A Little TLC(w): Days of Being Wild (1990)

Note:  I wrote this review a while back, but when I started doing A Little TLC(w) posts, I decided to adapt it for that.  I’ve already done write-ups for every other Wong Kar-wai film Tony Leung Chiu-wai has been in, and if I want to include them as part of this series, I’ll probably do Favorite Character editions for the roles he plays in them.  However, as you’ll soon see, that isn’t really an option in the case of this film. 

Okay, so while I inadvertently watched this sort-of Wong Kar-wai “trilogy” backwards, I’m reviewing it out of all possible order.  I first wrote about In the Mood for Love, then 2046, and now am finally coming back to Days of Being Wild.  It’s my least favorite of the three, but that’s only because the other two are so tremendous.

On the surface, suave, handsome Yuddy is everything a woman could want.  He effortlessly fills shy Su Li-zhen’s head with thoughts of him, but when he’s ready to wander, he easily drops her for a passionate dancer (variously known as both Lulu and Mimi.)  Meanwhile, although Yuddy plays with the hearts of others with ease, his own house isn’t as firmly in order as he pretends it is.  He’s plagued by the knowledge that the woman who raised him isn’t his birth mother and is incensed that she refuses to tell him where he came from.  As he tries to find himself, Su Li-zhen and Lulu both try to get through a relationship with him with their own senses of self intact.

We’ll start with the connections to the later films.  Maggie Cheung (Su Li-zhen) plays a character with the same name as the one she plays in In the Mood for Love and 2046, though it’s not altogether clear whether or not it’s meant to be the same person.  Personality-wise, I think I could see it.  Carina Lau’s Lulu/Mimi also bears the same name as her character in 2046 and seems more explicitly a precursor to her character in that film, which includes references to her relationship with Yuddy.

But enough about In the Mood for Love and 2046.  What about Days of Being Wild?  It’s slow-moving but utterly gorgeous, the design and costumes dripping with that 1960s-era beauty that saturates the other two films.  As with all of Wong’s films, the music is absolutely vital, the characters are lightly-drawn but still feel devastatingly-specific, and the emotional vulnerability on display is searing.  I’ve always adored Su Li-zhen and the midnight confidant she finds in Andy Lau’s kind Tide, but watching it this time around, I also really loved Lulu – somehow, so guarded and so open at the same time. 

If I had to pick a reason this film doesn’t work as well for me as some of Wong’s others, I suppose it would be in Leslie Cheung’s Yuddy.  I can’t deny that, while somewhat of a cliché, he’s still a fascinating example of a playboy character, but I just don’t like him very much.  It’s harder for me to empathize with him than many Wong characters, which makes it harder for me to care about what happens to him.  Even as I see his struggles, I think more about his treatment of Su Li-zhen and Lulu, and I resent him for it.  Not that Leslie Cheung should receive any blame for this.  He’s magnetic in the role, and it’s to his credit that I want to try to relate to Yuddy.

And as for Tony Leung Chiu-wai?  This is his first film with Wong, and like Maggie Chang, he’s playing a character with the same name as the one he plays elsewhere in the trilogy:  Chow Mo-wan.  Is it the same guy?  Hard to say.  He only appears in one scene and has no lines.  That said, the scene somehow manages to be kind of compelling all the same.  It’s an intriguing way to end a movie, and Leung has a presence that draws your eye even though you don’t know anything about him.

Recommend?

In General – Yes.  Although it’s not one of my favorite Wong films, it’s still gorgeously shot and has some terrific performances.

Tony Leung Chiu-wai – In terms of acting, there’s very little happening here.  As the proverbial “start of a beautiful friendship” of stunning collaborations between a director and an actor, however, it might be worth a view. 

Warnings

Light sexual content (mostly implied,) brief scenes of violence, language, and drinking/smoking.