Days of Being Wild (Leslie Cheung)

Days of Being Wild

Ah fei jing juen Hong Kong 1990 | Wong Kar Wai | vostEN | 94’ | digital | Cast : Leslie Cheung, Maggie Cheung, Andy Lau, Carina Lau

►4th Best Chinese-Language film of All Time, Golden Horse Awards 2011

Cheung stars as Yuddy, a charismatic yet deeply restless young man – some might say playboy – searching for his biological mother. His emotional detachment leaves a lasting impact on the lives of those who fall under his spell. Through Yuddy’s journey, we explore themes of loneliness, identity, and unfulfilled desire. This early Wong Kar Wai film, part of a loose trilogy that also includes In the Mood for Love, established the themes and visual motifs that would come to define the filmmaker’s celebrated career while giving Cheung one of his most resonant roles.

« A moody, dramatic opus that sports a world view as fully developed as its cast of intriguing characters, Days of Being Wild is a beautifully realized picture – in many ways, really, a masterpiece – that finds gifted Hong Kong director Wong Kar Wai at the top of his game. » (Austin Chronicle)

« The terrific, all-star cast enacts this as a series of emotionally unresolved encounters; the swooningly beautiful camera and design work takes its hallucinatory tone from the protagonist's own uncertainties. The mysterious appearance of Tony Leung only in the closing scene heralds a sequel that will sadly never be made. But this is already some kind of masterpiece. » (Le Polyester)