Did you people see the same film I saw?

To all those who have watched it: I hope you enjoyed it as much as I do.

In truth, any opportunity to see the film on the big screen is welcome.

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

I first saw Happy Together during its original release and kind of liked it. I recall very clearly not quite understanding why I kind of liked it ,and couldn't justify it to my friend who I'd seen it with and who didn't like it. 10 years later a friend gave me bag of old DVD's he was getting rid of and this was one of those, so I watched it again one rainy afternoon. What a difference a second viewing made. I recently saw it again on the big screen and my affections and appreciation for this film continues to grow as the film continues to reveal itself and I understand it more. Unlike many, I do not see this film as a love story between to men but rather view the central relationship as just one of the films many elements the director uses to show the individual and solo aspect of life that each of us faces. Family relationships, romantic love, professional relationships, random people that come and go in our lives, and through differing cultures, are all used to illustrate this central theme. The acting is wonderful, the characters unique and interesting and the cinematography and score all combine to create a beautiful and powerful, and haunting experience. Happy Together is not an easily accessible film and for the viewers who saw this film and liked it or disliked it, I encourage a second viewing. Happy Together really is a wonderful and moving film well worth the time and challenge.

From director Kar Wai Wong (Chungking Express, In the Mood for Love), this film was featured in the book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, and it wasn't even rated that well by the critics, I still gave it a chance though. Basically, in Argentina, homosexual couple Lai Yiu-Fai (Tony Leung Chiu Wai) and Ho Po-wing (Leslie Cheung) from Hong Kong have arrived to take a holiday on the road, but their relationship goes adrift when something goes wrong. To save up for a trip to go back home disillusioned Yiu-Fai gets a job working in a tango bar, while Po-Wing is beaten and bruised and his partner cannot find a way to be in an intimate relationship. Po-Wing is after all they go through not ready to settle down with his partner, and Yiu-Fai next finds a job working in a Chinese restaurant and meets Chang (Chen Chang) from Taiwin who is more youthful. Life for Yiu-Fai takes a new spin, supposedly for the better, while life for Po-Wing continues to shatter and go downward, but in the end they do contact each other once more, but without any good coming from it, but one is able to return to Hong Kong. I didn't understand all of the story going on, apart from the obvious gay relationships going on throughout, and I agree with the critics, it is trying a little too hard to appear indulgent, but it does look good with colour and imagery, that's probably why it would be considered a must see, so it's a relatively interesting romantic drama. Okay!

On-off lovers Yiu-fai (Tony Leung) and Po-wing (Leslie Cheung), whose relationship is bumpy to say the least, find themselves stranded in Buenos Aires, on a trip to the 'end of the world'. Both characters are unbalanced but Yiu-fai appears the more decent, quiet and hardworking. They constantly break-up and reunite, and the film follows this relationship (centring on Tony Leung's Yiu-fai) which for some inexplicable reason both men seem drawn to, even though externally Yiu-fai seems to have a deep resentment for the high-wired and unruly Po-wing. It's highly stylised, the use of imagery and cinematography inspired, beautifully shot and acted brilliantly. I was unfortunate in that my subtitles were ahead of themselves, but even this didn't greatly damage the brilliant pacing of the film. As Wong Kar-Wai plays with the camera, he plays with out emotions. The characters are tragic individuals, clearly yearning for some purpose, taking out each other's anger at being unable to discover said purpose on the other, but the film's ending leaves us with hope. Very emotional and poetic film.

From Hong Kong filmmaker Wong Kar-Wai,the writer and director of the highly regarded CHUNG KING EXPRESS (CHONGQING SENLIN), comes HAPPY TOGETHER (CHEUN GWONG TSA SIT). HAPPY TOGETHER tells the story of a gay Chinese couple in Buenos Aires, Argentina, who are anything but happy. The story, to the extent there is any, consists of a series of vignettes about their petty fights.In this two person drama Leslie Cheung Kwok-Wing plays Ho Po-Wing and Tony Leung Chiu-Wai plays Lai Yiu-Fai. Leslie was last seen in TEMPTRESS MOON (FENG YUE) and Tony in CYCLO (XICH LO). Both are quite capable actors, but the parts they are given in HAPPY TOGETHER almost dares the audience to care. Their lifeless performances are right in line with Wong's dreadfully dull screenplay.Although the movie contains some of the most graphic homosexual scenes I've encountered, the actors present no passion or love during them with the result that the scenes are coldly antiseptic.Most of the movie has them arguing with each other, complaining about the lack of jobs in Argentina and living a life of poverty in their (literally) flea-bag room. Never is the narrative interesting and rarely are the characters the least bit compelling.The picture has a single saving grace. The cinematography by Christopher Doyle punctuates the otherwise uninvolving scenes with fascinating images. Although Doyle's work in HAPPY TOGETHER is not nearly as good as his stunning work in TEMPTRESS MOON, he enlivens an otherwise tedious picture. Using both oversaturated black-and-white sequences and lush color ones, he keeps the audience's attention even when the story doesn't. One evocative scene has our two lonely leads stranded on the highway. Shooting from a distance, the black-and-white highway seems as infinite as Tony and Lai's troubles. Another scene is shot from high above the city streets. Using color at night and a strobe effect, the cars dart around the turns like colored rats in a maze."Turns out that normal people are all the same," concludes Lai. Similarly, the movie HAPPY TOGETHER has a dreary sameness to each of its vignettes, only the handsome cinematography saves it from being an unwatchable, boring film.HAPPY TOGETHER seems to go on forever but its running time is actually only 1:37. The picture is in Cantonese with Chinese and English subtitles. The film is not rated but would get an R for nudity, profanity, violence and graphic sex. The film is not appropriate for teenagers.