While I do adore director Wong Kar-wai's work immensely, his 1997 'classic' Happy Together is more a miss than a hit for me. Gay lovers Lai Yiu-Fai (Tony Leung) and Ho Po-Wing (the late Leslie Cheng) head to Argentina from pre-reunion Hong Kong to try and rekindle their failing relationship by visiting the beautiful Iguaza Falls. On the ride there, however, the two argue and break-up setting the stage for the 2 hours that follow as the couple alternate between violent abuse of each other to reuniting to breaking apart again. On the surface, how two men who fight continually can possibly be 'happy together' remains a mystery. The deeper plotline though deals with the ties we create through intimacy with another human, and how those ties are challenged by the baggage, history and natural inclinations we bring as we enter and move through a relationship. Ho is destructive by his nature and adverse to commitment; Lai, nurturing, kind and forgiving. The themes are universal. Where Happy Together fails for me is not so much in the actors, but with the direction. Wong Kar-wai films the story as though it's a music video and while I get what he's trying to do contrasting the men and their histories with the heat and passion of Latin America, I found the juxtaposition too forced.
That said, for its visual feast and assault on the senses and the brilliant acting of two of China's greatest modern day actors, my rating of 7 out of 10.
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