Lai works as a doorman of a Buenos Aires tango club and Ho is his hustler boyfriend. The two are emotionally and physically drained, strangers to each other in a strange land, but desperately struggling through co-dependency, caretaking, adultery and fading intimacy to make their relationship work.
Less of a "gay movie" per se and more a story of human relationships, Happy Together had me in tears of recognition. Dark and harrowing, deeply moving yet unsentimental, it's quite a departure from most of the Kar-Wai films I have seen in that this is a relationship at the end rather than the beginning of its lifespan.
The casting of two Asian stars as gay lovers was a controversial decision for Kar-Wai that saw Happy Together banned in South Korea and Malaysia, and rated Category III (adults only) in Hong Kong.
My favourite of all the Kar-Wai films I've seen so far.
A great evening overall, that began with a delicious and inexpensive dinner (under £20 for two - chicken katsu curry, sashimi and breaded chicken bento box, and free rice tea) at Tokyo Diner in Soho.
Related links:
+ New York Times review
+ Other reviews (Rotten Tomatoes)
Other links today:
+ A little reminder of the history of blogs by Rebecca Blood
+ What do women want? Most everything, according to a new study that shows women are more aroused by more forms of erotica than men. (Free day pass may be needed to read this).
No comments:
Post a Comment