Study of a Director:
Wong Kar Wai

HAPPY TOGETHER

Director : Wong Kar Wai
Country : Hong Kong
Language : Cantonese, Spanish, English, Mandarin
Duration : 96 minutes
Year : 1997
Study of a Director: Wong Kar Wai

Synopsis

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 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.

Wong Kar Wai

Director

Wong Kar-wai (born 17 July 1956) is a Hong Kong Second Wave filmmaker, internationally renowned as an auteur for his visually unique, highly stylised, emotionally resonant work, including Ah fei zing zyun (1990), Dung che sai duk (1994), Chung Hing sam lam (1994), Do lok tin si (1995), Chun gwong cha sit (1997), 2046 (2004) and My Blueberry Nights (2007), Yi dai zong shi (2013). His film Fa yeung nin wa (2000), starring Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung, garnered widespread critical acclaim. Wong’s films frequently feature protagonists who yearn for romance in the midst of a knowingly brief life and scenes that can often be described as sketchy, digressive, exhilarating, and containing vivid imagery. Wong was the first Chinese director to win the Best Director Award at the Cannes Film Festival (for his work Chun Gwong Cha Sit in 1997). Wong was the President of the Jury at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival, which makes him the only Chinese person to preside over the jury at the Cannes Film Festival. He was also the President of the Jury at the 63rd Berlin International Film Festival in February 2013. In 2006, Wong accepted the National Order of the Legion of Honour: Knight (Highest Degree) from the French Government. In 2013, Wong accepted the Order of Arts and Letters: Commander (Highest Degree) from the French Minister of Culture.

Cast

– Leslie Cheung
– Tony Chiu-Wai Leung
– Chang Chen

Crew

– Director: Wong Kar Wai
– Producer: Wong Kar Wai, Ye-cheng Chan
– Editor: William Chang, Ming Lam Wong
– Writer: Wong Kar Wai
– DOP: Christopher Doyle
– Sound: Duu-ChihTu
– Music: Danny Chung

Awards and Nominations

Arizona International Film Festival (1998)
Winner- Most Popular Foreign Film

Cannes Film Festival (1997)
Winner-Best Director
Faro Island Film Festival (1997)
Winner-Best Actor, Best Film.
FIPRESCI Prize- Main Competition
Golden Bauhinia Awards (1998)
Winner- Best Actor

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