A Fei zheng chuan (1990)

Director:

Kar Wai Wong

Writer:

Kar Wai Wong (writer)

Release Date:

15 December 1990 (Hong Kong)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Set in 1960, the film centres on the young, boyishly handsome Yuddy, who learns from the drunken ex-prostitute...

Plot Keywords:

1960s | Philippines | Unrequited Love | Teenage Boy | Oedipus Complex

Awards:

6 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Leslie Cheung	...	Yuddy
Maggie Cheung	...	Su Li-zhen
Andy Lau	...	Tide
Carina Lau	...	Leung Fung-ying
Rebecca Pan	...	Rebecca (as Tik-Wa Poon)
Jacky Cheung	...	Zeb
Danilo Antunes	...	Rebecca's Lover
Mei-Mei Hung	...	The Amah
Ling-Hung Ling	...	Nurse
Tita Muñoz	...	Yuddy's Mother
Alicia Alonzo	...	Housekeeper
Elena Lim So	...	Hotel Manageress
Maritoni Fernandez	...	Hotel Maid
Angela Ponos	...	Prostitute
Nonong Talbo	...	Train Conductor

Also Known As:

Days of Being Wild (Hong Kong: English title) (USA)
Ah Fei ching chuen (Hong Kong: Cantonese title)
Ah Fei's Story
The True Story of Ah Fei (literal English title)

Runtime:

UK:94 min

Country:

Hong Kong

Language:

Cantonese | Shanghainese | Tagalog | English | Mandarin

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Singapore:M18 (DVD rating) | Singapore:PG (original rating) | UK:12 | Finland:K-11 (2006) | Finland:K-18 (2002) (self applied) | Sweden:11 | Brazil:18 | South Korea:15 | USA:Unrated | Australia:M

Filming Locations:

Hong Kong, China

Company:

In-Gear Film

Trivia:

No. 3 in the Hong Kong Film Awards' List of the Best 100 Chinese Motion Pictures.

Goofs:

Incorrectly regarded as goofs: When Tide checks into the hotel, the hotel manageress hands him the key to Room 206. However, in the next scene, Tide uses the key to enter Room 204. This, however, may not be so much a 'goof' as another recurrence of the number '2046' seen so often in Wong Kar-Wai's films.

Quotes:

Yuddy: I've heard that there's a kind of bird without legs that can only fly and fly, and sleep in the wind when it is tired. The bird only lands once in its life... that's when it dies.

Movie Connections:

References Taxi Driver (1976)

Soundtrack:

Always In My Heart

A tone poem about longing and one's search for identity

In Wong Kar-wai's 1991 film Days of Being Wild, Yuddy (Leslie Cheung), a charming drifter captures the attention of store attendant Su Lizhen (Maggie Cheung) by asking her to look at his watch. When she sees that it says one minute before 3:00PM on April 16, 1960, he tells her that she will never forget the moment and will dream about him that night. The next time they meet, the moment becomes two, then one hour, then weeks and months but Yuddy is like the mythical bird with no legs that just flies and flies and never lands. Abandoned by his real mother and brought up by a wealthy alcoholic courtesan (Rebecca Pan), he does not know where he came from or where he is going. He treats women with little respect, discarding them when they no longer serve his purpose. When one lover asks him if he loves her, he tells her that during his life he will be friends with many, many women but won't know whom he truly loves until the end.

Days of Being Wild unfolds like a dream with color filters, unusual shadows, and the sights and sounds of Hong Kong's rainy nights and sweltering summers. Based on the director's memories from his childhood and admiration for the style of Argentinean novelist Manuel Puig (Heartbreak Tango), the film is a series of episodes involving six people who touch each other's lives. After his short-lived relationship with Su, Yuddy meets a cabaret dancer who calls herself Mimi (Carina Lau) but their relationship fares no better and she is left to suffer the consequences of their breakup. Meanwhile, Su meets Tide (Andy Lau), a gentle policeman whom she is able to confide until he suddenly leaves Hong Kong to become a sailor. Each character seeks a sense of identity and fulfillment. After Rebecca tells him of her plans to move to America with her boyfriend, she finally lets him know who and where his real mother is. After Yuddy goes to the Philippines to try to find his mother, the lives of the main protagonists come together in a powerful conclusion.

Days of Being Wild may sound like a soap opera but the film reaches a much higher artistic level. Supported by outstanding performances by Leslie Cheung, Maggie Cheung, and Jacky Cheung as Yuddy's only friend Zeb, it is a tone poem about longing and one's search for identity. We care about the characters even though they don't seem to care about themselves. Like many of us, they pine for the things that might have been, the word that was never said, and the love that remains elusive. A commercial failure but an artistic triumph, Days of Being Wild is a moody, atmospheric film that with its background of popular music, in this case 1950's rumbas and cha-cha's, forecasts the director's later In the Mood For Love. As a beautifully realized example of alienated people desperately seeking their place in the world, however, it stands securely on its own.