Days of Being Wild (1990)
Reviewed by: JohnR on 2005-09-09
Summary: Art film? Not art film? Doesn't matter.
A simple movie with a lot going on in it. It centers on York (Leslie Cheung), who was given up by his mother (note that his father is never mentioned - he's only interested in his mother) and now, as an adult, wants to find her. The woman who raised him refuses to tell him where his mother is, for reasons I wasn't completely sure about, but I think centered on her wanting to keep him close, even though she doesn't seem to view him as anything more than a meal ticket, even though at this point she's no longer receiving compensation. They have a kind of "No Exit" relationship; they seem to hate each other but neither can part.

York appears to need women, but won't have any emotional involvement with them. After seducing Maggie Cheung, who tried to resist but was won over, he allows her to leave because he won't acknowledge their relationship is anything special, even though she's living with him and in love with him. His attitude toward her and to Carina Lau, who battles to stay with him, is "take me as I am or leave." And what he is is someone who won't or can't love; anathema to women.

The Andy Lau and Jackie Cheung characters drift around aimlessly and lonely, as do the others. I think the lack of people in the streets was used to emphasize the solitariness of the characters' lives. Although Leslie's character could be labelled a misogynist, that would miss the mark, as he treats men the same way he does women, minus the sex.

The acting was excellent throughout, primarily Leslie, Maggie, and Carina, but the others were good, too, including the woman who played Leslie's step mother, who was spot on.

If you want to observe the lives of people who are soul-less, lonely, lovelorn, and have no pleasure in life, here's your chance. Obviously, no one left the theatre whistling, but so what. It's worth watching.