Tuesday 28 July 2026 21:30
languages : vostFR locations : Place Guillaume II - Knuedler
synopsis
In a tiny and grimy Buenos Aires flat, two penniless Hong Kongers are locked in a volatile relationship. The predicament of these characters, played by Leslie Cheung and Tony Leung, serves as a powerful metaphor for the anxiety and identity crises of Hong Kong citizens facing the 1997 British handover to China. Cheung’s magnetic, self-destructive spin on his star persona clashes brilliantly with Leung’s trademark quiet intensity, using their characters’ toxic chemistry to paint a hallucinatory and enthralling picture of exile and heartbreak. While the breathtaking 35mm cinematography – here, a mix of black-and-white and poisonous colours – is expected in a Wong Kar Wai picture, this queer, Argentina-set story marks an exciting narrative departure for the director. Yet, with Happy Together, Wong confirmed once and for all his title as the global auteur of cinematic longing.
► This film will also be screened on 27 August at 18:15, preceded by an introduction to Leslie Cheung’s cinema.
Thanks largely to the raw bravery and intensity of the two leads’ performances, "Happy Together" takes a quantum leap forward in terms of visceral power. Despite the unearthly beauty of this film’s world, I suspect you’ll feel it merging with your own reality, investing your emotions with richer significance and, perhaps, making old memories and yearnings burn with fresh intensity.
Austin Chronicle
A major part of why "Happy Together" feels as raw and rough as it does boils down to the chemistry Leung and Cheung exhibit on-screen. This makes it nearly impossible to side with one over the other: both are to blame for the constant friction in their relationship, but both are equally capable of tenderness. Even after all these years, very few queer relationships on-screen have come this close to capturing the forever-shifting power dynamics of love in a way that is honest without being grim, and entertaining without being melodramatic.
The Asian Cut
