, it is in urgent need of BluRay restoration, the DVD version I watched is way too inferior.
Xiao Si'r (Chen Chang in his film debut) is a high school boy, the fourth child (out of 5) in the family, his parents, played by Kuo-Chu Chang and Elaine Jin, are the first generation of immigrants from mainland China. Significantly introduced by the inter-titles at the beginning, for those who are oblivious of the political context, it is a generation of uncertainty and insecurity, they oscillate between kicking off their new life in an unfamiliar island (e.g. the Japanese house they live in) and wallowing in their past homeland, therefore, as their children, the future is more up in the air, the only viable way is to gang up and act out their adolescent hormone and hot-blooded rebellion by trite brawls, loafing around and merrymaking.
The film is an onerous undertaking for the Taiwan cinema (not only at that time), it encompasses more than one hundred amateur actors with multifarious locations, the epic of its narrative progression is patiently and elegantly drawn out by Yang's dispassionate camera angle (sometimes tilted) and long takes, the flux of emotions is gradual but ample, one memorable example is the killing spree in the pitch-black during the outage, overtly pays the homage of Bushido's code of vengeance, the cruelty of survival stands out markedly.
Before Xiao Si'r meets Ming (Lisa Yang, her one-and-only screen role to date), he is a top student in the class, irrelevant to any gangster behaviors, afterward he falls in love with her in the most implicit and Asian fashion, but she has a boyfriend Honey (Hongming Lin), who is the leader of the Little Park gang. When Xiao Si'r finally meets Honey, there is no hard feeling, Honey's idealistic lonely-hero ambition magnetizes him, and after Honey's death, he follows his suit to be the guardian angel of Ming and involuntarily is involved in the payback carnage.
Ming is the most complicated character in the film, firstly we watch her go back to a big house, presumably think she is from a well-heeled family, then we realize she lives with her single mother, who is the maid of the house, and soon is laid off because of her aggravated illness. Ming is much more mature and worldly than her age, and her innocuous looks can easily deceive audience and the infatuated Xiao Si'r. During the pivotal stabbing sequences, she determinedly hollers "the world will not change for you!", it sharply counters Xiao Si'r's indoctrinated belief "my destiny is in my own hands", two worlds collide, and casualty ensues. Here comes the act of passion and its grim consequences. It is a cri-de-cur from a disillusioned youth, to the adult promiscuity, to the ubiquitous bureaucracy, to the unjust world!
Yang presents an ultra-rich fodder among numerous supporting characters, each one brings about a certain empathy in the societal furnace, Xiao Si'r's family in particular, five children are all imbued with their distinct dispositions and the tenable relationships among siblings are by turns heart-melting and heartily-understanding. Their father undergoes a sea change when being excruciatingly investigated by the national security officials, Kuo-Chu Chang and Elaine Jin are professional thespians among the large cast, both are strikingly captivating without any incongruous histrionics with the rest first-time youngsters.
A BRIGHTER SUMMER DAY is one of the most important contemporary masterpiece of Taiwan cinema, and should be recommended to cinephiles from all over the world with Yang's other legacies, I can write a lengthy essay parsing every single role and contextualizing their incisive bonds under that particular societal backdrop, but first of all, it is in urgent need of BluRay restoration, the DVD version I watched is way too inferior.
Definitely a film that subverted my expectations and I liked it!
alexpantoja-1511711 November 2020
I had heard about this film after seeing Edward Yang's Yi-Yi. I did not like Yi-Yi, upon hearing many critics praise Yi-Yi, I watched it and was completely appalled at how pointless the film was. Maybe it's the fact that the film was insanely long and the structure of the film was weak due to its length, like too many characters to keep track of, weak plot, and nothing really to walk away from the film with. I finished the insanely long movie and gained no insight or thoughts on anything, if anything I was pleased that I had finished it. Overall I gave Yi-Yi a 3/10, there was just too much wrong with the film for me to enjoy it.
Finally, I had heard of Edward Yang's other film A Brighter Summer's ray and thought, oh great another long Edward Yang film that everybody says is a masterpiece. After hearing more and more about it I finally decided to sit down and watch it today. The film was excellent, I couldn't even believe how similar it was to Yi-Yi, but it had a much better story and captivating tone to it. The constant tone shifts of gang members engaging in brutal fights and betrayal made me forget that these are middle school kids and then showing them in their school settings was a huge tone shift that flowed so smoothly.
The romance in the film could have been a bit more developed, I thought that this was a mix of The Outsiders, West Side Story, and Romeo and Juliet, because of the romance between members and women a part of rival gangs/territories, but I was so enthralled with the romance element, or Atleast what I was expecting it to be, that the overall theme of identity and how some people never change went completely over my head. I really wanted this to be a star crossed lovers tale, I'm really into those, yet what I got was much darker and I loved it. I was not expecting the ending at all, it completely threw me off and was stunned until the final credits rolled.
Definitely check it out!
Finally, I had heard of Edward Yang's other film A Brighter Summer's ray and thought, oh great another long Edward Yang film that everybody says is a masterpiece. After hearing more and more about it I finally decided to sit down and watch it today. The film was excellent, I couldn't even believe how similar it was to Yi-Yi, but it had a much better story and captivating tone to it. The constant tone shifts of gang members engaging in brutal fights and betrayal made me forget that these are middle school kids and then showing them in their school settings was a huge tone shift that flowed so smoothly.
The romance in the film could have been a bit more developed, I thought that this was a mix of The Outsiders, West Side Story, and Romeo and Juliet, because of the romance between members and women a part of rival gangs/territories, but I was so enthralled with the romance element, or Atleast what I was expecting it to be, that the overall theme of identity and how some people never change went completely over my head. I really wanted this to be a star crossed lovers tale, I'm really into those, yet what I got was much darker and I loved it. I was not expecting the ending at all, it completely threw me off and was stunned until the final credits rolled.
Definitely check it out!
Beautifully Filmed Slice Of Taiwanese History
redrobin62-321-20731110 May 2020
One of the things I most appreciate about foreign films is the chance to learn a lot about a culture I've never been exposed to. "A Brighter Summer Day" is such a journey. Who knew the Taiwanese were so much into American music in 1961? What made this movie work was the generally fine acting from everyone involved as well as all that gorgeous scenery. They had some of the most beautiful gardens around, that's for sure. I saw the remastered full Criterion print so the colors sparkled. My lone gripe? The length of the film. At four hours it took me three days to watch. Quite a few parts were slow, too, like, snail slow. Otherwise, it's recommended viewing if you have the patience and time.
A novelistic exploration of the meanings and contradictions of Taiwanese cultural identity.
khanbaliq228 June 2010
Warning: Spoilers
The film is an extraordinarily large project for a Chinese-language film, not only for its duration of almost four hours, but also for its involvement of more than 100 amateur actors in different roles. A Taiwanese teenager in the 1960s encounters gang rivalries, violence and first love.
A Brighter Summer Day is a remarkable story, loosely based on fact, set in a nation still trying to find its way in the shadow of Communist China. As always with director Edward Yang, the wealth of accumulated detail contributes to the emotional satisfaction of the story. The film was awarded several wins in Asia Pacific Film Festival, Kinema Junpo Awards and Tokyo International Film Festival.
A Brighter Summer Day is a remarkable story, loosely based on fact, set in a nation still trying to find its way in the shadow of Communist China. As always with director Edward Yang, the wealth of accumulated detail contributes to the emotional satisfaction of the story. The film was awarded several wins in Asia Pacific Film Festival, Kinema Junpo Awards and Tokyo International Film Festival.
My humble opinion
vitachiel1 August 2011
Time for some counterbalance. For me it was quite a challenge to sit this one through. There has been much praise for its historical significance, its lyricism and the remarkable feats of the actors; I found it boring, monotonous and slightly pretentious. Am I the only one here or do the like-minded just not care to review on it?
The main character, S'ir, lacked charisma and the attempt to tell so many stories at once results in a serious lack of coherence. The only things I may remember from this film are the magnetic 'rebel without a cause' Honey and the little guy singing in his rock 'n roll band. The rest is just a drag. Four hours long
The main character, S'ir, lacked charisma and the attempt to tell so many stories at once results in a serious lack of coherence. The only things I may remember from this film are the magnetic 'rebel without a cause' Honey and the little guy singing in his rock 'n roll band. The rest is just a drag. Four hours long
A great Chinese epic
directjw7 November 2003
Edward Yang's A Brighter Summer's Day is a very effective epic. However, unlike epic films made in the U.S., Yang's movie is epic on a more intimate level, as it focuses on the daily life of a Chinese family during turbulent times.
There are no melodramatic scenes, everything feels authentic and honest. Of course, a film of such high quality as this is a tough sell in the U.S., hence it wasn't released here. Or if it is ever released, it will be heavily edited down.
Yang's film has allusions to Tolstoy's War and Peace, and its gangster elements are refereshingly unique compared to other gangster movies. If you get the chance to watch this four hour movie, do so by all means. I saw the entire film in one sitting without one restroom break!
There are no melodramatic scenes, everything feels authentic and honest. Of course, a film of such high quality as this is a tough sell in the U.S., hence it wasn't released here. Or if it is ever released, it will be heavily edited down.
Yang's film has allusions to Tolstoy's War and Peace, and its gangster elements are refereshingly unique compared to other gangster movies. If you get the chance to watch this four hour movie, do so by all means. I saw the entire film in one sitting without one restroom break!
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