Taipei Story; or, The Journey of Souls
Look at these buildings. It's getting harder for me to tell... which ones I designed and which ones I didn't. They all look the same. Whether I'm involved or not seems less and less important.
The late director Edward Yang is, arguably, best known for his final motion picture Yi Yi (2000) but his older works also deserve attention. In 1985, he made his third feature film Taipei Story which is hailed by critics as the paragon of New Wave cinema. Starring a fellow director Hou Hsiao Hsien and a popular singer Tsai Chin in the leading roles, the movie presents a slice-of-life story about two people searching for happiness in a big city.
Look at these buildings. It's getting harder for me to tell... which ones I designed and which ones I didn't. They all look the same. Whether I'm involved or not seems less and less important.
The late director Edward Yang is, arguably, best known for his final motion picture Yi Yi (2000) but his older works also deserve attention. In 1985, he made his third feature film Taipei Story which is hailed by critics as the paragon of New Wave cinema. Starring a fellow director Hou Hsiao Hsien and a popular singer Tsai Chin in the leading roles, the movie presents a slice-of-life story about two people searching for happiness in a big city.
Release Info
Directed by: Edward Yang Starring: Tsai Chin, Hou Hsiao Hsien
Language: Mandarin, Hokkien Original Title: 青梅竹馬 Runtime: 120 min
Synopsis
Chin (Tsai Chin) is a manager’s assistant at a construction company. Due to the takeover of the business by another corporation, she loses the job. She lives at an apartment complex together with her sister and childhood love, Lung (Hou Hsiao Hsien). He is a former baseball player who remembers the good old days. Lung intends to move to the United States and start a business there, but he still has feelings for his former girlfriend who lives in Japan. On top of that, Chin and Lung are plagued by family problems as Chin’s father falls in debt. Will the two ever form a long-term relationship?
Chin (Tsai Chin) is a manager’s assistant at a construction company. Due to the takeover of the business by another corporation, she loses the job. She lives at an apartment complex together with her sister and childhood love, Lung (Hou Hsiao Hsien). He is a former baseball player who remembers the good old days. Lung intends to move to the United States and start a business there, but he still has feelings for his former girlfriend who lives in Japan. On top of that, Chin and Lung are plagued by family problems as Chin’s father falls in debt. Will the two ever form a long-term relationship?
Quiet and Restless
In Taipei Story, Edward Yang masterfully paints an image of westernized Taiwan from the 1980s. This is no longer a world of traditional values and hierarchical society. Americanization creeps into every aspect of life. At one moment you can find yourself watching aesthetically-pleasing Japanese commercials, and soon after, you suddenly dance at a nightclub to the beats of Footloose song.
In Taipei Story, Edward Yang masterfully paints an image of westernized Taiwan from the 1980s. This is no longer a world of traditional values and hierarchical society. Americanization creeps into every aspect of life. At one moment you can find yourself watching aesthetically-pleasing Japanese commercials, and soon after, you suddenly dance at a nightclub to the beats of Footloose song.
Indeed,
Yang positions the protagonists against the backdrop of a metropolis
full of neons. How they can move on with their lives, when there’s
always something holding them back? I think that the most striking scene
of the film is the one in which Chin and some random guy play with a
pencil on the top floor of an abandoned building. Even Haruki Murakami
would not have been able to come up with such an image of two people
killing time.
Although Chin tries to find her way in the abyss of
urban cityscape, her boyfriend, Lung, is literally stuck in the past. He
does not give a damn about the present or future consequences of his
actions, he just acts, because (in view of what he experienced) it is a
right thing to do (for instance, helping out Chin’s father or his
baseball friend in need). Nevertheless, Yang condemns such longing for
things long gone, and, as a result, Lung drifts further away from Chin.
The
movie’s purpose is not to tell a story, but rather to make the viewer
experience a feeling of spiritual emptiness. To be honest, I am amazed
that the movie has yet been dissected into retrowave memes. It contains
all the right tropes: VHS, Japan vibes, long shots of driving through a
city, etc…
Recommendations
If you are in the mood for a poetic feast from Edward Yang himself, then I recommend Taipei Story. Personally, I think that it is best to watch this film back to back with Wong Kar-wai’s Chungking Express. Both movies complement each other stylistically.
If you are in the mood for a poetic feast from Edward Yang himself, then I recommend Taipei Story. Personally, I think that it is best to watch this film back to back with Wong Kar-wai’s Chungking Express. Both movies complement each other stylistically.
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