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Amos Lassen wrote on 03/12/2010:

“Happy Together”

Loneliness and Alienation

Amos Lassen

Two young Asians, Yiu-Fai and Po-Wing arrive in Argentina from Hong Kong and start their holiday. However, something happens and their relationship turns sour. Yiu-Fai decides that he should return home and starts working in a tango bar so that he can buy a plane ticket. Suddenly Po-Wing appears and he is bruised and beaten. Even though Yiu-Fai shows empathy, he cannot enter into a romantic relationship with his friend. Po-Wing, unlike his friend, is not ready to settle down. After changing jobs, Yiu-Fai meets a young guy from Taiwan, Chang and his life changes again while Po-Wing is shattered.
Kar Wai Wong directed this little gem of a film about the nature of loneliness. It is a non-linear film that shows the truth about modern relationships. Here is a story about emotion and love and it challenges the title it was given. It is about those difficulties that surround a relationship on the skids. Alienation both within and outside of the relationship is what dooms it. In the beginning we see that the two young men cannot find equality or balance together and this leads them to despair. When Po-Wing had been ill and had to be cared for, their relationship thrived but as his health improved, Fai drew away from him and refused any attempt at intimacy. Now that Wing was well enough to do for himself, the balance of power between them shifted, Po-Wing slowly slips away from the guy he loved and entered the world of street hustling.
Each of the men are devastated by the loss of love. We sense the alienation between them as well as the alienation they feel in society. I am not sure that this is necessarily a gay film—the lead characters just happen to be gay but this is a story that can apply to anyone—loneliness is universal as is the melancholia that comes with it.
The actors are wonderful in their roles and we feel what they feel—making this not an easy film to watch. The film is basically a look at a couple falling in and out of love—their sexual identification does not matter. They guys are lost souls who are lonely and longing and lovelorn. Their escape to Argentina proves to be their undoing but it would have happened anywhere. Argentina physically represents their relationship—claustrophobic and oppressive, something that might have been beautiful yet becomes a symbol of escape.
What really makes this film so absorbing is the emotional authenticity. The director aimed at the heart and he hit his target.

Musss7 wrote on 10/17/2007:

This is actually the first gay movie (and I really mean GAY...) I watched. I was 19 years old at that time. You know what? I never ever regret buying it, own it and watched it over and over again. So, it's not surprise if I tell you that this is one of my favourite movie. What do I like about this movie? Oh, lots of stuff... and maybe everything! The casts, the background music, the cinematoghraphy, the editing and the love scene... Oh, I still can't forget how I cried after finished watching it for the first time. Luckily my family were out of town that day and I watched it all alone. Overall, one thing that is really unique about this movie is how the director used visual to represented character's feelings on every scene, At first, the visual was blur (white & black) because the characters were unhappy but then, the visual change to colours a bit by bit when the characters began to fall in love again. For me, Happy Together gave me what I need from a romance movie... Love... love... and love. Ah, don't forget the value I've got from the movie, "Not every couple were meant to be happy togeher". Two thumbs up!