Movie Review: ‘Happy Together’ and “Conflicted Relationships”

Wong Kar Wai’s queer love story Happy Together is a dreamy masterpiece that captures the romance between two conflicted men and chronicles their on-again, off-again relationship deftly.

Introduction 

Movie Name: Happy Together

Director’s Name: Wong Kar Wai

Genre: Romance, Drama

Language: Cantonese

Synopsis– Spoiler alert

The film opens with the main couple- Ho Po Wing and Lai Yiu Fai- bickering on the streets of Buenos Aires trying to find their way to Iguazu Falls. This bickering ends in a breakup between the two. To save money to go home, Lai starts working as a doorman for a tango bar that the promiscuous Ho frequents with his many partners. After Lai accuses Ho of spending all his money and leaving him broke and stranded, unable to go home, Ho steals a watch from one of his acquaintances and is severely beaten following which he comes and lives with Lai for a few days in what can be called reconciliation.

The two spend what Lai calls their happiest time together sometimes bickering and fighting, and other times dancing in the kitchen and enjoying each other’s company. Lai has to leave his job at the tango bar because of hitting the man who beat Ho. He begins performing at a Chinese restaurant where he befriends Chang,. Later, Ho and Lai have an argument where Lai steals and refuses to return Ho's passport. Ho leaves the apartment when he fully recovers. Having finally earned enough money to fly home, Lai decides to go to the Iguazu Falls alone before he leaves. Meanwhile, Ho returns to the empty apartment, heartbroken, realizing that Lai is gone permanently.

Lai returns to Hong Kong but stops in Taipei only to end up eating at a food stall in a night market run by Chang's family. He steals a photograph of Chang from the booth, saying that albeit he doesn't know if he will ever see Chang again, he knows where to seek out him.

About the Director

Wong Kar-wai (born 17 July 1956) may be a Hong Kong Second Wave filmmaker, internationally renowned as an auteur for his visually unique, highly stylised, emotionally resonant work, His film In the Mood for Love (2000), starring Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung, garnered widespread critical acclaim.

Wong's films frequently feature protagonists who yearn for love within the midst of knowingly brief life and scenes which will often be described as sketchy, digressive, exhilarating and containing vivid imagery. Wong was the primary Chinese director to win the simplest Director Award of the Cannes festival (for his work Chun Gwong Cha sit in 1997).

Wong was the President of the Jury at the 2006 Cannes festival, which makes him the sole Chinese person to preside over the jury at the Cannes festival. He was also the President of the Jury at the 63rd Berlin International festival in February 2013. In 2006, Wong accepted the National Order of the Legion of Honour: Knight (Highest Degree) from the French Government. In 2013, Wong accepted the Order of Arts and Letters: Commander (Highest Degree) by the French Minister of Culture.

Self- Analysis

Whenever I watch a Wong Kar Wai film, the thing I take back is the mood of the film or in essence how it made me feel, I don’t much remember the story or plotline. It is the stunning and quirky visuals that remain and the feeling they evoked in me. 

Much like his other films, Happy together does not follow a structured storyline. It is a jumbled set of bewitching sequences that set the ambience and mood that the film wishes to convey. Also, like his other works, this film also seems to have the filter of memory.

It makes you invest in the characters with great ease. The performances by the legend of Hong Kong cinema Tony Leung and Leslie Cheung are beautiful. The frames– sometimes imbued with blues, reds, and yellows, and sometimes black and white– are bursting with vitality. This piece might not have been well received by critics at the time of release but it definitely stands the test of time to become one of Wong Kar Wai’s best works.

Conclusion

This film explores in depth the conflicted, abusive relationships between two individuals through a series of dreamy, irresistibly stunning visuals. If that goes with your style, you should definitely give it a watch.

My Ratings for the film: 5 out of 5

You can watch it on MUBI, Amazon Prime Video

Written by Anika Sharma