Happy Together (1997)

I've always said that Wong kar-wai's films are like odes to Hong Kong. Or Hong Kong as it was in the past. But Happy Together is not an ode to Hong Kong. Instead, it's set in the other side of the world: Argentina. An unlikely choice but a beautiful one.

As with other Kar-wai films, it's always the cinematography that lunges at you. Typical of his style. I'd say that Happy Together is probably much more daring than his other films. Often overshadowed by In the Mood for Love and Chungking Express, Happy Together is both a happy and sad portrayal of romance. Yes, it's a love between two men. But instead of focusing on that aspect like other films do, it focuses more on their time together. It's cynical as much as it is positive. Kar-wai won Best Director at Cannes for a reason.

The film also pays tribute to classic noir style. But with a purpose. The black-and-white colors reflect their time apart. And gradually...color emerges. There's color when they rekindle their relationship or as they say "start over" again. The visuals speak as much as the story, as much as the actors. The aesthetics are also reminiscent of other Kar-wai elements -- cramped apartments, sudden close-ups, intense DOFs. But the colors are all retro. They're vibrant and intense. Add some exotic music to that. The setting and scenery are all beautiful. It's so so so appealing to the eyes.

Of course, we have Tony Leung Chiu-wai again. Yes, he won Best Actor for In the Mood for Love but I'd say Happy Together is his opus. It's a much more dramatic, challenging and intense character, he delivered in with more passion characters. He wants Po-wing (Leslie Cheung) but he can't show that but we still know he does -- that part is delivered very well. On the other hand, we have a charismatic Leslie Cheung here. He's able to deliver Po-wing's character with such rawness and explosion of emotions. Conflicted but at the same time very powerful. The chemistry between the two is undeniable.

The film is about intimacy. And it shows that. Chiu-wai and Cheung's acting all delivers that. In the cinematography, in the sounds, it shows all that. Even if Chiu-wai's character speaks in Cantonese while Chen's character speaks in Mandarin, it doesn't create a distance because it shows the understanding between the two. Happy Together is so underrated compared to its counterparts but it's also one of the most beautiful.

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"I had no regrets until I met you"

Oh Wong Kar Wai, you truly know our hearts and how to play with them and tear them apart into indistinguishable threads.

Happy Together, unfortunately overshadowed by Wong's other beautiful and worthy works like In the Mood for Love and Chungking Express, is a raw depiction of a volatile, chaotic, but passionate relationship of two men from Hong Kong. The film, outlined in a tone of melancholy and loneliness, follows the deteriorating relationship of Lai and Ho, two conflicting personalities that can't seem to find peace. Its not a comfortable watch, nor it is a romcom as its title may suggest.

As with any film by Wong Kar Wai, the cinematography is beautiful and worth re-watching for that alone. Also, Chang Chen is adorable and deserves more love, please watch it for him, please.

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"I had no regrets until I met you"

Happy Together was a haunting, gut-wrenching look at love and loneliness with stellar performances by the main cast. Tony Leung Chiu Wai and Leslie Cheung played an on again, off again couple who were often lonelier when they were together than when they were apart.

Ho Po Wing and Lai Yiu Fai have traveled from Hong Kong to Argentina. On a trip to see the Iguazu Falls they become hopelessly lost and Ho breaks up with Lai and not for the first time. Lai finds work as a club doorman while Ho starts turning tricks to make a living. As Lai watches Ho with other men, a deep sorrow and homesickness overtakes him. He doesn’t want to inevitably “start over” as they usually do, he wants to go home to Hong Kong. He needs to make enough money first. When Ho is beaten by one of his clients, Lai lets him in and takes care of him, but refuses to sleep with him. At a new job, Lai makes friends with Chang, a young man from Taipei, which causes friction between the two lovers.

Ho and Lai were in a “can’t live with him, can’t live without him” dynamic. Ho had a reckless streak that Lai tried to tame, but would cause Ho to chafe at the constraints. Every scene was filled with raw emotions-longing, agony, passion, and despair. While Leslie Cheung gave a wonderful performance as the erratic Ho, it was Tony Leung who captivated me with his. I’ve seen Tony in numerous films, but this was the best performance of his I’ve seen so far. He has never had a problem with the too cool for school vibe, but in this film, he tore through emotions left and right without going over the top. It was impossible to not empathize with Lai when the heartache and misery were visibly eating away at him. In a scene where Ho taught him how to dance, the desire not just for this man, but also a longing for something more, something unattainable was quite moving.

A young Chang Chen as Chang Wan brought a breath of soothing air into Lai’s life. The friendship was easy and a reminder of home. Chang had a tender scene as he tucked a sorrowful, intoxicated Lai into bed. Their friendship was a lifeline for the floundering Lai. When Chang left Buenos Aires, Lai was truly adrift and found that “lonely people are all the same.” Lai became more convinced he did not want to ever “start again” with Ho, regardless of his deep feelings for him. Ho was like the prodigal son who had to occasionally self-destruct knowing that Lai would always be there for him in some capacity.

This film had Wong Kar Wai’s trademark palette of greens, yellows, and reds along with scenes in black and white. There is no denying his aesthetic gift, but sometimes I don’t connect with the story he’s telling. Happy Together connected everything for me. The plot was thin, almost non-existent, as these men struggled to make a living and struggled to alleviate their desire to return home and to somehow survive their complex disparities. I thoroughly enjoyed the varied music, which ranged from Tango Apasionado to fittingly enough, Happy Together originally by The Turtles. The songs flowed naturally through the film as stark emotions ebbed and rose.

Happy Together’s unflinching exploration of a tempestuous relationship was hard to watch at times, but impossible to look away from. Tony Leung peeled back his stunning façade and poured out an impressive array of emotions both nuanced and heartbreakingly real. Much like the Iguazu Falls, Ho and Lai’s bond was powerful, chaotic, captivating, murky, and completely unforgettable.

8 May 2024

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Y'ALL ARE MISSING OUT.

"Turns out that lonely people are all the same."

Are you lonely? Are you lost in this world too? Are you afraid to love? Are you scared that you might hurt yourself again? If all of these applies to you, then this film's for you. Happy Together taught me that loneliness is temporary, and nothing is permanent. Wong Kar Wai is able to showcase mere sadness, loneliness, and a tragic love story through his own style; and I am in love with it. This film also showcases the process of moving on, and how to deal with loneliness. And I know most of us have experienced this already; or maybe you're going through it right now. I swear, this movie is a masterpiece.

This is by far, one of my favorite films ever. Every single aspect is beautifully done; from beginning to the end. I merely live for Wong Kar Wai's filmography! I'm actually shocked to see the low rating of this movie in this site. Letterboxd cinephiles will haunt you LOL! On a final note, this is really a masterpiece and I will definitely watch it for a thousand times over. If you still haven't watched it yet, give it a try!

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The exposure of something intimate

Nominated for the Palme d'Or
Won Best Director at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival

I must have watched this film at least 6 times, one of them recently in 2021 a special event on an open summer cinema in Athens. Each time is better than before.
A couple from a “private hell” traveling, living, working, loving, hating in Argentina.
A relationship in breakdown and the arise of the most human fears and inner screams over the edge of the world.
A turbulent cycle of destruction and recreation, of hope and despair, of a world falling apart again and again.
A small but yet endless world through the colors of emotions or a black and white scenery of inner fears of emptiness.
A title inspired by the Turtles' 1967 song “happy together”… a song so romantic and happy on its own but yet so dark and omnibus when it is combined within this film.
Even a political view of the world and the significant dates of Hong Kong.
This story has no spoilers because no one is capable to put in words what you will feel when you see this drop of light.

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incomplete in perfection.

finally watched my leslie cheung in a movie.

wish their "happy together" was shown for a little longer.. but that's how this movie is. that's how their life was.

love how chang beautifully shifted the mood of the movie.

i don't know what to think of the ending, he left ha po wing without a passport, i wanna cry ??

tony leung, he's an amazing actor. i really like him, i think he fits perfectly in his characters, with kar wai's style. he's just too good at showing little yet expressing it all.

i will rewatch it in hq. i think my rating will go higher then.

wong kar-wai movies are mine, it seems.

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A film that is dancing beautifully

Like its fascination with Iguazu falls, every flow of this movie is striking directly down below, hitting hard, yet Iguazu is endlessly beautiful whenever you watch, listen, or feel it. A film that is... I'd rather call it 'dancing', both literally and figuratively.

I call it a masterpiece for its avant-garde cinematography that blends smoothly with their music playlist, and even more when they are performed by three excellent actors. And don't say more for its way for storytelling: Love life is amazingly mysterious, yet so beautiful. Just like this film.

For me, "Happy Together" is one hell of LGBT cinema that is unlike any other.

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Happy together is like a beautiful oil painting of the desintegration of a once great love story and a stark look into the deep underbelly of human relationships painted with painfully familiar colours. Wong Kar-Wai does what he does best, evokes all the deepest human emotions with his camera, pulls us right in and makes us go through the whole emotional rollercoaster together with the his characters. The camerawork is exspecially beautiful and enganging,every colour, every smell, every taste, every texture comes through masterfully.

The actors are of course superb, we are talking about the late Leslie Cheung and Tony Leung. They are both excellent is their roles, but Leslie's performance is just perfect.

If you are looking for a movie with a deep emotional impact that most likely stays with you for a long a long time, this is a great choice highly recommended. Excellent soundtrack, too.

However, if you are after a happy ending and an uplifting story, probebly better avoid this movie.

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uma atmosfera hipnotizante

eu acho que o ponto alto aqui são os cenários que são construídos ao longo do filme, existe uma dramatização entre as cenas de uma qualidade absurda, a cena em que ele vai gravar a despedida e começa a chorar é um exemplo claro disso. eu vi muitos comentários sobre os filmes do diretor então fui com uma certa expectativa mas infelizmente não consegui me conectar com a história. eu pude perceber que o filme possui uma boa construção de história, que é uma bela história aliás mas eu fiquei com a sensação de eu estava assistindo completamente de fora, acredito que eu eu estava distraído no dia então tenho a certeza que quando eu rever vou poder aproveitar mais da obra.

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me hizo BOLSA pero otra coronación de gloria

Me parece una locura que haya una pelicula hongkonesa gay de los 90s en la que actua Leslie Cheung situada en ARGENTINA. MI PAÍS MI PAÍS. Esta película se siente hecha para mi bldo.
Si bien, siempre que veo estas películas siento que mis papás se estan peleando, aca se sintió DEMASIADO real para mi. Ese es literalmente el apartamento de mi abuela dios. La señora esa que puteaba a todos es mi tia. Podía SENTIR que los dos chabones estos se estaban peleando en frente mio. Me podía visualizar en ese mismo espacio. Aparte, obvio, que la actuación es un 10/10.

Me era bastante chistoso el cambio de la escena de los chinos peleando a el chabon este diciendole a leslie "si esta noche no me presentas una china no te doy la pizza" JAJAJA QUE. O q de la nada sonara la música q escucho todos los sabados a la mañana cuando es dia de limpieza. Era un re jumpscare pero la pase re bien.
Yo no habia ni nacido en los 90s, pero realmente puedo decir que representaron a la perfeción el entorno de ese entonces. Un detalle que me gusto mucho fue que se menciona como se arreglaban los gays en ese entonces. Cosas como los encuentros en los baños o los esos cines.

Entiendo completamente porqué es un clásico. Es buenísima. No sé de que otra manera describirlo pero es muy real. No sé, yo no fui un chino gay atrapado en Buenos Aires en los 90s, pero la película realmente te hace sentir esas experiencias cómo propias. Los dos personajes se mandan cagadas y son unos boludos. No hay un bueno ni un malo, son todas personas que hacen lo que pueden con lo que tienen. El final es agrídulce, pero así tambien suelen terminar la mayoría de las historias reales.

Definitivamente un must watch

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Melancholy love.

Ive never seen any of the director's other films, I saw a small snippet somewhere online and really wanted to watch it. I love that it's BL but not focused on it as the center story, it's mostly somber and sad, with a nice ending. The way it was filmed makes you feel very present. I didn't like however, the weird very fast sped up film; and then suddenly it's super slow/choppy frames (It's on purpose) that gives the impression your computer or internet are loading really slow. Not for me personally.

The actors were all great. I really felt for the Main guy. I sit here now left with.. this weird.. almost heartbroken feeling myself. You always deserve better in this situation. You can heal. I feel this film can leave a lasting impression on you.

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Gay couple at the center of controversial drama.

Hong Kong-produced drama from 1997. Happy Together is about a Chinese gay couple who have sought love in Buenos Aires. The film is controversial for being Asian: The opening scene shows the two men intimately making love to each other. The plot revolves around Po-Wing and Yiu-Fai's relationship. They seek to find out whether they can live together with each other. Yiu-Fai is more determined and strong who often takes care of the other and wants to move on with the relationship while Po-Wing is the carefree and easy-going one, always ready for new adventures.

In order to get away from the city and find some peace and quiet for a while, they choose to go on a trip to the countryside over a weekend. It doesn't quite go as planned: Instead, they end up wrong and become spiritually further apart. Back in Buenos Aires, Yiu-Fai leaves his partner and takes a job as a doorman at a nightclub. However, he thinks about him and wants him back, until one night he sees him with other men.

This is a strong and well-made drama with convincing acting, which was also awarded for best director at the Cannes festival the year it was released. Buenos Aires nightlife and tango traditions are captured beautifully through the camera. It is a prime example of new film noir: Happy and decadent on the surface, heavy and sad in the depths and as the plot progresses. The feeling is also enhanced by the fact that the film is mostly filmed in black and white.

The closing scene is appropriately accompanied by the 60s band Turtles' smash hit Happy Together. Wong Kar-Wai, who is responsible for directing, is today considered one of Hong Kong's foremost directors.

Leslie Cheung, who plays the easy-going Po-Wing in the film, was one of Hong Kong's more popular and openly gay performers before he took his own life by jumping off a skyscraper.

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