LarsenOnFilm by Josh Larsen

There is nothing like nostalgia here, but in the quiet consideration of how these days actually passed—what was dear about them, what was dangerous, and what has been irrevocably lost since then—A Brighter Summer Day gives early teen life, in all its complexity, a burnished reverence.

Slant Magazine

It's in his generous, objective use of long shots and spare but startling close-ups that we see once again the influence of Robert Altman in Yang's aesthetic and the struggle of the Taiwanese people to accept their history. In essence, Yang uses his aesthetic to bring into the light that which is dark.

The New Yorker by Richard Brody

The story...opens out into a dazzling multigenerational array of characters, as well as a panoply of trenchant themes.

Village Voice by Simon Abrams

Yang's anti-nostalgic slice of 1960s Taipei life suggests a Tolstoy-size expansion of the ballads from Bruce Springsteen's Darkness on the Edge of Town.

The New York Times by A.O. Scott

It is a crowded, complex crime story that is also a tale of sexual awakening and an understated exercise in kitchen-sink realism. In short - or rather at mesmerizing, necessary length - this film has everything, and is well worth a day of your life.

The Guardian by Jordan Hoffman

What makes this such a striking film is how the larger scope works perfectly in tandem with the very specific time and setting.