I'll never gonna dance again...
There is something in Wong Kar-Wai's Happy Together that i like as much as other films who use cinematography in its full expression. Happy Together defines and redefines cinematography. No wonder why i fell in love with the film. I suddenly observe, most of the films I like have a strikingly demanding use of cinematography to holistically fuse every aspect --- narrative style, mise-en-scene, sound, acting. I subscribe to this convention as if it was the only means of evaluating films. Am I wrong here? Is Citizen Kane (1941), the greatest film of all time, a great tour-de-force in acting? I bet it can't be justified in that aspect. Of course Citizen Kane's victorious, universal appraisal as the best movie of all time came from its most innovative use of the deep-focus cinematography and deep-space mise-en-scene. Kane is the pinnacle of that style and because of it, it has changed the way people look at films --- it started the view of films as a form of art. I should discuss more about Kane later.
Meanwhile, I pick two sample shots from the film which i think have explained why cinematography is central to Happy Together.
A central scene
Meanwhile, I pick two sample shots from the film which i think have explained why cinematography is central to Happy Together.
A central scene
Ciao!
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Oggs Cruz · 814 weeks ago
AD! · 814 weeks ago
I find Happy Together much more coherent than his Chunking Express. In Chunking Express, he experiments with everything,the idea is there but it is less coherent than Happy Together. In Happy Together, all is there. The coloration (BW vs colored) has a more defined function, his use of lens, his decisiveness to use jump shots, his camera angles. Everything acts as a narrative precursor which is great!
Ciao!