Happy Together: The not-so-happy tale of two gay Chinese lovers
Starring the legendary Leslie Cheung and the equally legendary Tony Leung, Happy Together is the turbulent story of two young gay men from Hong Kong who make their way to Argentina and endure the many hardships their relationship places in front of them. Released in 1997, this film was (and still is) considered one of the best films of the independent queer film scene of the 90s.
Happy Together collected many accolades after its release. At the 17th Hong Kong Film Awards, it won in the categories of Best Film, Best Actor, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Cinematography. It made its way to the West and cleaned up at the Arizona International Film Festival, the Cannes Film Festival, and the Golden Horse Awards.
Happy Together was a pretty big deal back then. The film was only recently brought to our attention, but we’re so happy it was. Like many Asian queer films produced at that time (and even now, still), this particular “love” story can be a little difficult to watch at times. Happy endings are a rarity within queer productions coming from this part of the world, and they often document the many struggles and harsh realities that LGBTQ people from the region face.
This particular film feels somewhat different. While it can’t really be said that it has a happy ending, the way Happy Together concludes can’t be labeled as devastating or catastrophic either. We are choosing to call the ending of this one realistic. Had the relationship that played out in this film actually been a real gay relationship at that time, it seems like a plausible ending.
Perhaps because it’s set in a different country, the film doesn’t really depict or document any kind of struggle with homophobia – not from the society around them, or from within the characters themselves. This is actually unusual within this genre of film from this region. However, that doesn’t mean that the relationship is portrayed in a positive manner either. It’s definitely not. Leslie Cheung and Tony Leung made us feel many things as they brought their characters to life, and we can understand why this film won so many awards.
Here are our thoughts on Happy Together.
The 4-1-1
When Ho Po Wing (Leslie Cheung) and Lai Yiu Fai (Tony Leung) travel to Argentina together, they end up breaking up during their trip. Each of the men stays in Argentina and both find work to support themselves. At the onset of the film, the couple is definitely in the throws of fighting all the time. Even when they break up, this seems to continue. Neither of them seems particularly happy within themselves, and their relationship is relatively toxic.
After going their separate ways, Ho Po Wing lands himself in trouble and ends up stealing from someone he knows, and the man suffers a severe beating as a result. Lai Yiu Fai takes him back in and despite the man’s attempts to keep Ho Po Wing at arm’s length, the two end up back in the toxic swell of their former relationship.
Ho Po Wing seems unwilling to commit to Lai Yiu Fai and makes no effort to hide his desire to go out and seek sexual companionship elsewhere. Meanwhile, he uses Lai Yiu Fai for support, a place to stay, and care during his time of healing. It’s clear Lai Yiu Fai cares a great deal about the man and just wishes he was ready to settle down.
The pair eventually fight again, and they go their separate ways. Except, this time, Lai Yiu Fai means business, and he is done for real. He starts pursuing another man who is traveling in Argentina from Taiwan. Despite the feelings that Lai Yiu Fai develops for the traveler, nothing ever actually transpires between the two other than friendship.
Lonely and homesick, Lai Yiu Fai journeys back to Hong Kong.
Two thumbs up
Leslie Cheung was a phenomenal queer actor that left us all well before his time. His performance in Happy Together did not disappoint. The fact that we hated Ho Po Wing so much by the end of the film really speaks volumes at just how well he played this part.
It’s obvious that Ho Po Wing is unhappy with his life and he seems to be running from something. What that is, isn’t exactly clear to us, and there is some conjecture in this office about the root cause of it all. Perhaps it’s because the snapshot that we see of his life is spent in a different country, but he seems very comfortable in his skin as a queer man. However, the selfishness and the unkind manner in which he treated Lai Yiu Fai made our blood boil. He took advantage of, and manipulated, Yiu Fai’s kind nature.
It’s also not surprising that Tony Leung won awards for his performance as Lai Yiu Fai. His character is incredibly nuanced, and Leung made us feel so many things. His longing for love and affection, his steadfast stubbornness when he was trying his best to protect himself, and his inability to turn away from a human being in need. We so desperately wanted him to have the happily-ever-after that he deserved.
When he returns to Hong Kong, he does so alone, even though it is clear that all he ever wanted was to be loved. Perhaps, when he returned to his homeland, he was able to find this for himself. We sure hope he did.
It was so hard to watch these two men tread water through such a toxic relationship. However, this particular film, despite all its greatness, is reflective of its time. It was not uncommon for queer relationships to be portrayed as unhealthy, unreliable, and unrealistic during the 80s and the 90s. Ho Po Wing and Lai Yiu Fai’s relationship epitomized everything about this.
However, considering it was from Asia, Happy Together also made some very brave strides. There is a graphic sex scene at the beginning of the film, and there are many scenes throughout that show the men embracing, kissing, and all the other things that come with intimate physical relationships.
If you’re interested in Asian queer history, Happy Together is a must-see film. If that isn’t enough to lure you in, the promise of two incredible performances by Tony Leung and Leslie Cheung together on the screen should do the trick.
Happy Together is available to stream on HBO Max now. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram for all queer stuff!
