Here is the listing for Yi Yi on the Arts&Faith Top100 list.

New link to the Flickerings blurb on this film.

Interesting. I'm watching Three Colors: White, and Kieslowski uses the device of an (apparently) older, wiser man knowing all the cards in the deck, much the way the character does in Yi yi. The two characters two have similar roles: Having to tell the protagonist how things (seemingly) "really are".

Does anyone know if there's anything on the YY disc commentary about this?

Any other films use the knowing-all-the-cards-in-the-deck imagery?

Cool. Contemporary Asian cinema is not usually Criterion's forté.

Wow! I'm absolutely thrilled to see that Criterion has picked up this film! This movie was one of the first movies I watched due to reading the reviews of Jeffrey Overstreet (I e-mailed him to ask if there was inappropriate material!), and I fell in love. At the time, I related with the young boy within an overwhelmingly female peer-group, but the careful observation of each character proves enriching upon every re-viewing.

That's great. Yeah, I'm glad this film will finally get a good region 1 release and a little more exposure. But of course, the film buff in me partly wishes Criterion would have released any number of highly-praised Yang fims that aren't available, like A Brighter Summer Day (only available as an Asian VCD) or A Confucian Confusion.

It's their first Taiwanese film, too, so I wish they had included a documentary or something on one of the most highly acclaimed national cinemas of recent years. (Something like Hsiao Chu-Chen's Our Time, Our Story: 20 years' New Taiwan Cinema.)

But I know, I know...I shouldn't complain.

Just finished watching this one yesterday, which took me three sessions because of its length and density. Came out concluding that its a mixed bag - not surprising, considering how extraordinarily ambitious it is.

Some of the moments left me thinking, "How true!" Especially those involving the young boy, who is clearly a stand-in for the filmmaker himself. The story arc involving his older sister and her abortive romance, however, seemed "off" - I couldn't really follow why he left his girlfriend, and then left her for the previous one, and then [spoiler]committed murder, which is a pretty extreme sort of thing to throw into the mix![/spoiler] That storyline, I feel, should have been more developed, or left out entirely.

This was also yet another fine, insightful movie, where I feel like a lot of the conflicts would be solved by a little less silence, a little more attempt at communication. Especially in the case of the father of the family, who keeps his love at a distance until finally [spoiler]admitting to her that he has only ever loved her - and then she closes the door in his face?![/spoiler] That was pretty stupid! What was she thinking?

The blurb which Alan linked to mentioned subtle significances in the music, which I completely missed - someone care to explain a bit further?

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Taiwanese Director Yang Dies at 59
Edward Yang, who won best director in 2000 at the Cannes Film Festival and was known for his realistic portrayals of modern Taiwan, has died of complications from colon cancer, a film industry consultant said Sunday. He was 59.
Associated Press, July 1

Oh, this is going to hurt for a long, long time.

I have been longing for a new film from Yang. I am so grateful to him for Yi-Yi.

Does anyone know... was he working on another film? Has he made anything since Yi-Yi?

What a poet he was. What a humble, gracious, insightful man he seemed through his storytelling.

Jeffrey: Don't know if you already know this, your eulogy has been picked up at the House Next Door.

EDIT: Also, looking at Jim Emerson's blog, he highlights the DVD availability of what Jonathan Rosenbaum refers to as Yang's greatest film.

Wow. Cool. I just need to find out which of the two DVD editions mentioned is superior....