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Starring: Nien-Jen Wu, Elaine Jin, Issey Ogata, and Kelly Lee

Directed by: Edward Yang

A film that is really wise and speaks from a place which is really close to our hearts. When i saw this film i was stunned with the way things were approached. It is more of a social commentary but done with a specific technique in mind. The director is the late Edward Yang who had been felicitated several times at the Cannes for his extraordinary body of work. His films on more subliminal level even though the themes our more commonplace in society. There are many common themes of love lost, son who wishes to reach out to his mother and struggles at the work place. But all this shot in a very unorthodox style. This gives us a feeling that we are peaking into these peoples lives.

The whole family is going through a turmoil of sorts. Each member is affected by the grandmother who lies on her bed and is not able to get up. The premise of this death takes a toll on everyone. It makes each of them do things which they don’t normally do. A lot of stimuli is exhibit by each family member. One of the strongest examples is that of the father who goes to his old lover and confronts her for all the reasons he had to leave her. He doesn’t have the strength to love her that much. These situations are shot from further angles making it as if we are right there while it is happening. The director wants to feel a lot more disconnected to the situations. But the character who encompasses each of them is the youngest son. He tirelessly learns how to swim and takes pictures of people’s heads. He is trying to tell us that these are things we don’t look at all the time. They also don’t remain the same we dont have much control over these things.

The film is more or less an impressionist work of art. There is no time invested in emotions but only on the surroundings and consequences of what happens. The film is essentially very thought provoking and gives a sense of dread of what are futures might become. The film also deals with the consequences of a city life. The speed things change on a regular basis in the city. There is a lot to catch up in a day in a bustling city. But will we have time for the essential core of what life entails. Each of us face issues of loss but how many of us vent it out? Is it that the world has become to harsh that we are not given time to vent out our feelings? Or do we use depression as a means to win friends? These are all the underlying questions this film tries to answer.