|
|
So far, I've watched 4 Wong Kar Wai films, and they seem to suggest that if one constantly uses one's experience as an excuse to go down a path of self-destruction, that one person has no one to blame...but him/herself.
The film starts with Yuddy (played by the late Leslie Cheung), the child of an aristocratic Filipino woman, who gives him to a wealthy alcoholic courtesan (played by Rebecca Pan), doing what he does best-making a woman fall for him, and dumping her when he finds he has no more feelings for her, or when she seeks commitment and security from him.
His first target is the shy Su Lizhen, played by the eternally youthful Maggie Cheung, whom he tells her that she would see him in her dreams. My thoughts on that statement, what a bold thing to say! A classic example of Yuddy's arrogance! In the next meeting she tells him that she did not dream of him, he tells her that is because she did not sleep. Upon falling asleep, perhaps she did dream of him..and when he finds her again, her ears are flushed. He tells her to look at his watch which says that it's one minute before 3:00PM on April 16, 1960.
Poor Lizhen! She would always remember that one minute, as it slowly increased to 2 minutes, an hour, half a day, and next, she's at his apartment. When she asked for some form of commitment, Yuddy promptly dumps her.
Yuddy then moves on to Mimi, a cabaret girl (played by the ever voluptuous and passionate Carina Lau), and the love they share is passionate and aggressive. His best friend, Zeb, a quiet, yet loyal friend, is smitten by Mimi but she warns him against falling for her. Mimi is a passionate and possessive lover, but even she could not satisfy the ever drifting Yuddy, and is left to suffer the consequences of the break up.
Meanwhile Yuddy blames his adoptive mother for his situation, and for not telling him who his real mother is. His cruelty does not surprise her, as she had long noticed that he had viewed her as a foe, and is unwilling to see her find her own happiness. In a bid to satisfy Yuddy, she tells him who his real mother is.
Lizhen on the other hand, while going through the consequences of her break up befriends Tide (played by Any Lau), the gentle policeman. he tries to be a friend to her, and tells her that if she truly needed Yuddy, to go and tell him to his face. Tide unwittingly falls for Lizhen, and would wait at the phone booth in the district he does his rounds in for her call, but never got one. When his mother died, he became a sailor.
The movie reveals itself like a poem, with each character trying to find his/her own identity, but perhaps never achieving it. Leslie Cheung the arrogant and self destructive drifter, Yuddy as though Yuddy is his second nature. Suave, handsome, but commitment-phobic, and never treating women with any respect. Jacky Cheung did well in his role as the shy Zeb who idolized Yuddy, no over acting this time unlike what he did in Bullet in the Head. Carina Lau played Mimi with ease, you could feel her passion, her possessiveness and her emotions, as though she was wearing all these qualities on her sleeve. Maggie Cheung and Andy Lau did well as the characters who were attracted to each other but the romance never materialized. When Lizhen finally had the courage to call Tide, it was too late as he had already left to become a sailor.
As for Yuddy, perhaps he learnt that a bird which never lands can never exist, it is dead because it had chosen the path towards self-destruction. Yuddy had no one to blame but himself for his situation.
The last scene with Tony Leung Chiu Wai dressing up was really cool, it made me wonder if that character developed to Chow Wo-Man. I wished WKW had released Part 2 of the film, it'd be nice to see how Wong explains TLCW's character.
score 10/10
thebeautifulones 23 January 2006
Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw1272741/ |
|
3-3-2021 12:08:03