Happy Together (1997 film)

Happy Together is a 1997 Hong Kong romance film directed by Wong Kar-wai, starring Leslie Cheung and Tony Leung Chiu-wai, that depicts a turbulent romance. The English title is inspired by The Turtles' 1967 song, which is covered by Danny Chung on the film's soundtrack; the Chinese title (previously used for Michelangelo Antonioni's Blowup) is an idiomatic expression suggesting "the exposure of something intimate."

The film received positive reviews from several film festivals, including a win for Best Director at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival.

Plot outline

Ho Po-wing (Leslie Cheung) and Lai Yiu-fai (Tony Leung Chiu-wai), a couple from pre-handover Hong Kong, visit Argentina hoping to renew their ailing relationship. The two have a pattern of abuse, followed by breakups and reconciliations. One of their goals in Argentina is to visit the Iguazu waterfalls, which serves as a leitmotif in the movie.

The movie unfolds in the following sections:

Part 1

Ho Po-wing bought a lamp with the Iguazu Falls on, then the two decided to visit the falls together. During the ride, however, they get into an argument and break up. Lai (played by Tony Leung) is the more stable and committed of the two, and desires nothing more than a fairly normal life. He tries to deal with the break-up rationally and gets a job at a local nightclub. Ho (played by Leslie Cheung) has an extremely destructive personality and is not able to commit to a monogamous relationship. Ho seems to be motivated by both a need for attention as well as a need to simply hurt Lai. Ho picks up numerous other men, and even goes so far to bring them to the club that Lai works at. Lai tries very hard to lead a normal life at this point, but is nearly driven to the edge of insanity by Ho.