This film is recommended because of the subject of this site, more than my personal feelings about it. As it is, I am not especially a fan of Wong Kar-Wai films. As pretty as they are to look at, they do go on endlessly with little point, plot, or direction. Still, what we have here is more than slashy; the lead characters ARE gay. The "action", such as it is, involves watching Tony Leung Chiu-Wai and Leslie Cheung struggle to stay together in Argentina. Clearly they are far from "Happy Together" -- Tony breaks it off with Leslie only to let him back in his shabby apartment after Leslie gets beaten up. Eventually Tony saves up his money and is able to get back home to Hong Kong, finally freeing himself from the destructive relationship.
There's not much plot beyond that, beyond watching Leslie's character act like a complete selfish prick that makes you wonder why Tony's character is putting up with him at all. The difficulty to see and understand Tony's lingering fondness for his shallow, whiny lover is what keeps this film from working well for me--the characters are hard to empathize with, and you end up spending 98 minutes wanting to slap some sense into them all.
Still, for those interested in gay film, it's certainly a film worth watching and their are some great visuals and interesting camerawork.
SUMMARY:
Overall rating: C+ Ponderous artiness and difficult to care-for characters don't endear this film to me.
Droolworthiness: B- Neither of the main guys here are favorites of mine for drooling and the weird lighting and camerawork don't necessarily showcase either in the most attractive light.
Slashiness: A+ It's canon, folks!
Action: F Wong Kar-Wai fils are practically the antithesis of action.
Tony drives, ponders, and is generally miserable throughout.
