A Brighter Summer Day

Incredible camera work that commands patience and so so SO beautifully and meticulously shot - especially the use of light and darkness. Some of the most flawless scenes ever!!! At all times I’m endlessly interested in both what is in the frame or just beyond it; clearly nothing is seen or heard without Edward Yang wanting you to have consumed it. However, it was truly too long for me, and despite the 4hr run time, I didn’t really feel the depth of characters or emotions as much as I was anticipating. I think this is due to how expansive the story is, using its breadth to capture the era perfectly rather than building depth - which I don’t hold against it.

Sure, the four-hour running time seems a bit excessive and there really isn't much in the way of a plot and what story there is may be hard to follow at times, but Edward Yang's A Brighter Summer Day, despite its possible shortcomings, is nothing short of astounding. It's basically a coming-of-age story set in Taiwan in the early 1960s that follows the troubled life of Si'r (Chang Chen), a disenfranchised teenager who finds himself drawn into gang activity. Beautifully written and encompassing numerous themes, it is also visually stunning as each shot is perfectly framed and each scene is meticulously blocked. Set some time aside, get comfortable, and enjoy a unique viewing experience. You won't be disappointed.

Greatest film ever made.

A person who'll apologize for wrongs he didn't commit is capable of all sorts of terrible things. A Brighter Summer Day is a story of love, friendship, music, growing up, and family. It is a film that is slow and methodical as we peer into the lives of people in Taiwan. What would you do if your culture, government, home, and sense of purpose were uprooted and taken away? Would you grasp out looking for a connection, a family that accepts you? This is what millions of kids did when they fled to Taiwan in the 50s & 60s and is the main driving force in A Brighter Summer Day. This upheaval from China to Taiwan will bring cultures clashing, teenage rebellion, happiness, sadness, and new identities to the people of Taiwan. The lives we watch in A Brighter Summer Day are complicated, sometimes boring, and real. We watch a young boy named Xiao Si'r grasp moralities, truth, and doing the right thing. Ziao Si'r is constantly getting into trouble for being truthful or for not speaking up, not for doing the wrong thing. This troublemaking slowly cascades for Si'r as we watch him unravel and distance himself from everyone around him. These connections we form have a way of finding us in the most unexpected ways. A Brighter Summer Day expertly weaves these various connections and scenes throughout the film. A Brighter Summer Day is a film of near perfection.

Masterpiece! It took almost three hours to describe why xiaosi would kill xiaming, in a restless time, a good person always got in trouble. All the people he loved died, changed or were treated unfairly. The most girl he treasured was totally an actress playing him. Such restricted and profound.

The title comes from a mistranslation of a line from Elvis' Are you lonely tonight. It's a story of 1960s teenage Taiwanese angst containing murder, gang warfare and much else. The runtime of 4 hours just felt like an arduous drag to me and I had no idea who half the characters were even by the end of the film. I understand it is well shot and not too dull for such a long film but I just didn't care much for anything that was going on. Not for me. I caught this one on an incredibly high quality YouTube channel. Well worth watching on there if looking to watch this film as DVD copies are pricey and hard to find good streaming options.

If you don't mind the length... it's good, for a film that doesn't have a plot...

برأيي ان هذا العمل هو مثال حي، وأصل يستند به عند ذكر السينما التأملية، سينما ادوارد يانق حيث مساحة للتأمل في فساد العلاقات والدائرة الاجتماعية وما يمكن ان تؤثر به على المجتمع في مساحة نائية صغيرة لإدوارد يانق كبيرة في مضمونها

Wow, this movie looks gorgeous. The careful and meticulous framing is exquisite. This is an interesting period for Taiwan. I've never seen Taiwan set in the 50's / 60's with such detail. The movie feels alive. It feels like we're taking part of life during that time instead of just witnessing it. The film locations are beautiful, almost unreal. And the movie is shot with such a precise and masterful eye. It seems like times are pretty tough for these kids in Taiwan during the 60's. School almost seems more like military than actual school. Especially with the way their uniforms look. Life's so harsh for them that it's common for these kids to be in gangs, just so they can feel they have some security and place in the world. It seems Si'r, the main character boy, comes from a somewhat poor family and upbringing. He shares the house with six other people and there seems to be barely any rooms. In fact, his room is literally a cot inside a sliding closet door. Ok, I guess these kids are in fact in a sort of military school. It seems like the whole country is ready for an attack with all the tanks on the street. The girl that Si'r met at school was kind of cute. I like how the little boy is the one who sings falsetto at the club lol. It sucks because Si'r is a good kid but Sly and others seem to be getting him into trouble. TO BE CONTINUED…. I didn't finish watching the movie. I got about 1 hour 15 minutes in and the movie is 4 fucking hours long. I will finish the movie eventually but I didn't feel like it was worth my time to sit down and dedicate another 3 hours or so to watching the film. 4 hours is to long for a fucking movie. The movie looks gorgeous and is shot beautifully. It's definitely inspirational. I'll just leave it at that.

5 stars isn't high enough for this absolute masterpiece. Rarely have I ever seen a film with as much emotion and depth as this. Please do not be discouraged by the runtime, you will not regret watching this the whole way through.