Back home

Happy Together

771 votes

Producing House

A couple travels from Hong Kong to Argentina to revive their relationship but experience turbulence when both men's lives drift in separate directions.

movie

Status: Released

Released Date: 1997-05-30

Runtime: 96 mins

Director: Wong Kar-Wai

Writer: Wong Kar-Wai

Spoken language: 广州话 / 廣州話, Español

Genres: Drama, Romance

Original title: Happy Together

Production Companies: Block 2 Pictures, Seowoo Film Company, Prénom H Co. Ltd., Jet Tone Production

Production Countries: Hong Kong, South Korea, Japan

Reviews

G

Geronimo1967
I felt the opening few scenes offered great promise, they are gritty and illustrative not just of a sexuality, but also of the physical nature of a relationship. When the two men travel to Argentina however, on an holiday, it is quickly clear to all that the relationship is on it's last legs. They separate and both find themselves leading lives that neither would have sought or really want - but yet they cannot go back; don't want to go back - even though one life takes on new positive meaning, whilst the other hits the skids. It's beautifully shot with director Wong Kar-Wai making full use of the grand scenery offered by the Argentine, but somehow I think that grandeur subsumed the story. The characters are strong, and both lead actors deliver well and consistently, but I couldn't help feeling a certain element of ennui as I watched it. It would be unfair to describe it as melodrama, but somehow the characters didn't engage me. Whilst I felt sympathy for "Po-wing" (Leslie Cheung) I found him rather irritating; his introspection grated on me after a while. "Yiu-fai' (Tony Leung) offered more by way of validation - of optimism, but again it just didn't quite get my engagement genes firing. Maybe it is because European cinema has largely long since lost the ability to truly shock, that this has much less impact than I had anticipated - but though thoroughly watchable, it still left me underwhelmed.
2022-03-28

Recommendations

Night Swimming
2.1

Night Swimming

2005-07-03

A night in the woods, and its aftermath, helps Otter with a major life decision. He's a high school

The Danish Boys
2.1

The Danish Boys

2019-11-01

In a Copenhagen motel, a politician's hookup doesn't go to plan. Meanwhile at a nightclub, a mother

Beauty and the Beast
3.8

Beauty and the Beast

1946-10-29

The story of a gentle-hearted beast in love with a simple and beautiful girl. She is drawn to the re

On the Waterfront
3.9

On the Waterfront

1954-06-22

A prizefighter-turned-longshoreman with a conscience goes up against labor leaders to expose corrupt

Paris, Texas
4

Paris, Texas

1984-07-16

A man wanders out of the desert not knowing who he is. His brother finds him, and helps to pull his

The Marriage of Maria Braun
3.7

The Marriage of Maria Braun

1979-03-23

Maria marries a young soldier in the last days of World War II, only for him to go missing in the wa

La Jetée
3.9

La Jetée

1962-02-16

A man confronts his past during an experiment that attempts to find a solution to the problems of a

Short Cuts
3.6

Short Cuts

1993-10-01

Many loosely connected characters cross paths in this film, based on the stories of Raymond Carver.

All About Eve
4

All About Eve

1950-11-09

From the moment she glimpses her idol at the stage door, Eve Harrington is determined to take the re

Mildred Pierce
3.8

Mildred Pierce

1945-10-20

A hard-working mother inches towards disaster as she divorces her husband and starts a successful re

Ludwig
3.7

Ludwig

1973-03-07

Historical evocation of Ludwig, king of Bavaria, from his crowning in 1864 until his death in 1886,

Kid
3

Kid

1984-07-01

Hal Hartley's senior thesis film from SUNY-Purchase. A young man attempts to leave his Long Island s

It Happened One Night
3.9

It Happened One Night

1934-02-22

A runaway heiress makes a deal with the rogue reporter trailing her but the mismatched pair end up s

Modern Times
4.1

Modern Times

1936-02-05

A bumbling tramp desires to build a home with a young woman, yet is thwarted time and time again by

His Girl Friday
3.7

His Girl Friday

1940-01-18

Walter Burns is an irresistibly conniving newspaper publisher desperate to woo back his paper’s star

My Darling Clementine
3.7

My Darling Clementine

1946-10-17

Three brothers stop off for a night in the town of Tombstone. The next morning they find one of thei

The Night of the Hunter
3.9

The Night of the Hunter

1955-07-26

In Depression-era West Virginia, a serial-killing preacher hunts two young children who know the whe

Midnight Cowboy
3.8

Midnight Cowboy

1969-05-25

Joe Buck is a wide-eyed hustler from Texas hoping to score big with wealthy New York City women; he

Nashville
3.6

Nashville

1975-06-11

The intersecting stories of twenty-four characters—from country star to wannabe to reporter to waitr

Badlands
3.8

Badlands

1974-01-05

An impressionable teenage girl from a dead-end town and her older greaser boyfriend embark on a kill