Yi yi: A One and a Two...
User Score
8.3 out of 10

Universal acclaim- based on 45 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 38 out of 45
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 45
  3. Negative: 5 out of 45

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  1. SohyunW.
    Nov 12, 2006
    3
    After my first viewing, I was hesitant to give it a bad review. Maybe I missed something? But after my first viewing, this is what I came up with: It is very predictable. All the situations were not creative. I can think of real modern day situations more complex and interesting than the ones in the movie. Scene opens with Wedding and characters "build" their personality into already familiar "yawn..." ones to me. Maybe I had overdose of Asian drama. After the second viewing and third viewing, I was trying to understand why such a non creative storyline about an Asian family is so "delicate.... an intriguing investigation on the entire melody of life." After the fourth view, I realized some people like boring, predictable storylines. They like what is known to them, and don't bother to look for something that makes you think about family stages and struggles!!!… Expand
  2. KimW
    Feb 6, 2009
    8
    I watched this movie in chunks in a Chinese class. Overall, it is a wonderfully moving movie. As a teenager, I find this movie a bit slow. This movie may be too slow for most teenagers used to action movies like Dark Knight. The stories of the different family members are common, but unique to each of them. It captures all parts of life, and has the most adorable little boy being the curious and wise little kid. I do find that some of the questions asked in the movie a little "forced", and Yang was maybe trying to be too deep. All in all, a great movie. If anything, watch the very last scene.… Expand
  3. joomjim4
    Jun 18, 2012
    10
    "The Bible" in the world of film. So many things went wrong in the story of this movie but not a thing that has went wrong in this precious achievement from Edward Yang. The film examines the complexity of the universal themes of guilt and loneliness that "every" human has to face. Life is simple, but it is the profundity that truly constructs the beauty of our life. There might not be something as "future" but only the past- as a lesson and the present to study, tomorrow is only there..waiting to be present time. YiYi A One And A Two is a film full of emotions of our daily life. It reflects those most ordinary circumstances and successfully doubled the meanings and importance through the image which shows the side that ourselves would not be able to confront or even realize. The film that has changed my whole perspective of life.… Expand
  4. PaulD.
    Aug 20, 2001
    9
    Terrific movie--A host of memorable characters that keep you interested throughout. Many involving, moving moments, but probably too slow for teens used to current action flicks.
  5. PatrickD.
    Jun 3, 2006
    10
    One of the finest movies I have ever seen. If you get the chance, do not miss out.
  6. PatrikK.
    Feb 20, 2005
    10
    Beautiful minimalist movie about a Taiwanese family's life.
  7. saeida.
    Mar 2, 2005
    10
    Send me.
  8. JimG.
    Jun 24, 2006
    8
    It took me at least three sittings to watch this movie. Though some suggest it "just" captures everyday life, I suggest it captures life justly--the complexity of each day of each character is as dense, shallow, intriguing, or boring as one wants to make it. Maybe that explains why the ratings here are 1's and 10's. How many viewers does it take to be changed? Just one. But the viewer has to want to change.… Expand
  9. JimD.
    Feb 9, 2001
    10
    An extraordinarily warm and moving film. It does help, however, to be over forty years old to fully appreciate it.
  10. NoreenH.
    Oct 29, 2003
    5
    I am amazed at the critical acclaim this movie received. After I rented it I wondered, did i request the wrong movie? I could point a camera at any of my friends or relatives during a pivotal event in their lives (wedding, death) and find more interesting situations and more attractive people than any in this film. It was boring! Sometimes I wonder (and I am Asian American) if film critics give extra credit to Asian films. I can't see what it was I missed. I'll take an Ang Lee or a Miyazaki animated film over this any day… Expand
  11. YoonC.
    Sep 21, 2003
    8
    A nice, humane, more or less truthful movie about modern Asian family. At its best, it breaks down the family unit into touching instances of individuals struggling with their tortured lives. It's about how normal people all face risk of going over the edge into the abyss and how the power of family, friendship, work, and tradition ultimately keep us--most of us, anyway--together. Intelligent, honest, personal, but perhaps a bit dry and dramatically diluted with its large cast of characters. … Expand
  12. [Anonymous]
    Mar 11, 2005
    5
    Soap Opera.
  13. TobieL
    May 26, 2005
    10
    This is VERY taiwanese!!!
  14. MichaelS.
    Feb 24, 2006
    1
    Slow. Drab. Melodramatic. The stuff of soap operas condensed into a lugubrious mess of a movie. The occasional flash of brilliance in scene setting is wasted on dull, occasionally emotionally manipulative (but strangely uncompelling) storytelling.
  15. DaveR.
    Apr 6, 2006
    1
    A dull, slow, amateurish soap opera. Had it been set in Cleveland rather than Taiwan, the critics would have mauled it.
  16. MarkB
    Sep 26, 2006
    10
    What a nice surprise to see that my favorite movie of all time is high on the metacritic all-time DVD list! Rent this when you want to watch an excellent, beautiful movie. It's about life in the modern world: human motivations, childhood and adulthood, but especially about the beauty and pain of love that we experience throughout our lives. So many themes, so many great, quiet moments. Be warned that it is long, and not necessarily action-packed throughout, so don't watch if you're sleepy and/or have an unconvinced, not-really-into-it-but-I'll-give-it-a-shot watching partners. But I highly recommend this movie to anyone who likes "thinky" movies, beautiful and creative cinematography, and natural, human characters. You won't regret it.… Expand
  17. NachoC
    Aug 8, 2009
    10
    (Yi Yi, or One and Two) is one of the best films I have ever seen. Took me two sittings; not because of its 178 minute running time but for the sheer epic vision it has on real life. Actual life.
  18. Gilbert
    Nov 15, 2002
    9
    That's more like it. ivans xtc. has the stupidest title in history. But "A One And A Two" - what a great name! And a great, sad, funny, emotional, if slow, movie to go with it. Yay? Yay.
  19. D.G.
    Dec 11, 2004
    10
    slowly, this film leave you alone with your monkey mind, without big things to catch, just music and beautiful scenes, no enough for modern tv people... And then, it rings at the door of your inner-feelings: hey, this your life, this the life you're living... you love it because it's yours, but how will take the picture of your back? Sometimes, you feel a movie, but only a few you live in it.… Expand
  20. JoshT.
    Sep 17, 2005
    10
    The best movie I've ever seen. Anyone who didn't like it, I'm sorry to say, probably didn't have the intellectual aptitude for it.
  21. KevinL.
    Feb 25, 2007
    10
    Most beautiful movie I've ever seen. The slow pace is perfect. The timing leaves so much to be said in your mind instead of on screen. The actions and emotions of the characters is wonderfully rendered by the actors, then colored by cinematography techniques and captured on film.
  22. JeffC.
    Sep 23, 2007
    10
    Nicest movie I've seen in years. Very real, very human and interesting.
  23. SabuekR.
    Nov 25, 2002
    10
    Awesome.

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
92 out of 100

Universal acclaim - based on 23 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 23 out of 23
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 23
  3. Negative: 0 out of 23
  1. Chicago Reader
    Reviewed by: Jonathan Rosenbaum
    90
    Yang seems to miss nothing as he interweaves shifting viewpoints and poignant emotional refrains.
    Read full review
  2. Rolling Stone
    Reviewed by: Peter Travers
    90
    A marvel of delicacy and humor.
  3. Philadelphia Inquirer
    Reviewed by: Carrie Rickey
    88
    It may be the first meditative action movie.
    Read full review
See all critic reviews »