Eva Hou Wong Kar-wai's 1990 film Days of Being Wild is one of my favorite artistic films. On the surface, the film itself doesn't have a complete storyline, neither a very clear and strong ending as most film does; but in depth, it is a story about life. Not only the life of the characters within the film, but also reflects the life for everyone else. More or less, most people can feel themselves somehow related to either one of the main characters on a certain level in a specific period of time in their own life. The narrative approach of this film has a very interesting approach. With the minimum amount of actor's lines alongside the maximum amount of different scenes between the main characters, you can still clearly see the development of the whole story, at the same time, it gives audience a lot space to understand and feel the film themselves. 'Time' and 'searching' are the two key elements that I felt connected with the most after watching this movie.About 'time'; it is really obvious that Wong Kar-wai used the 'clock' to show the passing of time and its endless; fast or slow, boring or nervous. The 'time' in this movie has emotions. It helped express the actors' inner world without any conversation. While Yuddy (Leslie Cheung) was counting the last minute before 3PM, 1960.04.16, to Su Lizhen (Maggie Cheung), the sound of the second hand comes into the background music, along with the facial expression of Su Lizhen, the sound of the clock seems like her heart beats. It shows her nervous, anxious and desire of knowing what Yuddy is going to tell her after that 60 seconds. After Yuddy and Su Lizhen broke up, Su Lizhen met Tide (Andy Lau), a general police who is always on night shift. On the night Tide asked her to forget Yuddy from this minutes onwards, the clock from the building near appeared, along with a very loud sound shows 12AM exactly. This sound has a lot figurative meanings. It is the ending of the passing days also the entry of a brand new day. 'Time' here reminds Su Lizhen a lot. The minute that Yuddy said he will remember her forever because of that specific minute; the minute that she thinks she should forget Yuddy forever. It shows the sadness and helpless deep in Su Lizhen's heart and the memories and love that she has on Yuddy. Apart from these two scenes, the clock in Yuddy's apartment, Tide's watch, the bedside table clock, the clock in Yuddy's adopted mother's house, etc., all has the element of time in it and helped to develop the whole story to make it more vivid. Although 'time' in this movie helped to build up the characters' inner world, but the other meaning Wong Kar-wai wanted to show is that the endless, emotionless and cruel of time. No matter what happens to anyone in the world, time is always the bystander. When time passing by, one has no choice to leave the past and move on. Other than 'time', I personally think that 'searching' also plays an important part in this movie. All the characters are searching for something to fulfill their life. Yuddy was looking for his real mother; Tide was hoping to get out of the world of Hongkong and be a sailor which he wanted to be when he was young; Mimi (Carina Lau) was chasing Yuddy around, which he is always a mystery to her; Su Lizhen was seeking for the true love of her life, etc. There is a purpose behind each character's every action or movement. Some people successfully gain what they were looking for, but there is no guarantee that they will feel happy after they found out the truth, like Yuddy, there wasn't any happiness after he went to where his real mother lives. Some people thought they found what they were looking for, but then missed the real one that they supposed to seek. Although Yuddy still remembered the last minute before 3PM, 1960.04.16, before he died; but he is not the right person for Su Lizhen. While Su Lizhen was still taking her time of thinking about Yuddy and healing herself, she missed Tide, who is a more a person for her and can give her a family. While she realized that she still wanted to talk to Tide, she called, but Tide quited as a policeman already, they missed each other. It is very easy for people to related themselves to either of the characters in this movie; the movie is a mirror of anyone's life. The most exciting and obvious proved for this is the ending of this film. With the train passing by, it comes the end of Yuddy's life. However, one 'Yuddy' is gonna, another 'Yuddy' comes, which is the character that Tony Leung acted at the end of the movie. With the endless of time, all things will eventually cycle; the stories that happened towards all the main characters still happening in our everyday life, it never ends.

WatchedAllMovies This movie has high ratings in IMDb and other rating sites, so I wanted to see what it's about.It's about a playboy and how he seduced and abandoned his women, and the argument between him and his step mother. They argue because his step mother won't tell him who his real mother was, but he wants to find his real mother.The characters are obnoxious or pathetic. There's no one to sympathize with. At the end of the movie, a new character is introduced with no relevance to the rest of the movie. Editing error? Perhaps the high rating is because of the famous Hong Kong actors. I feel like I'm looking at an abstract painting. Other people are dazzled by it, but I don't see anything.

Chrysanthepop Though it has been argued that 'A Fei Zheng Chuan' (aka 'Days of Being Wild') is the first set of the trilogy which is completed by 'Fa Yeung Nin Wa' (aka 'In the Mood For Love') and '2046', it 'looks' different from the other two films. Kar Wai uses less colour, more shadow, rain and heat and more rawness. The tone is much darker than in 'Fa Yeung Nin Wa' as the film is set in the 50s. The music is beautiful and effectively used. And, here too Kar Wai ends up making a powerful product. Though this film was a box office failure, it is an artistic victory.'A Fei Zheng Chuan' tells the story of 6 individuals whose lives are interconnected by each character's search and struggle for an identity. It's about loneliness, unrequited love, lost love, the search for love, and how the search continues. Kar Wai clevely brings up the theme of sex (without showing any nudity). The writing is excellent and the characterization is strengthened by superb and unique performances. The late Leslie Cheung's Yuddy is not a very likable person but we do sympathize with this man and recognize him. Maggie Cheung as Su gives one of the most subtle and finest performances. Carina Lau is energetic and terrific as Mimi. Rebecca Pan gracefully downplays her part. Andy Lau's Tide and Jacky Cheung's Zeb too are relatable and the actors are nothing short of remarkable. Actually, I recognize all the characters in this film.I loved the cinematography, especially the long shots. One of my favorite shot is the introduction of the scene that glides from the Phillipine streets to Yuddy and Tide in a lunch bar. This is one fine example of skillful camera-work. The shaky camera (which thankfully isn't overdone) and the close-ups that mostly take place during conversations and intimate moments between two characters work very well. Doyle's camera-work simply guides us through the lives of these characters.Summing it up, 'A Fei Zheng Chuan' works on many levels. It is an excellent study of characters, it 'tells' a universal story in a poetic way and it is a fine cinematic experience.A bird that never lands will one day suddenly seize to exist.

MartinHafer This film was directed by the Chinese director, Wong Kar-Wai, who came to Western attention through his strange and quirky CHUNGKING EXPRESS. Because it was such an unusual and unique film, I decided to watch this other film. And, as in CHUNKING EXPRESS, DAYS OF BEING WILD was indeed a very unusual film--though with none of the kooky sensibilities of the other movie.The film begins with a man trying to slowly ingratiate himself to a rather shy lady. Slowly but surely he is able to bring her out of her shell and after months of grooming her, he is able to bed her. To him, it's all a game and he has absolutely no regard for her or any other woman. But this nice lady is shattered and he could care less. Later, you see him pretty much doing the same thing in another self-centered relationship. While this is moderately interesting, what makes it even more so is his relationship with his foster mom. Their sick and dysfunctional interactions tell much about why he is who he is. The rest of the film concerns both of them as they separate and go their ways.The DVD case compared this movie to the French film, LA RONDE. In most ways, this is very unfortunate, as both movies are excellent on their own and Wong Kar-Wai's film is not derivative. The only major similarities I saw is that both films involved sex and also showed how the two people at the beginning later had impact on others' behaviors as well. LA RONDE was about a large group of people and how sex (and an STD) unites them, while DAYS OF BEING WILD is about connections--and how some are unable to have deep or meaningful relationships. In this sense, it's a standout film. However, unfortunately, this also makes it a rather unpleasant film and is a bit difficult to watch--definitely NOT a date movie! It simply is NOT a fun film. But for someone who wants something with insights and is well directed and written, this is a film well worth seeing.NOTE--While this film is about sexuality and the DVD case looks very steamy, there is no nudity in the film. This actually might be an excellent film for teens to see with their parents, as it opens up a great opportunity to talk about intimacy and sexuality--and how some cannot or will not combine the two.