Happy Together (Leslie Cheung)

Happy Together

Chun gwong ja sit Hong Kong 1997 | Wong Kar Wai | vostEN | 96’ | digital | Cast : Leslie Cheung, Tony Leung, Chang Chen

► Prix de la mise en scène, Cannes 1997

In a tiny and grimy Buenos Aires flat, two penniless Hong Kongers are locked in a volatile relationship. The predicament of these characters, played by Leslie Cheung and Tony Leung, serves as a powerful metaphor for the anxiety and identity crises of Hong Kong citizens facing the 1997 British handover to China. Cheung’s magnetic, self-destructive spin on his star persona clashes brilliantly with Leung’s trademark quiet intensity, using their characters’ toxic chemistry to paint a hallucinatory and enthralling picture of exile and heartbreak. While the breathtaking 35mm cinematography – here, a mix of black-and-white and poisonous colours – is expected in a Wong Kar Wai picture, this queer, Argentina-set story marks an exciting narrative departure for the director. Yet, with Happy Together., Wong confirmed once and for all his title as the global auteur of cinematic longing.

« Thanks largely to the raw bravery and intensity of the two leads’ performances, Happy Together takes a quantum leap forward in terms of visceral power. Despite the unearthly beauty of this film’s world, I suspect you’ll feel it merging with your own reality, investing your emotions with richer significance and, perhaps, making old memories and yearnings burn with fresh intensity. » (Austin Chronicle)

« A major part of why Happy Together feels as raw and rough as it does boils down to the chemistry Leung and Cheung exhibit on-screen. This makes it nearly impossible to side with one over the other: both are to blame for the constant friction in their relationship, but both are equally capable of tenderness. Even after all these years, very few queer relationships on-screen have come this close to capturing the forever-shifting power dynamics of love in a way that is honest without being grim, and entertaining without being melodramatic. » (The Asian Cut)