 |
 |
| HAPPY TOGETHER. Starring - Tony Leung - Leslie Cheung - Chang Chen. Director - Wong Kar Wai. 1997. I heard that Wong Kar Wai actually moved his crew all the way to Argentina before he knew what he was going to shoot. He’s nuts, you see. And he also “tricked” his star Tony Leung Chiu Wai into participating by telling him the movie is about a man and his father. Now, “Happy Together” is not about a man and his father, it is about a gay couple trying to reconcile and “start all over again” in Buenos Aires. If you tell me your next movie is about a man and his father and it turns out I need to practice French kissing with Leslie Cheung Kwok-wing, I swear I will beat the crap out of you. Critics always love to sound intellectual. That’s why some of them will tell you that “Happy Together” is about the Hong Kong 1997 issue. That’s a lot of bullshit. The only reason I can think of why they have that idea is because Wong Kar Wai included in the film a news clip reporting the death of Chinese paramount leader Deng Xiao-ping in 1997. It sure takes a lot of imagination to draw that kind of conclusion, and I fail to understand why these losers cannot just accept that simple movies exist and stop looking for meanings that aren’t there. “Happy Together” is about two men in love half a world away from Hong Kong. That’s it. Of course, if it turns out there is indeed some hidden meaning and I don’t see it. BIG DEAL. Go ahead and shoot me. The two men are Lai Yiu Fai (Tony Leung) and Ho Po-wing (Leslie Cheung). The film opens with a bed scene, where we watch the two kiss and screw each other. That is also the last scene that will remind you of homosexuality, because for the rest of the film, the couple behaves like any other couple you may meet in the streets. This is not a film about gay love, it’s about the kind of romance we have seen a thousand times in movies, just not this well made. It’s really a simple story. Lai and Ho travel to Argentina in an attempt to save their failing relationship. They look for this waterfall but before they get there, Ho is fed up and left. Penniless, Lai is stuck in the country and soon finds himself working at a local restaurant. Then one night he meets Ho again. Apparently, he has been, and still is, sleeping with different men every night. “Happy Together” is not, as the title might suggest, about two men who are happy with each other. They are not happy with each other. Actually they are almost always pissed with each other. When we finally see them living together again, we understand why their relationship is at rock bottom. Using a series of snippets from their affair, Wong Kar Wai establishes his two characters as completely different creatures. Lai is more like the nicer guy with better qualities, while Ho is the selfish, unfaithful lover. Their relationship is little more than repetition of a cycle that starts with violent argument and ends with reconciliation. They may be in love with each other, but there is little future between them. There are only two main characters in “Happy Together,” which, whilst in Wong’s standard is a step-down in terms of star-power, also tells you as a filmmaker how much Wong has grown since his breakthrough in 1990 with “Days of Being Wild.” His previous films, from “Ashes of Time” to “Fallen Angels,” often employ half a dozen characters and multiple threads. That has changed with “Happy Together,” where we spend all ninety minutes with Lai and Ho. The result is a more in-depth study of the characters, and evidence of Wong’s maturing writing skills. Of course, Wong is renowned for shooting his ideas first and making up the story later in the editing room. So, should I be referring to his maturing “editing skills?” “Happy Together” takes a greenish and often scruffy look. The cinematography and art direction by Christopher Doyle and William Cheung are both top-notch, as usual. Background score consists mainly of Tango music, which fits the mood perfectly. One of the best scenes comes near the beginning, when we are shown a helicopter view of the Iguazu Falls in Argentina. The shot lasts for at least three to five minutes, making clear that this film is also about aesthetics. Wong Kar Wai won the Best Director award at Cannes. It’s really exhilarating, for at a time when the Hong Kong film industry is referred by many as “dying,” here comes a gem that not only earns international recognition, but also announces to the world that Hong Kong is not only about kung-fu movies starring Jackie Chan or Jet Li. Once in a while, we have productions that are more brilliant than those French flicks they show in art house theaters. 8********stars. © 2002 Geeky Marcus. NATURAL BORN VIEWERS. |
| . |
|
|
 |
 |