A Confucian Confusion / Mahjong Blu-Ray

In these two sharp, expansive satires, Edward Yang, one of Taiwan's most acclaimed filmmakers, captures the "anything can happen" mood that prevailed in Taipei at the end of the 20th century. A Confucian Confusion and Mahjong, made between his epic dramas A Brighter Summer Day and Yi Yi, show how Yang, with a lighter but no less masterful touch, explores human relationships in an increasingly globalized, hyper-capitalist world. These intricately constructed ensemble comedies—one set in a ruthless corporate environment, the other in a shady criminal underworld—reveal the absurdity and cynicism at the heart of modern urban life.

A Confucian Confusion

Edward Yang's first foray into comedy may have been a surprising stylistic departure, but with its rich, novelistic vision of urban discontent, it is typical of Yang. This relationship roundelay revolves around a group of young professionals in Taipei whose paths cross at an entertainment company where the boundaries between art and commerce, love and business have become hopelessly blurred. A Confucian Confusion stirs up chaos in a city infiltrated by Western chains, logos, and attitudes, and is a sharp reflection on the role of traditional values in a materialistic, amoral society.

Mahjong

Edward Yang's sequel to A Confucian Confusion is another dizzying comedy set in a globalized Taipei, but with a darker and more biting tone. Amidst a rapidly changing urban landscape, the lives of a motley crew of con artists, swindlers, gangsters, and foreigners collide, with a naive French teenager (Virginie Ledoyen) and a sensitive young local (Lawrence Ko) who tries to protect her, dangerously caught in the middle. Mahjong is alternately brutal, shocking, and bitingly funny, and provides a dazzling picture of a multicultural Taipei where almost all relationships come at a price and newfound prosperity comes at the expense of the human soul.

TWO-BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES

New 4K digital restorations, with 5.0 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtracks.

Excerpts from director Edward Yang's speech after a screening of A Confucian Confusion in 1994.

New interview with editor Chen Po-wen.

New conversation between Michael Berry, scholar of Chinese culture, and film critic Justin Chang.

Performance of Yang's 1992 play Likely Consequence.

PLUS: An essay by film programmer and critic Dennis Lim and a 1994 director's commentary on A Confucian Confusion.