{"id":285265,"date":"2021-06-27T23:16:41","date_gmt":"2021-06-27T20:16:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/the-expression-of-inanimate-objects-in-wong-kar-wais-happy-together\/"},"modified":"2021-06-27T23:16:41","modified_gmt":"2021-06-27T20:16:41","slug":"the-expression-of-inanimate-objects-in-wong-kar-wais-happy-together","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/the-expression-of-inanimate-objects-in-wong-kar-wais-happy-together\/","title":{"rendered":"#The Expression of Inanimate Objects in Wong Kar Wai&#8217;s Happy Together"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;<strong>#The Expression of Inanimate Objects in Wong Kar Wai&#8217;s H<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>y Together<\/strong>&#8221;<\/p>\n<div>\n<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\">\n                <\/aside>\n<p><!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 3.7.9--><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A common thread in the filmography of <strong>Wong Kar Wai<\/strong> is a feeling of vast and intense longing. We find this in the web of star-crossed lovers submerged in Hong Kong\u2019s surreal neon nightlife in <\/span><i>Chungking Express<\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (1994) and in the unspoken forbidden romance of <\/span><i>In the Mood for Love<\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (2000). But w<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">hile these two films have a couple of important objects that function as metaphors for longing \u2013 <em>Chungking Express<\/em>\u2018s pineapple cans, <em>In the Mood for Love<\/em>\u2018s dresses \u2013 the feeling can be found in a majority of the objects in another Wong Kar Wai film: <em><strong>Happy Together<\/strong> <\/em>(1997).<br \/><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The film <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">follows Hong Kong couple Ho Po-wing (<strong>Leslie Cheung<\/strong>) and Lai Yiu-fai (<strong>Tony Leung Chiu Wai<\/strong>) as they take an impromptu vacation to Buenos Aires in a last-ditch attempt to save their floundering relationship. The idea doesn\u2019t go as planned, though, since they quickly realize they are incapable of getting along even with the change of scenery. But they also don\u2019t have enough money to return home, so they are forced to continue their effort to repair their tumultuous relationship in a foreign city. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ho and Lai are irreconcilably unpredictable and elusive characters. One minute they are desperately in love, and the other, they are beating one another to a pulp \u2014 a back and forth that will undoubtedly give the viewer whiplash by the film\u2019s second act. And with a script that is understated and lacking in exposition, interiority is gleaned from hints as opposed to clear signals from the filmmaker.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Wong Kar Wai litters the world of <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Happy Together<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> with miscellaneous objects: half-empty water bottles, cigarette butts, cans, washcloths. And while these objects might, at first, appear to simply make for a chaotic and compelling <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">mise-en-sc\u00e8ne<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, there is also a case to be made that they, indeed, speak louder than the characters themselves.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In one of the first moments with the main characters, they drive in a car filled to the brim with personal belongings. This image attempts to reconcile the tension between intense claustrophobia and aspiration \u2014 a tension that ultimately guides the entire film. On the one hand, these are the couples\u2019 things, items they are bringing with them to Argentina with the hopes of constructing a new life together. But on the other hand, there is an uncomfortable sense of confinement to the small, cramped space.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At first, the landscape in <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Happy Together<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> hints at a hopeful and optimistic future for Ho and Lai. The roads are open, flat, and wide, as if to shout out that nothing but possibility lies ahead for our young couple. This world is their oyster. They just have to hold on until they get to Argentina.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But things don\u2019t end up working out in the couple\u2019s favor. This fact becomes abundantly clear as soon as they step foot in their new city. Much of <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Happy Together<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> takes place in Lai\u2019s cramped, one-bedroom apartment. Some of the first shots in the apartment are taken through the iron bars at the foot of his bed, which instantly give a trapped feeling. In addition to being restricted in size, the apartment is also crammed with sundry objects in the same way the car was. This imagery of entrapment im<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">media<\/a>tely sets up a feeling of impending doom for the couple, as if they are destined to fail before they have even begun.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ho and Lai also use the objects that fill the apartment to express their feelings toward one another when the expression of feelings falls short. At one point, Ho tosses a beer bottle and allows it to smash to vent his frustration. At another point, Ho wrenches his belongings out of the closet in a performative act to show Lai that he is packing and leaving \u2014 magazines, clothes, cans, a clock. A couple of times, Ho cleans Lai\u2019s apartment as an act of love and gratitude.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many of the objects in their possession, though, are used not to express irritation or claustrophobia, but quite the opposite. Lai\u2019s necklace, for example, is not a jewel but rather a collection of practical yet intimate objects: a ring of keys. The very presence of these objects around his neck is aspirational: home is important to him; more importantly, a home with Ho is important to him. This is what they are working toward.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A similar aspirational object appears in the image of a lamp, which appears many times throughout <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Happy Together<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. In the beginning of the film, when the couple are still in Hong Kong, they discuss a lamp that Lai bought at Iguazu Falls, and they subsequently decide to visit the location together. Throughout the film, the lamp returns as a motif for Ho and Lai\u2019s hopes for their relationship. When Lai takes care of Ho after he\u2019s beaten up for stealing a watch, the lamp lingers poignantly in the background for the duration of the moment of tenderness. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Later, while they attempt to talk through their grievances, the lamp lies on its side on the couch, as if to signify discontent and disharmony in their relationship. And then, when Ho leaves Lai, the lamp sits at the forefront of the shot, as if to say this isn\u2019t the end; the relationship will continue to exist in this whirlwind circle. And for Ho, the lamp continues to be a stand-in for his relationship with Lai. When he finally leaves Lai for what may well be the last time, he looks back at the lamp one last time, and the camera zooms in and focuses on the dream-like rushing water. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Objects almost seem to <em>become<\/em> characters in Wong Kar Wai\u2019s <em>Happy Together<\/em>. It is a film about not knowing how to say what you really want to say to the person you love. It is about feeling as though the rift between you is too vast to traverse. It is about how the things in your life \u2014 seemingly meaningless things, like cigarette butts and a kitsch old lamp \u2014 can do the talking for you. Perhaps most of all, it is a film about how cinema can convey emotions visually better than words ever could.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.criterionchannel.com\/happy-together\"><em>Watch Happy Together on The Criterion Channel<\/em><\/a>\n<\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more Like this articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/social-media\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Social Media category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/filmschoolrejects.com\/happy-together-wong-kar-wai\/#utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=happy-together-wong-kar-wai\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;#The Expression of Inanimate Objects in Wong Kar Wai&#8217;s Happy Together&#8221; A common thread in the filmography of Wong Kar Wai is a feeling of vast and intense longing. We find this in the web of star-crossed lovers submerged in Hong Kong\u2019s surreal neon nightlife in Chungking Express (1994) and in the unspoken forbidden romance&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":285266,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/filmschoolrejects.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Happy-Together-Wong-Kar-Wai-Lamp.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[61971,48340],"class_list":["post-285265","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-social-mediaa","tag-happy-together","tag-wong-kar-wai"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/285265","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=285265"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/285265\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/285266"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=285265"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=285265"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=285265"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}