Edward Yang and the nature of art.

This comes a little late but I was shocked and really saddened this week at the death of Edward Yang. Yang, the revered Taiwanese filmmaker of Yi Yi and A Brighter Summer Day passed away after a battle with cancer at only 59. I have never seen an Edward Yang film, and really only very little of the Taiwanese New Wave that he was a part of. But his passing really affected me. Just the thought of an artist dieing before his time, an artist that I was not familiar with but wished to be, just kills me. There is a sadness to the finality of a filmmakers body of work. One day soon I will see Yi Yi or another Yang film, and perhaps I will love him. I might seek out all his other terribly hard to find films but eventually that will be it, I have seen everything he made. There will be no feeling of waiting for that next film, waiting for another potential masterpiece.

But why do films matter, anyway? Why does any art or artist matter in the world? It is a difficult question, and one that I have been thinking about every day for the last few weeks. My answer, and the only one that rings true for me, is that art is not merely a facsimile or representation of the world. Art, true art, in films or any other form is not a replacement for real experiences. Art and especially film can connect you to people, to worlds, to life in a way that you could not necessarily experience otherwise. Watching great films is like being taken into a world or introduced to characters and experiencing it and them through the eyes of someone that understands more about that place and those people than perhaps I ever could. Watching Abbas Kiarostami or Hou Hsiao Hsien I understand more about Iran or Taiwan than I could watching the news, visiting as a tourist, or possibly even than I could get from a good documentary. Watching Hawks or Cassavetes gives me insight into the relationship of men and women. Tati teaches me about the modern world and what we have lost. Malick makes me experience the natural world and why people and nature are integrally combined. Woody Allen tells me to laugh at sadness, Welles warns me of fascism and brings me a living Shakespeare. Watching Godard answers my questions about art and poses a thousand more.

Why do films matter? When I watch films, when anyone watches good films, I feel more connected to all the varieties of the world. Why are we here? I think it is so that we can learn more about the people, places and things that make up our world and to find a place in it that we can contribute to the good of all. Watching films helps to make a connection to the world in a profound way that is good for the viewer. From a film that calls to social action to a film that just helps you understand better your family, your friends or a stranger on the street, taking these journeys and listening to the artists brings me closer to the world and the people in it.