In Taiwan people seldom connect. The trauma of city life is a heavy
burden for the middle-class families of Edward Yang’s film, whose
stories intertwine as we meander through love, loss and endurance.
Yang's skill (which deservedly won him best director at Cannes) lies in
his sense of calculated detachment, reflecting emotional distance
between characters, breached only by language, even musical or
visual. The Altman-esque social panorama and sprawling soap opera
complexity of the narrative are perhaps too overwhelming for a first
viewing – but great films demand that you return. South East Asian
Enders this is not: Yang will make you work, but it’ll be rewarding.
