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(Drawing from Jenny)
T h e pr o gr es s i o n f o r LG BT Q+ r i gh t s i n C h i n a i s di f f i c u l t a n d s l o w, i t wo r k s by t h e s t r u ggl e o f s o meo n e l i k e J , s o meo n e l i k e yo u a n d me.
(ikon from Canva)
Text: Jenny Illustration design: Jenny Composition: Elisa
春光乍洩 Happy Happy
Together
Together
film
Hong Kong director Wong Kar-wai's collision with homosexuality is destined to be an extraordinary work. Happy Together made its first appearance at the 50th Cannes Film Festival in 1997. Wong Kar-wai won the Best Director Award for this film. He became the first Chinese director to win a prize at the Cannes Film Festival. The first time I saw this film was a rainy day, just like the feeling it brought me, wet and lingering.
film
review
review
“During its making, the movie underwent even more changes than is normal for a Wong pic. The location shoot dragged on for four months, from September to December last year, in difficult working conditions; the original storyline was massively altered during shooting; and characters and subplots were eliminated after the original three-hour cut. The final result (with a reported tab of $4.2 million) is one of Wong’ s most straightforward
movies in some time, pared back to concentrate on only three characters, and as pure a piece of almost plotless, metaphysical cinema as he’ s made in his career.”(Elley & Elley, 1997) In one interview, Wong Kar-wai also mentioned that he only had a two-page script. His plot always follows the characters. This movie completely discarded the female characters and other irrelevant roles. Christopher Doyle chose to use a handheld
camera. Since the film contains a lot of emotions, the shaking of the images better reflects the inner tangles of the characters.
The first 20 minutes of the film, with no color and a low frame rate, are reminiscent of one’ s memories. Disconnected from that time for too long, only black and white remain. Wong Kar-wai is fond of using monologues in his films. Lai Yiu-fai's monologue with no mood swings gives you a sense of the bad ending. The opening is the only sex scene in the movie. The blurred and jarring images are memories of Lai Yiu-fai, or maybe he doesn't remember them anymore, just fantasies.
Po Wing and Lai Yiu-fai were gay lovers in Hong Kong 1997. Lai Yiu-fai’ rotated inside, and the waterfall on the table lamp shined in the refracti flickered and flickered, like waves of foamy breath. Just a bargain, but h Hong Kong to Argentina. The two wandered all the way and ended up grounds that Po Wing found Lai Yiu-fai too dull. Lai Yiu-fai had to stay a hand, was fooling around with other men, night after night.
I was extremely impressed by the scene where they met again, with Lai the car with another man. He stood on the road quietly watching them looked back. I am convinced that they were still in love. Lai Yiu-fai said h suffered a lot. But whenever he says "Lai Yiu-fai, let's start over", he cou was like a magic spell that became the reason for Po Wing to leave or c start all over again. Lai Yiu-fai held back his emotions and refused many injured and jumped into his arms, he still accepted him.
s bedside cabinet sat an old lamp. The bulb ion of light. The light of the shattered leak had a unique charm to bring a pair of lovers from lost in Buenos Aires. Then they broke up, on the at the local tavern to work. Po Wing, on the other
Yiu-fai as the bartender sending his beloved to go away, and Po Wing, who seemed unruffled, still he had broken up with Po Wing many times and uld not help but go back to Po Wing. This phrase come back at will. Apparently, Po Wing wanted to y times. But when he saw his former lover seriously
On the cab ride back from the hospital, the image shifted from black and white to highly saturated tones. The shaking and blurring shooting technique was a reflection of the inner wavering of the characters. It was a peaceful time when Lai Yiu-fai took care of Po Wing, who could not take care of himself; he cooked for him, bathed him, and even gave him his bed to sleep in, curling up on the couch himself. It was an extremely happy and romantic time. The two embraced each other late at night in the kitchen, tried to forget everything but just dancing. This shot was slowed down and was certainly an aesthetic.
However, they still broke up anyway, before they could get to Iguazu Falls. Maybe because Lai Yiu-fai hid Po Wing's passport, or maybe because Po Wing hang out late in the street. The distrust grows and Po Wing even begins to suspect that Lai Yiu-fai is in love with someone else. From the moment of separation, the tone of the film shifted to normal colors. Lai Yiu-fai moved away from the home they once lived. It seems he really started to fall in love with someone else,(a boy who worked with him in the restaurant, Xiao Zhang) but their relationship just stopped at friendship. I interpreted it as he still can't get over Po Wing.
“BREAK UP”
He became homesick for Hong Kong on the other side of the world. No matter what, the sense of security that comes from home cannot be matched. He suddenly realized Hong Kong and Argentina were upside down in both time and geography. Wong Kar-wai put the image of Hong Kong here upside down. This idea amazed me. Before leaving, Lai Yiu-fai went to see Iguazu Falls alone. Po Wing moved to the place they used to live together. However, there was no longer
This is the end of the main storyline. Obviously, it wasn't the happy ending I was expecting. Lai Yiu-fai and Po Wing foreshadowed this from their character. One is stoic and willing to give; the other is flamboyant and mercurial. Po Wing sees Lai Yiu-fai as someone who will never leave him. He tacitly assumes that if he wants to start over, Lai Yiu-fai will start loving him again as usual. "Starting over" will not erase the pain of the past, but will inevitably repeat all the contradictions. Love is a kind of torture. If you think carefully about the plot of Happy Together, you can find that Po Wing and Lai You-fai have long been “disconnected” from their hearts. If you listen carefully to the soundtracks of the movie, you will find that most of them are cheerful and free. This matches with “Happy Together”, but contrasts strongly with the intense sadness of the movie.