On the occasion of the 10th anniversary of Yang Dechang's death,"One by One" is finally released in Taiwan

Since its publication in 2000, why has "One by One" been screened in France, South Korea, the United States, Japan and other places one after another, but has never been screened in Taiwan theaters? On the evening of July 27,"One One" held its premiere in Taipei. It was obviously a work from 2000, but it would not be officially released in Taiwan until 2017. The main actors and production team gathered together to share their experience in making this film.

This is a premiere that has been in place for 17 years.

On June 29, 2007, well-known Taiwanese director Yang Dechang died of cancer in Los Angeles. He was 59 years old at the time. In his 20-year creative career, he has filmed a total of seven and a quarter of his films (his first work,"Hope" is one of the four short stories in "The Story of Time"). Since then, everything about Yang Dechang and his films have been spread among fans in a legendary, even almost mythical, way, whether it is related reminiscing articles, books, documentary works, exhibitions, etc.

This year coincides with the 10th anniversary of Yang Dechang's death, and film festivals held across Asia cannot help but review classics. Last year, on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of "Guling Street Juvenile Murder", the Golden Horse Film Festival designed the classic pictures in the film as the main vision of the film, launching the first shot of remembering Yang Dechang.

In February this year, the Hong Kong International Film Festival also launched a series of Yang Dechang's works with the theme of "Goodbye Yang Dechang in Ten Years."

In addition to the film festival review, Yang Dechang's three works, including "A Day on the Beach","Childhood sweethearts" and "One One", which is praised as a masterpiece by many fans, are currently being released in theaters at the same time as many new Hollywood films. "One One" was also the work that won Yang Dechang the Best Director Award at the Cannes Film Festival.

In June this year, the chief film critic of the New York Times announced a list of the 25 best films of the century. Four Asian films were included, including Hou Hsiao-hsien's "The Best of Times", Hayao Miyazaki's "Spirited Away", Jia Zhangke's "Destiny", and Yang Dechang's "One by One". Film critic Scott said,"The three-hour" One One "has a tight and exciting plot. It records the lives of modern Taiwanese families and has the weight and depth of a great novel."

On the evening of July 27,"One One" held its premiere in Taipei. It was obviously a work from 2000, but it would not be officially released in Taiwan until 2017. The main actors and production team rarely gathered together to share their experience in making this film.

At the premiere, producer Yu Weiyan couldn't hide his emotion,"This film can finally meet the audience." Yu Weiyan and Yang Dechang have collaborated on five films and are considered to be one of the few people who can completely describe Yang Dechang's creative journey.

Du Duzhi, a sound engineer who also worked with Yang Dechang on many films, said,"This is the most beautiful movie I think is Director Yang's at every stage, and it is also the last time I worked with Director Yang on the spot."

When filming "One One" in 1999, it is estimated that even Yang Dechang himself did not expect that it would be 18 years later before it was finally released in Taiwan, and he did not even see it with his own eyes. Film critic Wu Peici once wrote in the journal "United Literature" that Yang Dechang attended the Taipei Film Festival in 2003, and the film festival selected "One by One" as the closing film. Yang Dechang said during a post-screening discussion,"The film will soon be released."

In fact, Yang Dechang was diagnosed with cancer in May of the same year when he published "Yiyi". After that, he devoted himself to the production of the animated film "Chasing the Wind", but he failed to complete it before his death, so "Yiyi" became Yang Dechang's legacy.

As for why "One by One" has been screened in France, South Korea, the United States, Japan and other places since its release in 2000, but has never been screened in theaters in Taiwan?

The rumored reason was that Yang Dechang was dissatisfied with Taiwan's film distribution market, which was controlled by only a few people and was unwilling to be released in Taiwan. In this regard, in an interview with Wang Yunyan, author of "Goodbye Yang Dechang" in 2012, Yu Weiyan added that "Because the copyright does not have us at all, whether it will be released in Taiwan still depends on the Japanese side (Omega Company). We only have the right to make suggestions. At that time," One One "was released in many countries and Japanese investors had already withdrawn it. Perhaps they did not care so much about the Taiwan market."

The regret of not being able to distribute it in Taiwan changed until last year. After four years of back-and-forth communication with Japan, Taiwanese film company Chuanying Interactive finally purchased the Taiwan copyright of "One One" at the end of last year and made public the news that it would be released in Taiwan.

When it comes to Director Yang Dechang, many people will mention his strict style during filming. Photographer Huang Yuetai also said,"Wong Kar-wai takes one shot a day, but Yang Dechang cannot take one shot a day." Here, it refers to Yang Dechang's perfection requirements for filming, which makes him unwilling to compromise.

Producer Chen Xisheng also mentioned Yang Dechang's high standards at the retrospective exhibition at this year's Taoyuan Film Festival."Director Yang's requirements for work details and people are actually very high, so high that they are actually unreasonable and strict. However, Director Yang has his own reason for being strict with people, that is, he wants to prevent it. He may kill 100 people by mistake, but he will not let go of one." The actress Jin Yanling added at the premiere,"After all, he is a perfectionist."

If you have ever watched "One One", I believe you will be deeply impressed by Yangyang (played by Zhang Yangyang) who takes a camera everywhere to shoot the back of people's heads. This is because under his childish and lovely face, he actually said profound and serious classic lines.

Because of photography, Yangyang asked her father NJ (played by Wu Nianzhen),"Do we only know half of the things? We can only see the front and not the back, so we can't see half of the things? ", and at her mother-in-law's funeral, Yangyang said," I don't know too many things, so do you know what I want to do in the future? I'm going to tell others what they don't know and show others what they don't see."

Many film critics will mention that Yangyang's role is a projection of Yang Dechang's childhood. Wu Nianzhen also said in a previous interview: "Yangyang is simply a statement about the suppression he suffered as a child. He is really disgusted with Taiwan's educational environment. He often talks about how uncomfortable he used to be in class and feels that teachers were always suspicious of people. For example,"Guling Street" describes the situation when he was studying in the night department of Jianguo Middle School. In "One by One", Yangyang was suppressed and humiliated by the teacher. It was entirely his personal projection."

Zhang Yangyang was only seven years old when filming "One by One", and is now in graduate school. Unlike other actors, in his impression, Yang Dechang was not strict, but a "big brother" who treated him quite gently.

In an interview with reporters, Zhang Yangyang expressed her gratitude to Yang Dechang and admitted that because of filming "One by One", she also hopes to have more opportunities to participate in film production in the future, and also participates in the performance of some student works during this period. Just before Yang Dechang passed away, Zhang Yangyang was asked by Yang Dechang if she could assist in the dubbing and production of models for animation.

People miss Yang Dechang not only because of his position in Taiwan's new film wave, but also because his films play an artistic value as social criticism.

Some people say that Yang Dechang's films accuse people and urban changes, and others see a deep reminder to everyone in his films.

Yang Dechang is indeed a director who is good at describing the city. In 1981, Yang Dechang returned to Taiwan from the United States and started his creative career. During this period, Taiwan experienced great changes after economic development in the 1960s and 1970s. Yang Dechang witnessed with his own eyes that era of change in which nativity and modernity alternated and integrated.

Yang Dechang also has his own theory for naming movies. Each work can find what he hopes to convey from the differences between the Chinese and English titles.

As for the naming of "One by One", Yang Dechang once said during his lifetime,"This movie is simply about life and describes the various stages that life spans. As an author, I think that all complex plots are simple in the final analysis. So the movie is named "One One", which means everything. "

Perhaps Yang Dechang's films can still resonate with many audiences today, not only because this year marks the 10th anniversary of his death, but even though they were written more than ten years ago, they are still like predictions in this city that is still in flux and uneasy. It is worth seeing.

Editor: Xiongwei