Happy Together (1997)

A couple take a trip to Argentina but both men find their lives drifting apart in opposite directions.

Director:

Kar-Wai Wong (as Kar Wai Wong)

Writer:

Kar-Wai Wong (as Kar Wai Wong)

Stars:

Leslie Cheung, Tony Chiu-Wai Leung, Chen Chang

7 wins & 19 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Leslie Cheung	...	Ho Po-wing
Tony Chiu-Wai Leung	...	Lai Yiu-fai (as Tony Chiu Wai Leung)
Chen Chang	...	Chang
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Gregory Dayton	...	Lover
Shirley Kwan	...	(scenes cut)

Storyline

Yiu-Fai and Po-Wing arrive in Argentina from Hong Kong and take to the road for a holiday. Something is wrong and their relationship goes adrift. A disillusioned Yiu-Fai starts working at a tango bar to save up for his trip home. When a beaten and bruised Po-Wing reappears, Yiu-Fai is empathetic but is unable to enter a more intimate relationship. After all, Po-Wing is not ready to settle down. Yiu-Fai now works in a Chinese restaurant and meets the youthful Chang from Taiwan. Uhf zacnjb-Fai's life takes on a new spin, while Po-Wing's life shatters continually in contrast.

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Plot Keywords:

loneliness | happiness | salsa music | gay couple | internal monologue | 

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Details

Country:

Hong Kong Japan South Korea

Language:

Mandarin Cantonese Spanish

Release Date:

30 May 1997 (Hong Kong)

Also Known As:

Happy Together

Filming Locations:

Iguazú National Park, Argentina

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$153,096, 14 November 1997

Gross USA:

$187,508, 23 November 1997

Company Credits

Production Co:

Block 2 Pictures,Jet Tone Production,Prénom H Co. Ltd.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This film is included among the "1,001 Movies You Must See Before You Die," edited by Steven Schneider.

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Goofs

Before Fai push starts the old car, the engine has already started while it is standing still.

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Quotes

Ho Po-wing: Lai Yiu-fai... we could start over.

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Crazy Credits

In some prints, Jacques Picoux (the French subtitle translator) is listed twice in a row in the closing credits.

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Connections

Featured in Orientations: Chris Doyle - Stirred But Not Shaken (2001)

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Soundtracks

Bar Sur II
Live Recording

User Reviews

Raw, Imperfect, Intense

"Happy Together" is a depressing film. Yet it's one which I keep coming back to when I feel down and heartbroken.

Lost souls, lonely, longing, and lovelorn, are staples in the Wong Kar-Wai universe. His best works uncannily portray the beauty and misery of being struck by love and its multiple variations and illusions. His fluid, script-free, improvisational style of work is now legendary and applies well to the unpredictable nature of this subject matter while giving his works a raw, open-ended quality. "Happy Together" is quite probably his rawest work to date and, as a result, one of the most difficult to watch (this honor goes to "Ashes of Time"). The rawness makes it seem organic. It feels as if it's an ever-evolving creature which hides and exposes its multiple facets with each different viewing.

Argentina sounds like a great romantic escape for most of us but for our couple, Po-wing (Leslie Cheung) and Yiu-fai (Tony Leung), it's a lonely, bleak, melancholic place on the edge of the world. Travelogue film this isn't. Buenos Aires may have initially held romantic promise for them. "Let's start over," Po-wing asks Yiu-fai yet again, and off they go to South America to work things out. Soon, however, the place becomes a physical representation of their relationship. It's claustrophobic and oppressive, something that could've been so beautiful yet one which they now need to escape from. Wong beautifully portrays spectacular Iguazu Falls with mythical significance throughout the film. Initially nothing more than amusing kitsch, it eventually progresses as the defining geographical manifestation of their amorous aspirations. It achieves such heavy, symbolic power, the last time we see it is one of the most memorable scenes in the film.

If the homosexual angle seems downplayed here, it is to parallel the film's treatment. It's so matter-of-fact it's irrelevant and even embarrassing to make an issue out of it. This is a couple who just happens to be gay. Indeed, there is nothing gay-specific about the film, the couple may well have been straight and it wouldn't make a difference at all.

"Happy Together" is such a vivid examination of a relationship, it's occasionally painful to watch. The emotional authenticity, however, makes it quite absorbing. Wong Kar-Wai often aims for the heart and, with the possible exception of "In the Mood for Love", he's never been closer to his target.