Full Version: Wong Kar-wai's Days of Being Wild
...only in NY, however.
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| Wong Kar-wai's 1991 film, "Days of Being Wild," which premiered in the U.S. at New Directors/New Films in 1991, has been rarely seen in the states. The film is set in 1960s Hong Kong, and shot by Christopher Doyle ("Hero," "In the Mood for Love"), the first of several collaborations between Doyle and Wong. "Wild" also introduced actress Maggie Cheung ("In the Mood for Love," "2046") to many audiences, and also features the late Leslie Cheung ("Happy Together," "Farewell My Concubine"). Kino describes the feature as "the first of several masterpieces of unattainable love." The film will open New York's Film Forum November 19th. |
Coming to the Pacific Cinematheque in Vancouver March 31 - April 4.
I was disappointed by Days of Being Wild, with the exception of some truly brilliant sequences involving Maggie Cheung. The cinematography is of course superb, but I didn't find Leslie Cheung's character to be all that interesting, and that character is the main focus of the film.
It's pretty similar to 2046, really, but that film is better in almost every respect.
It's pretty similar to 2046, really, but that film is better in almost every respect.
QUOTE(theoddone33 @ Feb 26 2005, 08:35 PM)
I was disappointed by Days of Being Wild, with the exception of some truly brilliant sequences involving Maggie Cheung. The cinematography is of course superb, but I didn't find Leslie Cheung's character to be all that interesting, and that character is the main focus of the film.
I saw this a few weeks ago at Facets and think that's a pretty fair assessment. I loved the colors, I loved some of the captured images, and I thought much of the editing was as baffling to the narrative as it was entrancing to the eyes. The film was visually stunning, without a doubt, but had the kind of characters you almost have to tussle with in order to be affected by them -- you've gotta fight your way into understanding in order to fight your emotional state into caring.
The one idea that I loved was that a character would be remembered not by his name, not by his character or integrity, not by his looks or charisma, but he would be remembered for the minute in which he first gazed on a potential lover. I've often thought about time and memory, I really enjoy movies that twist these two, and my head, into some other state of oblivion (last year's Primer is a good example of this), and I thought the simplicity in this statement that "You will remember me by this minute," was the quickly passing profound moment in the movie. I wonder how many people we've seen in life for a minute, that if they haven't said anything to us we never would have given them a second thought. Others perhaps, are caught in that moment forever. The notion interests me, and maybe the narcicist in me wonders if anything about me has ever been caught in someone else's thoughts... Perception. Reality. Imagery. Memory. It all sort of slides together, doesn't it?
The thing that amazed me about the production was that I didn't know what year it was made (It was 1991 on its original release) and when I left the theater, I thought I'd seen a film from 2005 and I wasn't bothered by the 14 years difference. In other words, it was made well enough so that I couldn't notice its age by looking at it. Many other films from 1991 you cannot say that about.
-s.
PS Watching In The Mood For Love on DVD, my first time viewing the film, tonight.
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