An Introduction to Leslie Cheung’s Cinema
In English | with film clips | about 30’ | start of the film: 18:45
Leslie Cheung was one of Hong Kong cinema's most celebrated stars, admired for his remarkable talent and screen presence. Throughout his career, he demonstrated exceptional versatility, delivering memorable performances in many different genres, from popular action films and comedies to work with celebrated auteurs such as Wong Kar Wai and Chen Kaige. This talk, illustrated with film clips, will explore Cheung's ability to portray emotionally vulnerable characters in a way that redefined the concept of an Asian leading man as well as the leitmotif of the ghost and spectral presences that occurs throughout his filmography.
► Followed by a screening of :
synopsis
In a tiny and grimy Buenos Aires flat, two penniless Hong Kongers are locked in a volatile relationship. The predicament of these characters, played by Leslie Cheung and Tony Leung, serves as a powerful metaphor for the anxiety and identity crises of Hong Kong citizens facing the 1997 British handover to China. Cheung’s magnetic, self-destructive spin on his star persona clashes brilliantly with Leung’s trademark quiet intensity, using their characters’ toxic chemistry to paint a hallucinatory and enthralling picture of exile and heartbreak. While the breathtaking 35mm cinematography – here, a mix of black-and-white and poisonous colours – is expected in a Wong Kar Wai picture, this queer, Argentina-set story marks an exciting narrative departure for the director. Yet, with Happy Together, Wong confirmed once and for all his title as the global auteur of cinematic longing.
► This film will also be screened on 7 September at 20:30, but without the introductory film lecture.
Thanks largely to the raw bravery and intensity of the two leads’ performances, "Happy Together" takes a quantum leap forward in terms of visceral power. Despite the unearthly beauty of this film’s world, I suspect you’ll feel it merging with your own reality, investing your emotions with richer significance and, perhaps, making old memories and yearnings burn with fresh intensity.
Austin Chronicle
A major part of why "Happy Together" feels as raw and rough as it does boils down to the chemistry Leung and Cheung exhibit on-screen. This makes it nearly impossible to side with one over the other: both are to blame for the constant friction in their relationship, but both are equally capable of tenderness. Even after all these years, very few queer relationships on-screen have come this close to capturing the forever-shifting power dynamics of love in a way that is honest without being grim, and entertaining without being melodramatic.
The Asian Cut