Film at Lincoln Center will present Desire/Expectations: The Films of Edward Yang from December 22, 2023 to January 4, 2024. The program brings together Yang’s rarely screened works like Mahjong (1996) and A Confucian Confusion (1994), and widely beloved works such as A Brighter Summer Day (1991), Taipei Story (1985), and Terrorizers (1986).
Mahjong (1996) in new 4K restoration will have its world premiere as part of the series. In addition, the other two of Yang’s Taipei Trilogy, Yi Yi (2000) and A Confucian Confusion (1994) are also included. The trinity dealt with complex interpersonal relationships in a fast-changing and urbanized society, to capture the ethos of Taiwan’s rapid modernization. Yang won Best Director at the Cannes Film Festival in France in 2000 for Yi Yi (2000), and the film also ranked eighth on the BBC's list of the 21st Century's 100 greatest films.
Born in Shanghai and brought to Taiwan by his family in 1949, Yang emerged in the early 1980s then became the Taiwan New Cinema movement’s prominent figures with his artistic contributions to In Our Time (1982), followed by That Day, on the Beach (1983), Taipei Story (1985) and Terrorizers (1986). An electrical-engineer-turned filmmaker, Yang was known for his perfectionism, completing only seven feature films before his death from colorectal cancer in 2007 at the age of 59.
“Yang gracefully responded to the world’s changes across seven expansive features, each one notable for their sprawling, unconventional narrative structures, effortlessly precise compositions, and largely nonprofessional casts that expressed a heartfelt, near-omniscient understanding of life on the small island nation, “ according to Film at Lincoln Center ‘s online introduction for the retrospective.
On top of all the feature-length films directed by Yang, a seldom-screened film: The Winter of 1905 (1982), directed by Yu Wei-cheng and script by Yang is included in this program. The story is based on the New Cultural Movement’s pioneer, Li Shu-tong’s youth. It is considered legendary for being Yang’s first co-written film and the first project of the Taiwanese New Wave giants – Jan Hung-tze, Yu Wei-yen, Tu Duu-chih, and Chen Po-wen, etc. Financed and completed with the help of director Yu’s family and friends, the film never found a distributor so was never officially released. It is a rare gem of Taiwan cinema history.
For more information, please visit: https://www.filmlinc.org/series/desire-expectations-the-films-of-edward-yang/#about
《Desire/Expectations: The Films of Edward Yang》
Film at Lincoln Center
Walter Reade Theater (165 W 65th Street, north side, upper level)
Tickets: https://www.filmlinc.org/series/desire-expectations-the-films-of-edward-yang/#films
$ 17 General Public
$ 14 Students, Seniors, and Persons with Disabilities
$ 12 Members
Showtime
Friday, December 22
3:00 pm Yi Yi
6:30 pm Yi Yi
Saturday, December 23
1:30 pm Taipei Story
4:00 pm A Brighter Summer Day
8:30 pm Mahjong
Sunday, December 24
1:30 pm A Confucian Confusion
4:15 pm That Day, on the Beach
7:45 pm Terrorizers
Monday, December 25
2:00 pm A Brighter Summer Day
6:30 pm Yi Yi
Tuesday, December 26
3:30 pm In Our Time
6:00 pm The Winter of 1905
8:00 pm A Confucian Confusion
Wednesday, December 27
2:00 pm Mahjong
4:30 pm Yi Yi
8:00 pm That Day, on the Beach
Thursday, December 28
1:30 pm A Confucian Confusion
4:15 pm Mahjong
Friday, December 29
2:00 pm Yi Yi
6:00 pm Terrorizers
8:30 pm Taipei Story
Saturday, December 30
2:00 pm In Our Time
4:30 pm That Day, on the Beach
8:00 pm Yi Yi
Sunday, December 31
1:00 pm Yi Yi
4:30 pm Taipei Story
7:00 pm A Brighter Summer Day
Monday, January 1
1:30 pm A Brighter Summer Day
6:00 pm Terrorizers
8:30 pm Taipei Story
Tuesday, January 2
3:30 pm Taipei Story
6:00 pm In Our Time
8:30 PM Yi Yi
Wednesday, January 3
2:30 pm Yi Yi
6:30 pm The Winter of 1905
8:30 pm Mahjong
Thursday, January 4
1:30 pm A Confucian Confusion
4:15 pm A Brighter Summer Day》
8:45 pm Yi Yi