Eva Hou Wong Kar-wai's 1990 film Days of Being Wild is one of my favorite artistic films. On the surface, the film itself doesn't have a complete storyline, neither a very clear and strong ending as most film does; but in depth, it is a story about life. Not only the life of the characters within the film, but also reflects the life for everyone else. More or less, most people can feel themselves somehow related to either one of the main characters on a certain level in a specific period of time in their own life. The narrative approach of this film has a very interesting approach. With the minimum amount of actor's lines alongside the maximum amount of different scenes between the main characters, you can still clearly see the development of the whole story, at the same time, it gives audience a lot space to understand and feel the film themselves. 'Time' and 'searching' are the two key elements that I felt connected with the most after watching this movie.About 'time'; it is really obvious that Wong Kar-wai used the 'clock' to show the passing of time and its endless; fast or slow, boring or nervous. The 'time' in this movie has emotions. It helped express the actors' inner world without any conversation. While Yuddy (Leslie Cheung) was counting the last minute before 3PM, 1960.04.16, to Su Lizhen (Maggie Cheung), the sound of the second hand comes into the background music, along with the facial expression of Su Lizhen, the sound of the clock seems like her heart beats. It shows her nervous, anxious and desire of knowing what Yuddy is going to tell her after that 60 seconds. After Yuddy and Su Lizhen broke up, Su Lizhen met Tide (Andy Lau), a general police who is always on night shift. On the night Tide asked her to forget Yuddy from this minutes onwards, the clock from the building near appeared, along with a very loud sound shows 12AM exactly. This sound has a lot figurative meanings. It is the ending of the passing days also the entry of a brand new day. 'Time' here reminds Su Lizhen a lot. The minute that Yuddy said he will remember her forever because of that specific minute; the minute that she thinks she should forget Yuddy forever. It shows the sadness and helpless deep in Su Lizhen's heart and the memories and love that she has on Yuddy. Apart from these two scenes, the clock in Yuddy's apartment, Tide's watch, the bedside table clock, the clock in Yuddy's adopted mother's house, etc., all has the element of time in it and helped to develop the whole story to make it more vivid. Although 'time' in this movie helped to build up the characters' inner world, but the other meaning Wong Kar-wai wanted to show is that the endless, emotionless and cruel of time. No matter what happens to anyone in the world, time is always the bystander. When time passing by, one has no choice to leave the past and move on. Other than 'time', I personally think that 'searching' also plays an important part in this movie. All the characters are searching for something to fulfill their life. Yuddy was looking for his real mother; Tide was hoping to get out of the world of Hongkong and be a sailor which he wanted to be when he was young; Mimi (Carina Lau) was chasing Yuddy around, which he is always a mystery to her; Su Lizhen was seeking for the true love of her life, etc. There is a purpose behind each character's every action or movement. Some people successfully gain what they were looking for, but there is no guarantee that they will feel happy after they found out the truth, like Yuddy, there wasn't any happiness after he went to where his real mother lives. Some people thought they found what they were looking for, but then missed the real one that they supposed to seek. Although Yuddy still remembered the last minute before 3PM, 1960.04.16, before he died; but he is not the right person for Su Lizhen. While Su Lizhen was still taking her time of thinking about Yuddy and healing herself, she missed Tide, who is a more a person for her and can give her a family. While she realized that she still wanted to talk to Tide, she called, but Tide quited as a policeman already, they missed each other. It is very easy for people to related themselves to either of the characters in this movie; the movie is a mirror of anyone's life. The most exciting and obvious proved for this is the ending of this film. With the train passing by, it comes the end of Yuddy's life. However, one 'Yuddy' is gonna, another 'Yuddy' comes, which is the character that Tony Leung acted at the end of the movie. With the endless of time, all things will eventually cycle; the stories that happened towards all the main characters still happening in our everyday life, it never ends.

Chrysanthepop Though it has been argued that 'A Fei Zheng Chuan' (aka 'Days of Being Wild') is the first set of the trilogy which is completed by 'Fa Yeung Nin Wa' (aka 'In the Mood For Love') and '2046', it 'looks' different from the other two films. Kar Wai uses less colour, more shadow, rain and heat and more rawness. The tone is much darker than in 'Fa Yeung Nin Wa' as the film is set in the 50s. The music is beautiful and effectively used. And, here too Kar Wai ends up making a powerful product. Though this film was a box office failure, it is an artistic victory.'A Fei Zheng Chuan' tells the story of 6 individuals whose lives are interconnected by each character's search and struggle for an identity. It's about loneliness, unrequited love, lost love, the search for love, and how the search continues. Kar Wai clevely brings up the theme of sex (without showing any nudity). The writing is excellent and the characterization is strengthened by superb and unique performances. The late Leslie Cheung's Yuddy is not a very likable person but we do sympathize with this man and recognize him. Maggie Cheung as Su gives one of the most subtle and finest performances. Carina Lau is energetic and terrific as Mimi. Rebecca Pan gracefully downplays her part. Andy Lau's Tide and Jacky Cheung's Zeb too are relatable and the actors are nothing short of remarkable. Actually, I recognize all the characters in this film.I loved the cinematography, especially the long shots. One of my favorite shot is the introduction of the scene that glides from the Phillipine streets to Yuddy and Tide in a lunch bar. This is one fine example of skillful camera-work. The shaky camera (which thankfully isn't overdone) and the close-ups that mostly take place during conversations and intimate moments between two characters work very well. Doyle's camera-work simply guides us through the lives of these characters.Summing it up, 'A Fei Zheng Chuan' works on many levels. It is an excellent study of characters, it 'tells' a universal story in a poetic way and it is a fine cinematic experience.A bird that never lands will one day suddenly seize to exist.

tavm Days of Being Wild is the first film I've seen directed by Wong Kar-Wai as well as the first time I've seen any of the actors that I'll now list here: Leslie Cheung, Maggie Cheung, Andy Law, Carina Lau, and Tony Leung. Those beginning scenes with Leslie and Maggie are some of the most erotically charged I've seen in movies yet and I haven't seen too many adult dramas as you've probably guessed if you've read all my comments so far. The gradual, quiet, and eventual shattering desperateness that involves most of the characters made this movie very compelling even during very slow scenes in which nothing happens. Both Maggie and Carina Lau are sexy in their own way with their individual scenes with Leslie Cheung and their one confrontation is one of my favorite scenes here. Also loved Andy Lau's policeman character and his keeping Maggie company as she recovers from her affair with Leslie. Just about everything is compelling about Days of Being Wild though I admit being confused with Tony Leung's only scene at the end. Knowing that an unfinished sequel exists based on that frame makes me hope to one day get to be able to view it eventually...

thebeautifulones 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.