Customer Reviews

That Day on the Beach [VHS]

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The jacket cover and title of "That Day on the Beach" are deliberately and cleverly misleading. While the film ostensibly concerns one woman's day on the beach spent searching for traces of her missing husband, the real story is in her memories, drawn out of extended flashbacks depicting the trajectory of her life, her family, her marriage, and the cataclysmic impact of Taiwan's "economic miracle" on it all.

In this film, Yang clearly displays his characteristic skill at reaching toward the crucial personal and social issues of modern Taiwan through the camera lens--in the way that he treats the ordinary events of a woman and a man growing up, falling in love, starting a family, and, eventually, being torn apart by forces seemingly out of their control. Yang's film beautifully reconciles the seemingly irretrievable hopes of the past with both the pain of the present and the uncertain promise of the future; in doing so, he neither trivializes the reality of regret and disillusionment, nor does he take a terribly pessimistic view of what lies ahead. As always, Yang's greatest strength is in his nuanced balancing of extremes.

Ultimately, "That Day on the Beach" is a story about what was happening to all of Taiwan at the time--particularly in the urban centers. The issues with which the woman struggles are essentially allegories for the broader social issues at stake. Yang's subsequent films have continued this meditation--almost all with the same thoughtful nuance--following Taiwan as it continues to grapple with the often untoward realities of the modern and post-modern worlds it is, and has been, creating. His latest, "Yi Yi," an absolutely spectacular film that should have won the Best Foreign Film Oscar instead of "Crouching Tiger" (alas! Taiwan only gets one official submission), is a culmination of nearly 20 years of critical contemplation.

For anyone with a general interest in film (Yang is a superb director), or specific interest in development of society and culture in East Asia, "That Day on the Beach" will entertain, inform, and perhaps even provoke thoughts of the global implications of modernity. For that matter, I would recommend just about any and all films from the Taiwan New Cinema--especially those of Yang and fellow trail-blazer, Hou Hsiao-hsien (whose films, unfortunately, cannot be found on Amazon.com).

Finally, a note about ...(this website's) version of the film: while it comes complete with English subtitles, the film has been dubbed over in Cantonese (the original is in Mandarin). I suppose this must be the result of buying from Hong Kong distributors. At any rate, if you know Mandarin and want to buy this film, be warned! It might not be what you were expecting! I found this out the hard way.

Stunning debut by Taiwanese director Edward Yang is a complex narrative beautifully lensed by Christopher Doyle. Great acting by Sylvia Chang and Teresa Hu.