Days of being wild
I actually had an affinity for Maggie Cheung ever since I saw “Comrades: Almost a love story” (a film which J.R. liked!), most likely the first Chinese movie I have really, really liked. After all, I still remember it vividly and would totally want to see it again.
This movie is 6 years older but both give me a similar feel of the “old Hongkong”, from those times when most Hongkong movies were bad – and they made lots of them cheaply. You can barely see Wong Kar-Wai’s mark in this film, both in style and in story. There is none of Wong Kar-Wai’s bright neon colors, and character-wise, well, women are mostly beautiful and stupid, men are mostly violent assholes and so it’s really hard to relate to any of the characters.
I think I care a lot about how a love story starts. With both women, the main character does nothing but annoy them. This kind of seduction, which is somewhat similar to the one with Bai Ling in “2046”, in which women always have to be bitchy and refusing so that the man first has to be verbally and physically violent, and subsequently (why in the world?) makes the girl laugh maniacally completely escapes my understanding. Isn’t there something wrong if any love story in the world starts like this? I have absolutely no understanding nor pity for people who approach their relationships this way.
But let’s assume the beginnings were not so unlucky. Then, I find the part of Maggie Cheung’s story quite lovely. The characterization of her being lovesick and desperate about being broken up with was written surprisingly nicely. Plus her chemistry with Andy Lau is pretty awesome. They were the best scenes of the whole film. After that, the movie just went downhill. The fight scene in the restaurant is the most ridiculous and random I have ever seen, I think. Hong Kong movies for sure!
There are minor aspects in which “Days of being wild” is similar to Wong Kar-Wai’s newer films – the topoi of time and memory, of rejected and painful love, of platonic friendships and lost opportunities. Ultimately, however, I think the main character’s violence destroys all potential pleasantness of the film. Perhaps Tony Leung’s character in “In the Mood for Love” and “2046” is similarly unpleasant, but I just didn’t see it.
Next time, I have to watch a love story in which the lovers are actually equal. And perhaps set in a location where it rains less.