This review may contain spoilers
Days of Being Wild Contains Multitudes
Does life matter? If so, how should life matter? Should life be treated seriously, or as a carefree joke? If yes to the latter, how will you treat it as a joke? Will you treat your own life as a joke, or others' as well? If life is a joke, do your actions and repercussions of said actions matter? If not, then does anything matter? Do the people around you matter? Is life simply a train that goes from station to station?
This movie hit me hard from multiple perspectives. Firstly, Wong Kar Wai never ceases to astound me with his ability to pick actors that fit their roles so well. Leslie Chung, Andy Lau, Maggie Chung, and Carina Lau all make up a star-studded cast, all of which have vastly improved their acting skills since their last outings. Secondly, WKW is a master storyteller, as each of his films either center around one major lesson or several interconnected lessons, with Days of Being Wild belonging in the latter category. Lastly, the cinematography of WKW's films is always mesmerizing. Christopher Doyle's first outing with WKW leaves a lasting impression. The dark emerald-green hue adds a dreamy filter to the film's dark color palette. The music, as ever in WKW movies, is a mix between east/west, casting an extra layer of sophistication to the film's setting.
Yuddy (Leslie Chung) is a carefree toyboy who is a troubled narcissist. Yuddy has a bit of a troubled past, as he was an 'unwanted' child, his real mother leaving him to his stepmom, Poon Tik Wa (Rebecca Pan). Yuddy uses this unfortunate fact about his mother to extrapolate his dislike for other women. If his mom didn't want him, then other women should not have the "privilege" of having him either. This leads to Yuddy manipulating both Li Zhen (Maggie Chung) and Mimi (Carina Lau) into believing that he has feelings for them, when really the only thing he wants from them is sex. When he finally "captures" his prey, he discards them like a bucket of meat. The contrast is quite jarring, as Yuddy is full of suavity and wittiness when seducing women, but as soon as he gets what he wants, he pretends like he doesn't even know them. Yuddy does not care how his actions affect others; Yuddy believes that he is the main protagonist of his own story, and all other people around him are simply side-characters—a means to an end.
Tide (Andy Lau), on the other hand, is in a way a foil to Yuddy's character. We don't know much about Tide other than that he grew up poor and had aspirations to be a sailor but had to put those plans to the side due to his ailing mother. Tide becomes a cop to pay the bills in the meantime. Tide gets assigned as 'night-time' patrol at the apartment Yuddy lives in. Tide develops a friendly relationship with Li Zhen as he becomes her confidant, as she is still reeling from Yuddy's emotional manipulation. With their interactions, we also learn about Tide's ability to empathize (another contract from Yuddy.) While Yuddy pretends to have these qualities by reciting vapid poetry and metaphors, Tide demonstrates an excellent capacity for listening and observation. As an example of this, Tide provides riveting commentary to Li Zhen when she compares the life of her cousin, who married a rich man, to herself, who is simply a ticket concession stand worker at a stadium who got stood up by Yuddy. Tide has an incredible response to this, and is one of my favorite lines from any movie:
"Not everyone can be that lucky; don't compare yourself with other people. I didn't feel poor until I started school. All the other guys got new uniforms every year, but I had to wear the same one every year. That's when I realized I was poor."
This is the turning point for Li Zhen, as she realizes she needs to move on. Tide promises that if she ever needs someone to talk to, she can talk to him by calling the phone right by where he patrols every evening. She appreciates this gesture, but realizes the lesson Tide taught her, and never calls back.
All in all, things end tragically for Yuddy, as he eventually finds his real mother, but she doesn't want him. He also ends up getting killed at the end due to him shafting a criminal gang who specializes in forged passports. He almost gets Tide killed because he lumps him in along with the action, once again, showing he has no regard for how actions affect other people.
Ultimately, the movie ends up with everyone moving on with their lives. Li Zhen never calls back Tide (except at the very end, but he has already moved on), Tide goes on to become a sailor, Mimi gets over her breakup with Yuddy, Poon Tik Wa marries her American suitor and lives a happy life. Yuddy, on the other hand, becomes a forgotten character—just an empty space in history.
A powerful movie that teaches us all that (1) if you treat life like a joke, life will treat you back like a joke; (2) your actions affect others whether you like it or not, and how you treat others ultimately will cement your legacy in others' mind, if they even remember you at all; and (3) you are not the protagonist of an 'overarching' story in life. Everybody has their own life to live; nobody is a protagonist, and nobody is a side-character. The world will simply move on with or without you. The world has no protagonists; it is simply a medium in which we live our lives. The world doesn't owe you anything and you don't owe it anything back. What you decide to do with the incredible opportunity called "life" is up to you; but, whatever you do, you will face the consequences of your actions one way or another.
This movie hit me hard from multiple perspectives. Firstly, Wong Kar Wai never ceases to astound me with his ability to pick actors that fit their roles so well. Leslie Chung, Andy Lau, Maggie Chung, and Carina Lau all make up a star-studded cast, all of which have vastly improved their acting skills since their last outings. Secondly, WKW is a master storyteller, as each of his films either center around one major lesson or several interconnected lessons, with Days of Being Wild belonging in the latter category. Lastly, the cinematography of WKW's films is always mesmerizing. Christopher Doyle's first outing with WKW leaves a lasting impression. The dark emerald-green hue adds a dreamy filter to the film's dark color palette. The music, as ever in WKW movies, is a mix between east/west, casting an extra layer of sophistication to the film's setting.
Yuddy (Leslie Chung) is a carefree toyboy who is a troubled narcissist. Yuddy has a bit of a troubled past, as he was an 'unwanted' child, his real mother leaving him to his stepmom, Poon Tik Wa (Rebecca Pan). Yuddy uses this unfortunate fact about his mother to extrapolate his dislike for other women. If his mom didn't want him, then other women should not have the "privilege" of having him either. This leads to Yuddy manipulating both Li Zhen (Maggie Chung) and Mimi (Carina Lau) into believing that he has feelings for them, when really the only thing he wants from them is sex. When he finally "captures" his prey, he discards them like a bucket of meat. The contrast is quite jarring, as Yuddy is full of suavity and wittiness when seducing women, but as soon as he gets what he wants, he pretends like he doesn't even know them. Yuddy does not care how his actions affect others; Yuddy believes that he is the main protagonist of his own story, and all other people around him are simply side-characters—a means to an end.
Tide (Andy Lau), on the other hand, is in a way a foil to Yuddy's character. We don't know much about Tide other than that he grew up poor and had aspirations to be a sailor but had to put those plans to the side due to his ailing mother. Tide becomes a cop to pay the bills in the meantime. Tide gets assigned as 'night-time' patrol at the apartment Yuddy lives in. Tide develops a friendly relationship with Li Zhen as he becomes her confidant, as she is still reeling from Yuddy's emotional manipulation. With their interactions, we also learn about Tide's ability to empathize (another contract from Yuddy.) While Yuddy pretends to have these qualities by reciting vapid poetry and metaphors, Tide demonstrates an excellent capacity for listening and observation. As an example of this, Tide provides riveting commentary to Li Zhen when she compares the life of her cousin, who married a rich man, to herself, who is simply a ticket concession stand worker at a stadium who got stood up by Yuddy. Tide has an incredible response to this, and is one of my favorite lines from any movie:
"Not everyone can be that lucky; don't compare yourself with other people. I didn't feel poor until I started school. All the other guys got new uniforms every year, but I had to wear the same one every year. That's when I realized I was poor."
This is the turning point for Li Zhen, as she realizes she needs to move on. Tide promises that if she ever needs someone to talk to, she can talk to him by calling the phone right by where he patrols every evening. She appreciates this gesture, but realizes the lesson Tide taught her, and never calls back.
All in all, things end tragically for Yuddy, as he eventually finds his real mother, but she doesn't want him. He also ends up getting killed at the end due to him shafting a criminal gang who specializes in forged passports. He almost gets Tide killed because he lumps him in along with the action, once again, showing he has no regard for how actions affect other people.
Ultimately, the movie ends up with everyone moving on with their lives. Li Zhen never calls back Tide (except at the very end, but he has already moved on), Tide goes on to become a sailor, Mimi gets over her breakup with Yuddy, Poon Tik Wa marries her American suitor and lives a happy life. Yuddy, on the other hand, becomes a forgotten character—just an empty space in history.
A powerful movie that teaches us all that (1) if you treat life like a joke, life will treat you back like a joke; (2) your actions affect others whether you like it or not, and how you treat others ultimately will cement your legacy in others' mind, if they even remember you at all; and (3) you are not the protagonist of an 'overarching' story in life. Everybody has their own life to live; nobody is a protagonist, and nobody is a side-character. The world will simply move on with or without you. The world has no protagonists; it is simply a medium in which we live our lives. The world doesn't owe you anything and you don't owe it anything back. What you decide to do with the incredible opportunity called "life" is up to you; but, whatever you do, you will face the consequences of your actions one way or another.
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