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Leslie Cheung, Chen Chang, Tony Leung Chiu Wai

Yiu-Fai and Po-Wing arrive in Argentina from Hong Kong and take to the road for a holiday. Something is wrong and their relationship goes adrift. A disillusioned Yiu-Fai starts working at a tango bar ... read more read more...to save up for his trip home. When a beaten and bruised Po-Wing reappears, Yiu-Fai is empathetic but is unable to enter a more intimate relationship. After all, Po-Wing is not ready to settle down. Yiu-Fai now works in a Chinese restaurant and meets the youthful Chang from Taiwan. Yiu-Fai's life takes on a new spin, while Po-Wing's life shatters continually in contrast.

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89% liked it

17,036 ratings

Critics

77% liked it

31 critics

Unrated, 1 hr. 45 min.

Directed by: Kar Wai Wong

Release Date: October 17, 1997

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DVD Release Date: June 22, 1999

Stats: 918 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (918)


  • April 12, 2009
    Garishly beautiful but frustratingly same-y WKW chamber piece. Happy Together has hardly a whisper of plot and I found myself drifting. Felt like a two hour Suntory ad.

    Music and waterfall sequence were cool.
  • July 10, 2010
    Beautifully filmed, cast are great, but painfully, painfully slow. Also NOT a romantic film, as the title would have you believe!
  • August 9, 2009
    After have watched "Chungking Express" and "2046", I could understand the disappointment of Kar Wai Wong´s fans with "My Blueberry Nights". It´s nice and I enjoyed it myself, but now, having watched "Hapy Together", I can ask it too: what happened? Maybe it was the west wind, who... read more knows? or the too-famous-actors, but it just doesn´t have the depth, tragedy and beauty of these other movies.

    "Happy Together" (don´t get tricked by the title) is an authentic Wai Wong love story with its ups and downs. Buenos Aires was the perfect choice to place the relationship of the two chinese men lovers as desperate and sensual as el tango Argentino. Homosexuality is not the main point and it is, actually, never judged. Everything is very natural and beautiful, quite different from Brokeback Mountain, for example. The characters are real, interesting, and the movie has that known Wai Wong stunned "atmosphere" with hot colours and decadent places.





  • July 26, 2009
    No matter how terribly grounded you are, there is always Wong Kar Wai to take you flying away. He always succeeds at marrying realistic human drama with otherworldly beauty and atmosphere. The content is often raw, whereas the form is always stunningly beautiful.

    He is also a ... read morefantastic maker of love stories, usually stories of unfulfilled expectations. He never gives his characters happy endings, he's more interested in unfolding the ups and downs of relationships enveloped in ethereal settings. Happy Together is no exception to the rule; once more, and to my absolute joy, Kar Wai works his magic and makes me glad that he ever made this film.

    Leslie Cheung and Tony Leung play two lovers from Hong Kong who travel to Argentina to begin a new life. However, theirs is a very odd and unhealthy relationship, equal parts obessessive and indifferent according to their moods. Being in Buenos Aires, where they know only each other, makes them both strive to become independent, in an effort to free from theie mutual obssession, but also draws them nearer to each other, since they are, at the end of the day, all they have. The result is a painful dance of violence and tenderness. Theirs is the epithome of a love/hate relationship; Jealousy, rage, lust, sweetness, coming and going with equal intensity. All while they are in a foreign country and they represent everything "familiar" to each other.
    Even in this adverse environment, both characters have to let go. Their moments together become devastating more often than they are pleasant, to the point of leading them both to misery.

    All this happens in a very Wong Kar Wai fashion, in a Universe in which time and even space are uncertain and even the grittiest alleys, dirtiest and flea-infested apartments have an innate beauty that jumps to the eye. The director and Christopher Doyle create some of the most inspiring images I've ever seen. Their eyes just seem to elevate the story, as in all of their collaborations. I also loved how Kar Wai seemed to understand and profit from the spirit of Buenos Aires; the melancholic demeanor of the background characters, the buildings, the color, the light and the water. And, above all, the music.

    Leslie Cheung and Tony Leung are amazing! Every time I see him perform I become more convinced of Leung's versatility. He becomes Fai, making him sympathetic enough but still careless, unbalanced and aggressive. By himself he is not very appealing at all, but his circumstances, and how Kar Wai chooses to approach him ,bring out his substance. Leslie Cheung is also very good as Fai's reckless lover.

    I wouldn't say this is my favorite Wong Kar Wai film, but it's definitely a wonderful film and probably one of the director's most accessible works (only 97 minutes long). I barely noticed the passing of time, anyways, because the images and the performances are so absorbing. The scenes at the tango bar... I just wished they would last much longer! And, of course, I suppose that, as with any film, Happy Together can mean many things to many different people. To me, it was immediately about accepting the end of any relationship and walking away from what is bad for you, even if you don't want to. But there is probably much more to it. Or you can just stare at the wonderful colors and listen to the tangos.
  • January 31, 2009
    Raw & intense, Filled with touching & memorable scenes and ofcourse Doyle's beautiful images
  • August 10, 2007
    Great cast. Two lovers arrive in Argentina from Hong Kong and go on a roadtrip.
  • December 3, 2006
    At last. A true portrayal of a homo-sexual relationship which felt realistic and emotional. Great performances and a brilliant soundtrack

    The relationship between the two leads is obviously emotional and constantly on the rocks. To me, this is how Hollywood should portrayal th... read moreis, not making it soo bloody obvious that we are seeing a " gay couple" but a normal couple who seem to love one another. That is why I felt so dissapointed with Brockback Mountain

    Some great performances from Tony Leung and Leslie Leung backed up with some fine cinematography and a brilliant soundtrack. This all added to the mood within the film and created this strong emotion which I saw with every character

    Certainly there are elements of Chunking which I noticed, plus a lot of Wai's trademarks within the movie.

    Overall a brilliant film showing a realistic portryal of a homo-sexual couple which will make you feel for the more, not just a " gay couple" but a couple with a strong bond between them
  • June 4, 2006
    After the amazingness of 'Chungking Express' and 'Fallen Angels' Wong Kar Wai takes it down a notch. There isn't much of a plot but this allows to fully explore his two protagonists and their relationship with each other. The film tends to drag on and repeat itself. The light dre... read morenched cinematography works well, as does the metaphorical claustrophobic setting of the apartment, but the film misses Wai's use of stirring music and influential editing.
  • July 20, 2006
    MagicButterfly said this was bone-crushingly depressing, but we later agreed that it was merely soul-crushingly depressing. Hey, look, everyone is incredibly lonely and doesn't really get what they want. In Chinese cinema? Impossible! This took me an incredibly long time to r... read moreate. I was aware of a lot of the symbolism but think I missed the significance of most of it. Oh well.
  • March 17, 2010
    A gorgeously photographed but emotionally hurtful experience, Wong Kar-Wai's Happy Together hits all the possibles notes on a flailing relationship, whether it be same-sex or not. Even if the chinese filmmaker spares us no bitter rumpuses as the two lovers slowly discover that lo... read moreve means being able to let go of one another when it becomes destructive, this is definitely one film you'll want to watch more than once. Leslie Cheung and Tony Leung admirably commit to their characters, faring extremely well within the screenplay's small but gently revelatory moments. The film's universal applicability just makes it more essential, so you get the point : see this one.

Critic Reviews


Kevin Thomas
February 14, 2001
Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times

A take-no-prisoners movie from one of Hong Kong's most idiosyncratic, shoot-from-the-hip filmmakers that's the very antithesis of sentimental gay love stories. Full Review

Jeff Millar
January 1, 2000
Jeff Millar, Houston Chronicle

You don't watch this film as much as grab on to it. Letting it jerk you every which way is a jangly but interesting ride.

Charles Taylor
January 1, 2000
Charles Taylor, Salon.com

Wong doesn't show us any of the sparks that can still be struck between lovers who argue constantly. Full Review

Richard Corliss
January 1, 2000
Richard Corliss, TIME Magazine

Sexy, spiky love story.

Joe Baltake
January 1, 2000
Joe Baltake, Sacramento Bee

Wong continues to demonstrate his effortless command of the camera. Full Review

Edward Guthmann
January 1, 2000
Edward Guthmann, San Francisco Chronicle

Were Kerouac, William Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg alive today, and able to see what Wong has done here ... they'd be thrilled and invigorated. Full Review

Jay Antani
August 17, 2010
Jay Antani, Cinema Writer

all-around fabulous work Full Review

Sean Axmaker
June 10, 2010
Sean Axmaker, Turner Classic Movies Online

... casts a spell of hyper-reality and immediacy softened by the longing and melancholy of the narration and music. Full Review

Rob Nelson
September 1, 2009
Rob Nelson, City Pages, Minneapolis/St. Paul

The story may end in Taiwan on a heartbreaking note, but we're left somewhere between here and there, happily drifting through the film's luscious netherworld of sound and image. Full Review

Jeffrey M. Anderson
July 4, 2008
Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid

A step in a new direction for the very stylish and always fascinating Hong Kong director. Full Review

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

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