In Our Time (1982 film)

In Our Time (Chinese: 光陰的故事) is a 1982 Taiwanese anthology film directed by Edward Yang, Yi Chang, Ko I-Chen and Tao Te-Chen. [1] The film's four vignettes each take place in a different decade between 1950 and 1980 and depict characters at different points in their lives.[2] The film deals with a range of dramatic, comic, economic and social themes.[1][4]

The first two episodes are described as contemplative and dream-inspired, while the latter two episodes feature more dialogue and overt comedy.[3] The first segment, translated as "Dinosaurs"[5] or "Little Dragon Head",[3] is directed by Tao and follows a young boy who escapes from childhood bullying by retreating into a fantasy world populated by his dinosaur toys. The second segment, "Expectations" or "Desires",[4] is directed by Yang and stars Shi Anni as a young girl who becomes infatuated with an older man who is staying at her parents' house, but falls into a love triangle.[3] The third segment, "Leapfrog", is directed by Ko and follows a college student who deals with the pressures of life by joining a competitive swimming club.[3][5] The final segment, translated as "Show your ID"[5] or "Say Your Name",[3] is directed by Yi Chang and stars Sylvia Chang.[1] It follows a newly married couple who are accidentally locked out of their home and workplaces, to comedic effect.[3][5]

The film was produced by the Taiwanese Central Motion Picture Corporation, which had a reputation for conservative filmmaking.[4] Yang's segment was his first filmed work. Writing in his eponymous book on Edward Yang, John Anderson described Yang's segment as bringing "an almost documentary content to the Taiwanese feature, which is counterbalanced in Expectations by Yang's decidedly poetic rhythms".[4] The Harvard Film Archive described the film as "eschew[ing] studio-bound escapism and melodrama in favor of a hard-hitting cinema grounded in everyday life".[2] The film is sometimes cited as the foundational film of the New Taiwan Cinema.[1][3][2]