A high-speed traffic accident confines a college student to a wheelchair for life; But that’s only the starting point of the narrative in “To Be Ordinary,” a tender, slowly enveloping film that pays little attention to disability drama cliché — instead offering a broad portrait of how the young man’s entire family is affected by his accident over the course of more than a decade. Encompassing marital strife, economic turmoil, coming-of-age pains and moral crises, Taiwanese writer-director Lee Yun Chan’s fourth feature — his first since 2010’s “Dancing Without You” — has plenty of stories to discuss, but it mostly does so with a sensitive, empathetic touch and a script that treats all individuals in this unhappy scenario with equal care and concern.
Lee has mostly done work on the small screen since his last film — he directed the 2022 Disney+ series “Women in Taipei,” among other things — and while a certain strain of television melodrama occasionally creeps into “To Be Ordinary,” the film’s sturdy formal restraint and broad story scope should still serve it well in theaters. Following its premiere as the only Taiwanese production in Busan’s main competition, the film will debut at the Tokyo Film Festival later this month and be released theatrically in Taiwan in mid-November. More festival play is likely, particularly with Asia-focused programmes, and the film is accessible and lively enough for limited global distribution, but specialist streaming platforms may be the best option.
Lee, who co-wrote the script with “Women in Taipei” writer Ginger Wang, wastes little time in setting the story in motion, launching into a beautiful, floating night tracking shot of 22-year-old Yu-jie (Junior Hsieh) navigating the rain-slicked roads of suburban Taipei on her moped, while the gorgeous lines of Cicada’s score evoke a false sense of tranquility. Cinematographer Ming Lee’s camera will surely never be this free again; The reverie is cut short when, at an intersection, Yu-jie is hit by a car driven by rich old Mr. Ma (Hsiu Shen Liang); He immediately feels helpless guilt.
Yu-jie survives the accident but soon learns in the hospital that she will never walk again; A college student who has already started his own web design business, he accepts the bad news with remarkable fortitude, quickly adjusts to life in a wheelchair, and searches for ways to live the most normal, productive life possible—including a budding relationship with young hospital physical therapist Yi-Han (Phoebe Chu).
In contrast, the rest of his family is having a hard time adjusting. His mother (Chang Shih Ying) and father (Weber Yang) were already at a troubled point in their marriage, and their son’s situation only drives them further apart; This situation is exacerbated by the father’s long-term unemployment. Meanwhile, Yu-jie’s younger sister, Yu-ching (Pin Hsuan Chen), is already facing the hormonal upheavals of early adolescence and feels pushed aside by this tragedy—pressured to take care of herself “with enough going on at home,” as her mother puts it—that she begins to lash out.
On a pragmatic level, Mr. Ma’s overwhelming conscience helps the family: In addition to the required legal settlement, he transfers ownership of his entire house to Yu-jie and continues to contribute generously to her medical bills and living expenses. But such generosity can become something of a burden for the benefactor, especially as Mr. Ma retreats into old age and ill health; Avoiding drawing its characters along the lines of victims and villains, “Being Ordinary” feels compassion for everyone in this sordid turn of events, giving it dramatic complexity and maturity, especially as the story spans 11 years of unfolding consequences.
A thoughtful, close-knit ensemble cast keeps the family dynamic believable, even if the script takes a few convenient shortcuts: Chen is particularly impressive and volatile as a young woman who grows up both as an afterthought and as a support system to her shaky parents. Lee commands the conversation with a handsome gravitas befitting the material, but amid persistently cloudy visuals and seriously emotional writing, “Being Ordinary” can rely on the occasional injection of tonal surprise — an acknowledgment of absurdity, hilarity, or the little domestic joys that sometimes punctuate difficult times. Yet the film never feels fluid or considered. There is a modest beauty in his dispassionate, unbiased view of the world and the space he gives his characters to come to terms with sadness and find their way out of it.