Has anyone here seen Happy Together?

Great movie. But then I'm a totally biased, yet not completely uncritical, Wong Kar-wai/Christopher Doyle fan.

Plus, it had what I think may be Tony Leung's best performance (which is saying something).

Leslie's {sob!} too.

I think Tony Leung Chiu-wai must be one of the greatest actors working today and his best work is with WKW.

WKW's pretty much notorious for never working with a script and actors sign on only having a vague idea or outline of the plot & characters. And he always, always makes rather significant changes to what he told them the movie would and actors can never really do any useful prep before shooting. He told Tony that Happy Together was going to be a movie about his relationship with his father who he finds out is gay and was having an affair with Leslie's character. The father dies in Argentina. Tony goes to get him and hooks up with Leslie and learns a lot about his father and himself blah blah blah.

So they're all in Argentina for a few weeks learning Spanish and setting stuff up, etc. and the day before shooting WKW tells Tony that it would be much better & cooler if his character was gay and having a relationship with Leslie. The first scene they shot was the love scene at the beginning of the movie.

A very Wong Kar-wai movie.

Yup, in the best sense.

Hi Candy B!

I head a while ago that 2046 was going to be released this month, but I haven't heard anything about it actually happening. Has anyone.

Hi Sue!

No word on 2046 US release. Thank GOD Sony Classics, not Miramax has the rights, so hopefully sometime this year. I got the dvd last fall.

Very WKW, not entirely in the best sense.

But I lovelovelove love it.

What's entertaining is how so many of Wong's movies have no plot, or only a tiny bit of one, and move forward on the basis of mood and emotion. This can be hilarious and sweet, as in Chunking Express, and this can be 2 hours of melancholy longing and anomie, as in the one set in 1960s Hong Kong whose title I've forgotten.

Actually, based on advance press for 2046, I am seeing a trend away from hilarity and toward anomie. I do tend to prefer the hilarity, or anyway the instance of it in Chungking Express.

and this can be 2 hours of melancholy longing and anomie, as in the one set in 1960s Hong Kong whose title I've forgotten.

IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE, perhaps?

2 hours of melancholy longing and anomie, as in the one set in 1960s Hong Kong whose title I've forgotten.

yes, In the Mood for Love, one of my favorite movies ever.

Excellent for when you just need some good wallowing.

I am seeing a trend away from hilarity and toward anomie. I do tend to prefer the hilarity, or anyway the instance of it in Chungking Express.

He needs to recapture a bit of that. Have you seen the sorta sequel, Fallen Angels? Has a nice mix of both. You may want to stay away from 2046, or just watch for the huge amount of pretty and seeing Tony be a hot rake.

But yeah, I think everyone is a bit tired of WKW being stuck in the sad "pretty people being in badly timed all consuming messed up love is so entrancing" thing.

But he claims he's done with all that as of 2046. Though I loved it, I love wallowing in WKW, but I hope he's done. I'm ready for him to move on.

I haven't seen either of his two latest. I work at the speed of Netflix.

(Speaking of which, I expect to get Infernal Affairs next week. All hail international DVD releases, since I think that one was in theatres in New York only, and for exactly ten days.)

I agree with everything you guys are saying about WKW (and I also think that Tony Leung Chiu-wai is one of the greatest actors around). I rented ItMFL a few months ago and I've been on a Wong Kar-wai kick ever since. He really doesn't have any bad movies - even one which I didn't love love like Days of Being Wild (which is actualy playing in theaters right now) had some really beautiful scenes. I think ItMFL and Fallen Angels have been my favorites so far.

What I like about him is that even though he's legendary for his style (jumpy, artsy, and chronologically messy), I think he's more brilliant at getting to the heart of the loneliness in his characters. He focuses on missed connections, and people falling in love at the wrong time, and just being lost in one way or another. I think his movies are much more accessible and easy to relate to than most hollywood films because who doesn't feel lonely and screwed up?

Nutty, that scene with the tape recorder was my favorite in the film. It just about broke me.

All hail international DVD releases, since I think that one was in theatres in New York only, and for exactly ten days.

Is the whole trilogy being released, or just the first one?

Just the first one, I think; or anyway, this is a single DVD, so only what fits in 2-3 hours. Maybe the rest of it will come out some day, under another title.