A Brighter Summer Day - Are You Lonesome Tonight?
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 ม.ค. 2025
- (The long rambling essay I wrote on the film can be found here: boxd.it/KIAPr)
During the countless hours of visiting and revisiting Edward Yang's classic epic A Brighter Summer Day, and listening to the Elvis track which lent the film its title, I have often felt a subliminal connection between the lyrics of Are You Lonesome Tonight? and the events of the film. It would seem to me as if Yang's selection of this track to serve as the film's centerpiece wasn't merely a coincidence, but that the lyrics somehow told the story of protagonists Xiao Si'r and Ming, even if somewhat on an abstract level.
Try as I might, I couldn't quite express this fleeting connection in writing and so I set out to do the necessary: make a video experiment with clips from the film playing along to the music, directly presenting my observations instead of merely describing them. In this video, I've tried my best to find literal analogies between the lyrics and their corresponding images, trying to create a coherent visual representation of the music track through Xiao Si'r and Ming's shared fate, while also maintaining an editing rhythm that respects Yang's moody long-take aesthetic.
Every frame has been placed deliberately and I'd encourage anyone watching the video to read as much as they can into the audio-visual parallels, hopefully sharing my own sense of wonderment in the process.
P.S.- This is literally the first time in my life that I've attempted any kind of video editing, and thus it was quite a challenge. As such, please pardon any flaws or shortcomings that may have resulted from technical incompetence. Feedback is always welcome.
Apart from the "Garden and the bicycle" shot, which for me is the definitive "Brighter Summer Day", this is a perfect edit of the film which taught me so much about how a film should be, and changed my perspective massively. Thanks to Edward Yang for making my favourite Presley song into a film, and thank *you* for this.
Love this. Can't believe we had the exact same idea.
@@cannonelliot8755 bullshit
@@tuckerjulio5667 shut the fuck up shill fake ass bot
Instablaster...
3:03 One of the best photos ever.
The best film ever made, the best, simply the best.
for sure up there
Wrong
Correct
Wrong
Correct
WOW, THAT'S FINAL IMAGE
came here from your letterboxd. this is probabably the best movie edit i have ever seen. it summarizes the whole thing in just three minutes, although its hard to give the film justice but you did a really good job here. a brighter summer day is arguebly edward yang's best work and one of my all top favorite films. you really wake up from it as if you were living another life through the lens. its quite surreal and a pretty rare thing for any film to achieve. extraordinaire work
btw, love your reviews on letterboxd! keep this up
Thank you so so much for these words, makes my day. Glad we can share these media experiences
the switch of perspective in the last verse killed me. too fragile for this world i wanna go wherever edward yang is
Beautiful edit and beautiful description, I too feel an almost ethereal connection to this film, the music choice helped ground and highlight much of the subtext of the film for me and helped me understand why the film had such a profound effect on me. It's one of few films where every stylistic choice from audio to visual serves to add so much depth to the feature.
I fond that this song and the plotline of the story is linked too and you did an amazing job showing it with this video!
Thank you so much!
The best movie i've seen this year and up there with one of the best i've seen period , that ending was so fucked up. I loved the little lad who sings story arc and his letter
i related so much with the way you felt. this song just fits them both so perfectly
Awesome ! It gives me euphoria and pathos beyond the word-ly measure. Thanks to Shaswata Ray for compiling this montage.
"Grow up fast,my future depends upon you"
This honestly makes me wonder if Yang purposefully implemented lyrics from the song into the film. Amazing job!
This is really beautiful.
Bravo. And I simply can’t believe this is your first time editing... Nope, can’t be.
Perfect.
Great edit. I'm uploading this on my Instagram with credit.❤
dude, this is really good
Thanks for this
Yus, Thankyou Shaz. 😍
broo
didn't realize how many scenes were call backs to what was gonna happen
Could you give a few examples? I find it real interesting
masterpiece
Perfect
lovely video!!! well done :D
Thank you!
Good job, Shaswatho!
Thank you Niranjanaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
Are you lonesome tonight?
Do you miss me tonight?
Are you sorry we drifted apart?
Does your memory stray to a brighter summer day
When I kissed you and called you sweatheart?
Do the chairs and your partner seem empty and bare?
Do you gaze at your doorstep and picture me there?
Is your heart filled with pain, shall I come back again?
Tell me dear, are you lonesome tonight?
...
Is your heart filled with pain, shall I come back again?
Tell me dear, are you lonesome tonight?
chang chen!!
Excellent ❤
I watched this film and it made me cry. A month or two later my girlfriend cheated on me.
sorry 2 hear that man. hOpe u ok.
Im so lonesome tonight..
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Thanks bhai
Awesome video
Thank you :)
🥀
sad seeing ma knowing what happened to the actor
what happened?
@@pova-lr6nx died in a car accident at just 18 years old
stop spreading absolute nonsense. he's alive and well.@@natsukibarususubaru
@@adionpluto no he isn't buddy
the actor Tan Chih-Kang who played Ma died at 18. the actor Chang Chen who played the main character Xiao Si’r is 47 and still acting.
amazing but u should've left out the major spoiler at the end
My belief was that the way i have cut it, anyone without any idea of the film's plot would've no idea what they saw, because you never see *any objects* in that scene tbh. Just a flash cut preceding *reaction*.
Only people familiar with the plot would be able to connect the dots
Still, i just added a spoiler alert to the description. Thank you.