I can appreciate symbolism and abstract art as much as the next guy but why is Tony Leung in this movie? As far as I can tell, he doesn’t really do anything. If you rent this movie expecting to see him in it, then you’ll probably be a bit disappointed. The star of this movie is clearly Leslie Cheung, who in this DVD is called York. He won the best actor award at the Hong Kong Film Awards and he clearly deserved it. The movie mostly follows his escapades, but sometimes veers and concentrates on the happenings of other characters. However, these veerings usually involve conversations about York and how annoying he is.
Like in ‘As Tears Go By’, the weather is hot and muggy, and men sweating is not uncommon. The slow, languorous days of Hong Kong show the pace of the movie, which in turn show us York’s personality. Most of the movie takes place in 1960, the same general time director Wong Kar-Wai would visit later in ‘In the Mood for Love’. This provides for award-winning art direction and great, award-winning visuals (although the cinematographer this time is Christopher Doyle, not Andrew Lau, but is no less impressive). The movie is also the closest to ‘In the Mood for Love’ that Mr. Wong has done, in that it has very little action, no blurring, and has, albeit in an odd kind of way, Tony Leung, and Maggie Cheung.
Like the other Wong Kar-Wai movies, there is symbolism here. Faces are often obscured by the shadowy recesses of a corridor or the corner of a room, lit by a dim green light. There’s one scene in particular. Andy Lau talks about the time he realized he was poor. He then puts on his police hat, his visor covering his eyes. Mrs. Cheung asks him why he wanted to become a police officer. Mr. Lau then proceeds by talking about what he wanted to be, never really answering the question directly. Throughout the movie, you get the feeling that people want to say what they’re thinking, but often they hold back or say something else. It’s really well done. However, Mr. Leung says nothing. He’s there in one scene, and I really can’t understand it.
Once again, people are in their own little world (especially Mr. Leung’s character, who has to bend down to avoid the ceiling in his appartment), doing what they want and not really hearing what other people are saying. The only decent person in this movie is, oddly enough, Jacky Cheung. Carina Lau eventually tells him something and he changes easily to make her happy. That’s rather strange. When the one time York’s mother tells exactly what she’s thinking, it changes the course of his life and he leaves Hong Kong. The story about the birds is also really telling. It’s all part of the character’s philosophy.
All the actors I’ve mentioned crisscross each other (except Tony Leung, he doesn’t meet anybody), and that’s maybe the weakness of the movie. Whereas Wong Kar-Wai usually concentrates on two or three character (like in ‘Chungking Express’), which are developed as much as any character can be developed, this movie gives more of an overview of each character, with the exception of Leslie Cheung’s character, who’s the movie’s protagonist, which in a Wong Kar-Wai movie means he’s complex and interesting. Well, Tony Leung isn’t really dwelled on at all, but I won’t get into that.
In the end, the movie provides a nice view of all the characters, with, once again, a strong script and all around terrific acting. I don’t know how Mr. Wong does it but the direction he gives always makes any actor perfect. The movie ended up winning 5 Hong Kong Films Awards, including best picture and director, and was nominated for 4 more. It’s more refined than ‘As Tears Go By’ but, I find, missing some of its energy. Maybe that’s the point, though. The slow days of summer force everybody to lay back, dream, and act out of impulse and not reason. However, that still doesn’t explain why Tony Leung is in this movie.
Reviewer Score: 8
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