Yi Yi: A One and a Two (traditional Chinese: 一一; literally “one one”) is an acclaimed Taiwanese film directed by Edward Yang about the emotional struggles of a business man and the lives of his middle class Taiwanese family in Taipei seen though three generations. The English title refers to how two Chinese characters for “one” (一) written in vertical alignment can be viewed as meaning “A One” or as a single character meaning “Two” (二).

I enjoyed this film immensely. It was internationally acclaimed and won its director, Edward Yang (楊德昌), the Best Director at Cannes Award in 2000 and was nominated for the Palme d’Or in the same year.

Apparently it wasn’t released widely in Taiwan because the director was angry at those who control the distribution of films.

The film is long, about 3 hours. It begins with a wedding, ends with a funeral and offers an intimate insight into the lives of a Taipei family. It’s beautifully shot and flows effortlessly. I didn’t notice that it was 3 hours long. Edward Yang died in 2007.

You can see the trailer below.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OiM5XDeTxjk]

Torrent available here.