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

Writers:

Manuel Puig (novel), Kar-Wai Wong

Stars:

Leslie Cheung, Tony Chiu-Wai Leung, Chen Chang

7 wins & 20 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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Did You Know?

Trivia

Production lasted much longer than Wong Kar-Wai's other films because he was constantly changing things and was unsure what direction the story would take. Shooting began without a proper script and the plot was extensively altered during filming.

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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

Lai Yiu-fai: I didn't see Chang, but I saw his family. I finally understood how he could be happy running around so free. It's because he has a place he can always return to.

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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

Brilliant & Touching Story of loneliness & dislocation

I didn't think so the first time I saw HAPPY TOGETHER, but I really think this film is a masterpiece. Technically it's amazing - the hand-held camera-work is incredible, and the mindbending shifts from saturated colors to monochrome (which I first felt was a stylish stunt) really underscores the loneliness and alienation of the characters brilliantly - the overall effect by the films' end is devastating.

HAPPY TOGETHER was apparently also - at least partially - inspired by the Argentine novelist Manuel Puig, author of 'Kiss Of The Spider Woman' among many other novels, and Puig's fiction tackles similar issues in a similarly fractured style (filled with footnotes, digressions and sudden shifts in perspective), all to incredibly powerful emotional effect.

If HAPPY TOGETHER is something of an homage to Puig, it's a great one. On it's own it's also a devastating portrait of a disintegrating relationship.

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

Budget:

$4,200,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$320,319

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$320,319

Company Credits

Production Co:

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

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1