Confession:

I have crush on someone and his name is Tony Leung Chiu-Wai.



I've grown up watching him in many Hong Kong films, but it's only until now that I find myself admiring him more than I ever did before. I really like his acting style and the seriousness he brings to his roles. His eyes are especially expressive and one can tell exactly how he feels even though he doesn't say a word.

He seems to be the muse for Wong Kar-Wai, who casts Tony in almost all of his films. I've watched so many of Tony's films that I have grown to recognize his voice instantly.

I recently watched In the Mood for Love and was entranced all over again.




I love everything about this film: the yellowish tones, the costumes (such beautiful cheongsams!), the music, I could go on forever. But the thing I love best about this film is how well Wong Kar-Wai portrays the themes of longing, loneliness, and anguish. I'll bet that the script is very short, as the actors say such few lines, but everything they feel is exposed in just their movements, whether it's a glancing of the eyes, gestures, or even just passing by each other. Wong-Kar Wai manipulates the camera angles so that we're forced to view the character's burgeoning relationship through glimpses of their feet or through the view of the back of someone's head. He manipulates how we hear their voices and leaves us to consider what we are seeing.



I was intrigued by Wong Kar-Wai and rented another one of his films called Happy Together.
Starring Tony Leung Chiu Wai and Leslie Cheung, I was doubly fascinated by the plot of two gay lovers living in Argentina and by the fact that it was played by both of those actors.




Leslie Cheung was a Hong Kong superstar in the eighties. I also grew up listening to his music and watching the occasional film he was in. But I never knew watched this one before. I was interested in seeing him in this edgy role and it was all the more fascinating because Leslie was bisexual in real life. His life ended tragically when he committed suicide due to depression. He was 46 years old when he died.

Released before In the Mood for Love, Happy Together shows the beginning of Wong-Kar Wai's central themes of longing and loneliness. I found this film more difficult to watch because the feeling of isolation was much stronger. The relationship between Tony and Leslie is so tumultuous that as even as outsiders, we are drawn into the highs and lows of their turbulent relationship. I finished this film with such a feeling of sadness that I wondered about the director. Wong Kar-Wai is so skillful in portraying such sadness and longing, that I wondered if he had experienced such a relationship in order to be so successful in making those feelings tangible to the audience.



I don't know if I can even tell you all that I feel about these two films. To be honest, it's taken me quite some time to digest how I feel and to even write about it. I was very affected by Happy Together, and I know I'll need to watch it again just to evaluate why I feel the way that I do. One of the songs in the film keeps running through my head and I'm getting the feeling that I'll be buying the soundtrack very soon...

All I know is, if you haven't seen these two films and are interested, please give them a try. I hope you won't be disappointed.