The Intimate Spaces of Wong Kar-wai
The Intimate Spaces of Wong Kar-wai The Intimate Spaces of Wong Kar-wai
married (]uctiou 11 of the g llllllllinstream CHT llll- CHAPTER THIRTEE:--J The Intimate Spaces of Wong Kar-wai Marc Siegel C\\. S\ lll ] part of ntitl but Sec Ill\ ations l n ()\crSClS w 1\et rocr Chan nent :;SS 120, 110. 2 ri sm, sec Cultural "Clobalsnuliww/ uke l !nike li!O, HapfJ)' Together /Chungumzg Zlwxie} (l
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married<br />
(]uctiou<br />
11 <strong>of</strong> the<br />
g llllllllinstream<br />
CHT llll-<br />
CHAPTER THIRTEE:--J<br />
<strong>The</strong> <strong>Intimate</strong> <strong>Spaces</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Wong</strong> <strong>Kar</strong>-<strong>wai</strong><br />
Marc Siegel<br />
C\\. S\ lll<br />
] part <strong>of</strong><br />
ntitl but<br />
Sec Ill\<br />
ations l n<br />
()\crSClS<br />
w 1\et rocr<br />
Chan<br />
nent :;SS<br />
120, 110. 2<br />
ri sm, sec<br />
Cultural<br />
"Clobalsnuliww/<br />
uke l !nike<br />
li!O,<br />
HapfJ)' Together /Chungumzg Zlwxie} (l
Figure 1.<br />
Filming homosexuality<br />
in Happy Together<br />
(1997). Courtesy<br />
<strong>of</strong> City Entertainment<br />
and Christopher Doyle.<br />
2781 MARC SIEGEL<br />
Unacquainted \\ith Buenos Aires, \Vong and his ere\\" found thcmseh·cs<br />
returning to the tramicnt spaces that arc familiar to any international tra\<br />
cler. Thc~e<br />
bars, barbershops, fast-food joints, and trains, as \Yell as the<br />
tcmporan, fleeting human encounters associated \\ith them, are also familiar<br />
to ,·ic\\ ers <strong>of</strong> \Vong's other urban films -Days <strong>of</strong> Being \Vild, Clnmgking<br />
Express [Chongqing Sen/in) (llJ94), ami Pallen 1\ngels / Duoluo Timzshi}<br />
( 1 ')96 l. ln this sense, H afJfJY Together does not real h· tc II us \·en· much about<br />
Buenos ,\ires. Instead, it uses certain :\w;entinc spaces in order to locali7.c<br />
Hong Kong concerns and perceptions. As \Vong has put it, "lllt's more like<br />
I'm remaking Hong Kong in Buenos :\ires."'<br />
\\ong am! Dm 1c ha\c also suggested that the film doesn't rcalh tell us \en<br />
much about hmnosexualih either. Though ostcnsihh- a stcn\· about the trials<br />
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and tribulations <strong>of</strong><br />
about human com<br />
ference at the 199~<br />
mise-en-scene, Tl'<br />
relations, human c<br />
men hut it could h~<br />
asserted: "In fact I c<br />
aston about huma<br />
arc both men." i De<br />
are no gms. One is<br />
French critic scc1w<br />
ualih ,,hatsoe\er fr<br />
the presence <strong>of</strong>t<br />
all that this film,<br />
a homoscxualih<br />
" gmtto," <strong>Wong</strong>~<br />
\\ ith a couple: ell<br />
\\·oman, h\·o me1<br />
would in am cas<br />
\Vhilc <strong>Wong</strong>'s st<br />
stake in producing<br />
means settled as co<br />
hie) statements <strong>of</strong> tl<br />
for example, the sig<br />
guishing the clcpic<br />
heteroscxualih in 1<br />
I long Kong films,<br />
homosexualih do s'<br />
subject ,,·ithout mal<br />
during production,.<br />
was " not ga\ enougl<br />
"l'his ambi,alenc<br />
hm\ gay the film re;<br />
is emblematic <strong>of</strong> Hc<br />
called "the problem<br />
lion in the global ec<br />
am] its anxich mer
THE INTIMATE SPACES OF WONG KAR-WAI 1279<br />
and tribulations <strong>of</strong> hHJ male lovers, Happv 'l(Jgether, \\e arc told, is actuallv<br />
about human cm11munication in general. As \\'ong stated in a press conference<br />
at the 1997 Cannes Film Fcsti\al, \\here the film \\On a pri7.e for<br />
mise-en-scene, "IT] his film is not merely about h\·o men, but ~1bout human<br />
relations, human communication and the means <strong>of</strong> maintaining it. It's hn1<br />
men but it could have been am· other couple." 4 On another occa:sion, \Vong<br />
asserted: "In fact 1 don't like people to sec this film as a gm film. lfs more like<br />
a storv about human relationships ami somehow the hnJ characters inmhed<br />
are both men."' Doyle reiterated the director's sentiments: "At a pinch, there<br />
are no gays. One is ,,hat one is and this film shm\s that."(, One enthusiastic<br />
French critic seems to relish the opportunity to erase am traces <strong>of</strong> homoscxualih<br />
\\ hatsoc\ er from the film, claiming that<br />
the presence <strong>of</strong> the hvo central male characters does not signif\ at<br />
all that this film, like mam others, flaunts the ostentatious sigm <strong>of</strong><br />
a homosexualitY\\ om on its slee\·e. Conceming the question <strong>of</strong> a<br />
''ga\tto," \\'ong <strong>Kar</strong>-<strong>wai</strong> settles his account conclmively: the film deals<br />
with a couple: and \\ hcther the actors \\·ere hn1 \HJmcn, a man and a<br />
\\oman, hn1 men, a man and a wardrobe, a \\oman and a transsexual<br />
\\'otdd in am case not change a thing.-<br />
Yes<br />
the<br />
1 il-<br />
~mg<br />
shi /<br />
OUt<br />
izc<br />
ike<br />
v\'hile \Vong\ statements hm·c made it clear that he does not ha,·e anv<br />
stake in producing films that might be labeled "gm,'' his account is b, no<br />
means settled as COilclmi,·cly as the implicitlv homophobic (and transphobic)<br />
statements <strong>of</strong> the abm e critic '' ould impl~." \Vong has noted elsewhere,<br />
for example, the significance that a gav specificit\· brings to the film. Distinguishing<br />
the depiction <strong>of</strong> homosexuality in HafJPY Together from that <strong>of</strong><br />
heteroscxualih in his other films and from that <strong>of</strong> homosexualitv in other<br />
. .<br />
I long Kong films, \Vong notes that "the few Hong Kong films that treat<br />
lwmoscxualih . do so within the context <strong>of</strong> comech. . 1 \\anted to take 011 the<br />
subject without making people laugh."'! Om le notes as well that at one point<br />
during production, after vie\\ing the rushes, \Vong e\·en worried that the film<br />
\\as "not gav enough.'' 1 ' 1<br />
This ambi,alcnce about the ostensible subject <strong>of</strong> I lappy Together- about<br />
how gav the film really is and about the film's relationship to Hong Kongis<br />
emblematic <strong>of</strong> Hong Kong cinema as it confronts what Ackbar Abbas has<br />
called "the problematics <strong>of</strong> disappearance." 11 Because <strong>of</strong> Hong Kong's position<br />
in the global econom\, its experiences <strong>of</strong> colonialism and imperialism,<br />
and its anxietv mer 1997, the cit\·, according to Abbas, has been marked by
280 I MARC SIEGEL<br />
clusi\ encss, defincclll\ spatial and temporal clisjuncturc, and characterized<br />
bv disappearance. <strong>The</strong> filmmakers <strong>of</strong> the !long Kong :.Jc\\ \Vm·c -most<br />
notabh \Vong, Stanlc\ K\\an, Ann Hui, Tsui Hark, John \\'oo, and .\lien<br />
Fong- thus clo not document the appearance <strong>of</strong> Hong Kong as a subject, but<br />
rather the elusiveness <strong>of</strong> Hong Kong's cultural space. <strong>The</strong>se films thereb\<br />
contribute to a redefinition <strong>of</strong> the local, expressed in part through the me <strong>of</strong><br />
the Cantonese language. In Cantonese films <strong>of</strong> the earh 1970s, according to<br />
Abbas, "the local \\as an ethic <strong>of</strong> exclusion: it defined a narrm\ homogeneous<br />
social space \\here foreigners and foreign elements had no place." lc Films <strong>of</strong><br />
the 198os and199os, hm' e\·er, utilized the Cantonese that is spoken in Ilong<br />
Kong today, "a Cantonese sprinkled \\ith \landarin, English, and barbarom<br />
sounding \\ords and phrases-a hybrid language coming out <strong>of</strong> a ll\bricl<br />
space." 1 ' No longer stable and homogeneous, the local is nm\ mutable and<br />
international, like spoken Cantonese itself. In fact, it is precisely the nC\\<br />
Cantonese cinema's specificity as local that lends it its international qualih.<br />
If Happy Together is successful at achieving the local internationalism<br />
im·okcd by Abbas, then its success is not limited to its abilih· to articulate<br />
a Hong Kong localism in Argentina. <strong>The</strong> depiction <strong>of</strong> temporary, fleeting<br />
human encounters in public places resonates not only \\ith similar images<br />
in \Vong's other films- and thereby \\ ith the transient cultural space <strong>of</strong><br />
Hong Kong- but also '' ith that \ ery "gaytto" so denigrated by the abm e<br />
French critic. By acknmdcdging the significance <strong>of</strong> homosexuality to Happy<br />
Together, by acknowledging "·hat I would call the film's ghetto specificitY,<br />
moreover, we can recognize these behaviors, spaces, and images as indicative<br />
<strong>of</strong> something other than "loneliness, insecurity, and Jthe] inability to<br />
commit," the hpical qualities ascribed to \Vong's films. 14 From a ghetto perspectiYc,<br />
the images in Happv Together, as in \Vong's other films, arc instead<br />
indices <strong>of</strong> a public world <strong>of</strong> new intimacies.<br />
Globalization and the Ghetto<br />
As Ella Shohat and Robert Stam note, "the term 'globalization' usually<br />
evokes a complex realignment <strong>of</strong> social forces engendering an merpowcring<br />
wave <strong>of</strong> global political, cultural and economic interdependency." 1 s<br />
<strong>The</strong>re are manv ,,·ays in ,,hich scxualitv is implicated in this situation <strong>of</strong><br />
global interdependency. I'll cite two striking examples. First, the global AIDS<br />
epidemic has forced various lcv·cls <strong>of</strong> interaction and discussion about sex,<br />
sexual behavior, and sexual identity among individuals, community organizations,<br />
and governments across national borders. 16 Second, the explosion <strong>of</strong><br />
T<br />
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gay and lesbian or '<br />
images will travel tc<br />
<strong>of</strong> gender, scxualih<br />
consider the conm<br />
Queer Film and Vi<br />
\al b, the Korean g<br />
Our censorship<br />
lesbian sexual b<<br />
'' ho are citizens<br />
it is nonsensical<br />
conmnmities," 1<br />
<strong>of</strong> such pcoplc. 1<br />
<strong>The</strong> mm emcnt <strong>of</strong><br />
isomorphic alignn<br />
mcnt <strong>of</strong> sexual cm1<br />
In Modernity c.<br />
Appadurai <strong>of</strong>fers o<br />
his anahsis, localit<br />
or spatial.'' IS \lots<br />
rather a structure c<br />
its 0\\'n rcproducil<br />
localih is linked to<br />
"I use the term ne.<br />
which localit\, as;<br />
lizing global ccm<br />
ana h sis, that ensu<br />
local subjects, ancl<br />
that they provide t<br />
action ( productin'<br />
and conducted 1111<br />
Appadurai's the<br />
which particular<br />
sense <strong>of</strong> place des<br />
reliance on the co<br />
turc is produced a<br />
the implied resid1<br />
the nuclear famil;
2821 MARC SIEGEL<br />
reproduction.= 1 1 I mY rcle\ ant, then, is the neighborhood to a consideration<br />
<strong>of</strong> the locali:r.ation <strong>of</strong> sexualities, cspecialh those that arc cxcluclcd from this<br />
"'most intimate arena?"<br />
In their exhilarating discussion <strong>of</strong>"thc radical aspirations <strong>of</strong> queer culture<br />
building," Lauren Bcrlant ami ,\ lichacl \\'a mer challenge the ideolog\ <strong>of</strong> the<br />
neighborhood.== For them, the neighborhood as a social form does not adequateh<br />
describe the context \\ithin \\hich queer sexual subjecti\ity is produced.<br />
,-\s thev note, sexual subjects do not merch reside, and "'the local<br />
character <strong>of</strong> the neighborhood depends on the daih· presence <strong>of</strong> thousands<br />
<strong>of</strong> nonresidents."=' Emphasizing the status <strong>of</strong> prop crt\ 0\\ncrs and the COilclition<br />
<strong>of</strong> residence, the ideologv <strong>of</strong> the neighborhood reproduces national<br />
clivisiom, bct\\een public and private space, \\ith intimae\ relegated to the<br />
realm <strong>of</strong> the pri\atc. ln the transient queer \\oriel described b, Berlant ami<br />
\Varner, hcme\cr, intimae\· is neither constrained b\ the pri\·atized form <strong>of</strong><br />
the couple nor segregated '' ithin the pri,·atizcd spaces <strong>of</strong> the bedroom, the<br />
apartment, or the home.<br />
Queer and other insurgents hme long stri\Cll, <strong>of</strong>ten dangcroush or<br />
scandalously, to culti,atc \\hat good folks used to call criminal<br />
intimacies. \Ve hme cle\clopecl relations and narrati\·es that arc<br />
onh recognized as intimate in queer culture: girlfriends, gal pals,<br />
fuckbuddies, tricks. Queer culture has learned not only IHJ\\ to<br />
sexuali:r.e these and other relations, hut also to use them as a context<br />
for \\itncssing intense and personal affect \\bile elaborating a public<br />
\\oriel <strong>of</strong> belonging and tramformation. ~laking a queer \\oriel has<br />
required the de\ elopment <strong>of</strong> kinds <strong>of</strong> intimacv that hear no nccessarv<br />
relation to domestic space, to kinship, to the couple form, to property,<br />
or to the nation.'-+<br />
Follcm ina Bcrlant and \Varner we could sa\ that a discmsion <strong>of</strong> the lo-<br />
'=' ' .<br />
ca]i;ation <strong>of</strong> sexualities in a global context must be attentive to the potential<br />
intimacies in the "pub! ic \\oriel <strong>of</strong> belonging and transformation." 'I Cl describe<br />
this queer c:-..pericnce <strong>of</strong> local it\, 1 propose to use the term ghetto, instead <strong>of</strong><br />
neighborhood. In the introduction to his H)8o traYclogue Le guy vovuge, the<br />
l
THE INTIMATE SPACES OF WONG KAR-WAI 1283<br />
crat ion<br />
om th i~<br />
culture<br />
' <strong>of</strong> the<br />
not adc-<br />
} IS proe<br />
local<br />
ousa nels<br />
he COllnatiOil~ll<br />
d to the<br />
ant and<br />
form <strong>of</strong><br />
om, the<br />
or<br />
,<br />
text<br />
blic<br />
s<br />
~ssan<br />
f the lopotcnt<br />
ial<br />
describe<br />
nstcad <strong>of</strong><br />
yage, the<br />
s the imra\<br />
elcr.''<br />
that<br />
said<br />
the great American \niter John Rccll\. <strong>The</strong> [,ungote\ ere comes to<br />
an end at \Vest Street, the Tiber flcms into the lludson Ri\er, the door<br />
in the back <strong>of</strong> a sauna in Amsterdam opens onto the dark hall <strong>of</strong> a<br />
cinema in Pigallc. <strong>The</strong> Tuileries and Central Park hme the same<br />
bronze lion, and the same shadows S\\·irl in the allcvs in the \\CC<br />
homs <strong>of</strong> the morning. 2 r'<br />
In \Yhat we might call Hocqucnghem's translocal gay ghetto, the mist <strong>of</strong> a<br />
sauna or the shadows in a nighttime park arc imbued with a tramformativc<br />
pmver that seems literally to whisk the gay mbanitc from ghetto to<br />
ghetto. <strong>The</strong> locality <strong>of</strong> each ghetto is thus marked by dislocation, by a connection<br />
with other ghettos across national boundaries. Morcm er, the ghetto<br />
in Hocqucnghem's formulation is not simply descriptive <strong>of</strong> a particular<br />
spatiallv bounded section <strong>of</strong> tmm. Instead it refers to an assortment <strong>of</strong> public<br />
spaces- including saunas, cinemas, parks, and alleys- that arc linked<br />
together as places for potential sexual contacts. <strong>The</strong> ghetto is also the site<br />
''here one hones the skills ncccssarv for navigating \asth different urban<br />
landscapes- that is, ''here one learns the essential queer art <strong>of</strong> em ising.<br />
Hocquenghem's sexual ghetto is thus a context within which the intimate<br />
relations forged by queers are meaningful, legible, and reproducible. It is<br />
a context that ensures the reproduction <strong>of</strong> sexual subjects and <strong>of</strong> queer<br />
knowlcdgcs.<br />
Published just after the beginning <strong>of</strong> gav liberation and just before the<br />
emergence <strong>of</strong> the AIDS epidemic, Le gay voyage, with its sections on the<br />
major Emopcan and American cities, is vcn much a product <strong>of</strong> its time.<br />
<strong>The</strong> fact <strong>of</strong> global intcrdcpcndcnc\ today suggests that Hocquenghem's<br />
ghettos are interrupted not merely by train stations and airports, hut also bv<br />
the flcms <strong>of</strong> capital, politics, and the media. <strong>The</strong> knowlcdgcs and intimacies<br />
<strong>of</strong> the ghetto arc thus constructed in relation to the seemingly random influx<br />
<strong>of</strong> images, ideas, and bcha, iors that come from else\\ here.<br />
<strong>The</strong> <strong>Intimate</strong> <strong>Spaces</strong> <strong>of</strong>\Vong <strong>Kar</strong>-<strong>wai</strong><br />
\Vong has pointed out that I long Kong fan magazines urged audiences to be<br />
punctual to l TafJfJv Together so as not to miss the opening sex scene. "Other<br />
\\·ise," he sa\s, "it's just a film about 1\\0 brothcrs.'' 2 - As one critic has obsen·ed,<br />
ho\\"ever, it is only a film about two brothers if one denies the strong<br />
erotic tension bet\veen the male protagonists, most e\·idcnt for that critic in<br />
the scenes <strong>of</strong> Ho Po-wing teaching Lai Yiu-fai how to dance the tango. 2 '
2841 MARC SIEGEL<br />
\\'hilc there is a precedent in 1 Tong Kong films for close bonding bet\\een<br />
male protagonists, perhaps most famoush in the films <strong>of</strong> John \\oo, the degree<br />
<strong>of</strong> intimae\ bch\een Ho and Lai in I TafJfJY 'fbgetlzer docs suggest a rclahomhip<br />
<strong>of</strong> a different categon altogether. Rather than argue for the queerness<br />
<strong>of</strong> the film])\ ha,·ing recourse solch· to the intimae\ bel\\ccn 1 loami<br />
Lai, hem eYer, J prefer to discms the specific context \\ithin \\hich their rclatiomhip<br />
takes place and indeed breaks dmm. I TafJfJY 'l(Jgether is clearh a<br />
queer film not sin1ph because it depicb a sexual relationship heh\ecn l\m<br />
men, but became it depicts and C\ okes the intimate behm iors, spaces, ami<br />
images <strong>of</strong> a sc\ual ghetto.<br />
<strong>The</strong> film tells the ston <strong>of</strong> t\\
THE INTIMATE SPACES OF WONG KAR-WAI /285<br />
en<br />
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11cl<br />
Figure 2.<br />
Public space as<br />
sexual ghetto in<br />
Happy Together.<br />
Courtesy <strong>of</strong> City<br />
Entertainment and<br />
Christopher Doyle.<br />
CCS<br />
her<br />
r to<br />
OJJg<br />
for<br />
:;u<br />
rll<br />
bcith<br />
hi.'><br />
lie;,<br />
s <strong>of</strong><br />
net<br />
ests<br />
nk<br />
ellthe<br />
era<br />
~- ln<br />
0111-<br />
ee.<br />
<strong>of</strong> a<br />
se:-:ual ghetto. ~lorem er, the narrati1 e fnnction and aesthetic impact <strong>of</strong> the<br />
sequence resonate 11 ith that <strong>of</strong> the abattoir scene in Rainer \\'cmcr Elssbinclcr's<br />
in a Yearo(Thirteen ;\loons (I
2861 MARC SIEGEL<br />
This is not to say that the characters understand or experience random<br />
fleeting encounters in the public sexual \\oriel as intimate. Lai in particular<br />
expresses discomfort and confusion about this sexual \vorlcl. \Vhen he unexpectedly<br />
encounters Ho while both arc cruising in a public toilet, Lai expresses<br />
regret for his actions. His voice-m·er explains: "l\e ne\·er liked hanging<br />
around toilets. Thought it was clirtv. <strong>The</strong>se clays I use them as it's the<br />
easiest. Never drcamccll'cl see Po-wing in there. l never went back. I thought<br />
I ''as different from Po-wing. Turns out lonely people arc all the same." Despite<br />
his stated discomfort with this situation, Lai's acknov,:leclgmcnt <strong>of</strong> the<br />
case <strong>of</strong> connecting \\·ith other men within the sexual ghetto- by ''hanging<br />
around toilets"- attests to his awareness that such a world docs exist. For the<br />
critic Larry Gross, the characters in \Vong's films seem suspended in an<br />
"unfulfilled yet compelling dream, as if the movie opens out into a new reality<br />
just outside the frame <strong>of</strong> the screen." H Following Gross, we might say<br />
that Lai shares a trait with other \Vong protagonists: a seme that there is a<br />
public world <strong>of</strong> possible intimate connections, but that one docs not quite<br />
knmv how to access it.<br />
\Vong's other films, \\·hile not depicting the particular sexual ghetto that I<br />
ha,·e been describing here, do depict the random encounters and possible<br />
public connections that arc recognized as intimate within a sexual ghetto.<br />
<strong>The</strong> structures <strong>of</strong> gav male cruising, the anonymous, <strong>of</strong>ten wordless encounters<br />
between men in public, and the intense affective images in Happv<br />
'l(Jgether incleccl recall \Vong's earlier films. Christopher Dodc notes that one<br />
clay during the shooting <strong>of</strong> Happy Together, he experienced deja vu.<br />
<strong>The</strong> cars, the colours, the isolation, the traim, the (same) cast, the<br />
(same) cre\v, the \\·eather and the unfamiliar language. \Ve start to<br />
ha\·e a deja vu feeling. It seems \\c're finally making that Davs <strong>of</strong><br />
Being 'VVild Part II that so many ha\ e expected from us for so long.<br />
Leslie C\Cll began humming the theme from Days as he prepared<br />
for a shot todav."<br />
Happy Together shares'' ith \Vong's other films a concerted refusal to relegate<br />
intimacv to the private form <strong>of</strong> the couple or to the privatized space <strong>of</strong> the<br />
apartment. It is perhaps in this \\a\ that\\ c could make sense <strong>of</strong> Cross's temptation<br />
to refer to \Vong as ''the last heterosexual director." ,r, He is the last heterosexual<br />
director because his films picture the limits <strong>of</strong> heteronormative<br />
constraints on intimae\. In other words, \Vong's films challenge the idea that<br />
intimacy can be confined ,,·ithin the form <strong>of</strong> the couple and within the realm<br />
<strong>of</strong> the pri\ate.<br />
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iJ is films freqt<br />
others in public pi<br />
<strong>of</strong> brief meetings<br />
Cheung), an emF<br />
Yuclch anclLai Jw<br />
minute the\· spent<br />
paneled until it be<br />
Express and Falle1<br />
nectiom to be ha1<br />
Wu (Takeshi <strong>Kar</strong><br />
(Leon Lai ), expre<br />
m·ers: ''\Ve rub sh<br />
each other. ... Bt<br />
<strong>The</strong> potential<br />
<strong>of</strong> possibility for n<br />
Express and Faile<br />
clencc, but <strong>of</strong> tra<br />
apartment are lei<br />
counter, E1vc I Fa<br />
his apartment in<br />
arranges the roor<br />
6~~· In Fallen A.n<br />
partner ( i\lichcll<br />
\Vong is absent f<br />
the garbage. and<br />
garbage to find c<br />
one's life are the<br />
others. Concerlll<br />
\Vong has noted,<br />
mac\ <strong>of</strong> others, a<br />
order to discm er<br />
'['he destabil i1<br />
to me a pub] ic '<br />
cnth b, <strong>Wong</strong>'s<br />
pri,·atizecl forms<br />
characters to ad<br />
ample, \Vong's<br />
urban societv, 01<br />
bonds to familY <<br />
pcncnce "come
THE INTIMATE SPACES OF WONG KAR-WAI 1287<br />
om<br />
dar<br />
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t he<br />
ght<br />
e<br />
the<br />
mg<br />
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an<br />
IS a<br />
ite<br />
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~tto.<br />
one<br />
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e:\-<br />
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hctti\<br />
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that<br />
aim<br />
His films frequently focus on characters \\ho ramlcnnh connect \\ith<br />
others in public places. Dcrys <strong>of</strong> Being Wild, for instance, opem \\ith a series<br />
<strong>of</strong> brief meetings bel\\ ccn Yuclch (Leslie Cheung) and Lai J un (Maggie<br />
Cheung), an cmplcl\·ee in a deserted cafe. <strong>The</strong> sequence culminates \Yith<br />
Yuclch anclLai Jun watching the clock and agreeing to reme1nhcr the single<br />
minute the\· spent together. "-\s Lai Jun's nJice-m·er indicates, that minute e:-;<br />
pancleduntil it became an hour (<strong>of</strong> sn) C\Cf\ elm. F.arh in both Chungk:ing<br />
Express and Fallen Angels \\C hear \·oice-mcrs suggesting the potential connections<br />
to he had in public places. <strong>The</strong> cop in Chungbng Express, lie Qi<br />
Wu (Takesh i Kaneshiro), and the killer in Fallen Angels, <strong>Wong</strong> Chi-ming<br />
(Leon Lai), c:-;press basicallv the same sentiment in almost identical voicem·ers:<br />
"\Ve rub shoulders \\ith each other even elm .... \Ve mav not know<br />
. . .<br />
each other. ... But \ve may become good friends somcclm ."<br />
<strong>The</strong> potential for public intimate connections is underscored b, the lack<br />
<strong>of</strong> possibilih· for restricting intimacy to privatized spaces. In both Chungking<br />
F:xfJress and Jo'allen Angels, the apartment, for e:-;ample, is not a place <strong>of</strong> residence,<br />
but <strong>of</strong> transience.'- After the kcvs to cop no. O))'s ('l(Jm Leung's)<br />
apartment are left b, a former girlfriend at the ~lidnight Express fast-food<br />
counter, hl\c (h1\c \Vongl manages to get the cop's address and sneaks into<br />
his apartment in his absence. Frolicking alone in the apartment, 1'~1\C<br />
rearranges<br />
the room, changes the fish in the fish tank, and cleans up after no.<br />
033. In Fallen Angels, \Vong Chi-ming, a contract killer, has \\orkcd \\ith his<br />
partner ( 1\Iichelle Reis) for three 'cars, though theY ha\ e rarely met. \Vhcn<br />
\Vong is absent from his apartment, his partner enters, cleam up, takes out<br />
the garbage, and masturbates on his bee!. She c\·cn rummages through the<br />
garbage to find clues about the killer's life. <strong>The</strong> secmingh pri\ate details <strong>of</strong><br />
one's life are therefore not nccessarilv free from unsolicited inspection bv<br />
others. Concerning his interest in disturbing the pri\aC\ <strong>of</strong> the apartment,<br />
\Vong has noted, "Most people harbor a secret curiosity conecming the intimac\<br />
<strong>of</strong> others, and dream <strong>of</strong> penetrating their homes\\ ithout being seen, in<br />
order to discmcr ,,ho theY arc, \\·hat the, do."''<br />
<strong>The</strong> destabilization <strong>of</strong> the cli,·icle het\\ecn public and pri\ate that suggests<br />
to me a public \\oriel <strong>of</strong> potential nc\\ intimacies is described quite differently<br />
by \Vong's other critics. In most accounts <strong>of</strong> his films an absence <strong>of</strong><br />
privatized forms <strong>of</strong> intimae\ attests instead to the failure <strong>of</strong> the indiYidual<br />
characters to achieve real or oc:tual intimacv. For Jean-~'larc Lalannc, fore:-;<br />
ample, \Vong's films emphasize the solitan· incli,iclual in ccmtcmporan<br />
urban society, one \\ ho is destitute and emotionallv impm·erished, \\·ithout<br />
bonds to famih- or eonnmmity.''J For Chuck Stephens, \Vong's characters e:-;<br />
pcricncc "coincidental prmimih and romantic bad timing I thatl rarch- add
2881 MARC SIEGEL<br />
up to actual intcraction."+ 11 And for .\ckhar Abbas, C\ en \Vong <strong>Kar</strong>-\vai film<br />
treats the theme <strong>of</strong> ''prm:imit\· \vithout reciprocity; that is to sav, hem· \\·c can<br />
be pll\sicalh close to a situation or to a person without there being am intimac\<br />
or knowledge."+ 1 But docs ''proximitv \vithout reciprocih" necessarily<br />
suggest a failed interaction, an absence <strong>of</strong> knmdcdgc? :\!light it not rather<br />
<strong>of</strong>fer a different kind <strong>of</strong>knm\lcdgc? Finalh, and most importanth·, docs intimac\<br />
demand reciprocit\ 7<br />
\Vhilc these critics righth acknmdcdge the fast-paced urban \vorld <strong>of</strong><br />
\Vong's films, their analyses <strong>of</strong> this \\oriel betray their mvn anxiety about what<br />
counts as intimate in a global context. Abbas notes that \Vong's films, like<br />
others <strong>of</strong> the Hong Kong New \Vcne, respond to the spatial transformations<br />
effected bv globalism, and in particular b\· ne\\ technologies, \\ith a challenge<br />
to realist cinematic strategies for depicting space. <strong>The</strong>se films do not<br />
merely depict characters attempting to adjust to spatial transformations but<br />
produce images that are themselves marked by disjuncture. "Tt is as if all the<br />
\\avs <strong>of</strong> relating h
THE INTIMATE SPACES OF WONG KAR-WAI 1289<br />
Figure 3.<br />
Intimacy marked by<br />
spatial and temporal<br />
disjunctures in<br />
Happy Together.<br />
f<br />
Courtesy <strong>of</strong> City<br />
Entertainment and<br />
Christopher Doyle.<br />
-<br />
S<br />
-<br />
t<br />
.<br />
c<br />
-<br />
-<br />
e<br />
e<br />
t<br />
-<br />
-<br />
11<br />
-<br />
C<br />
IS<br />
.<br />
\\here films arc produced at such a quick rare and actors, \\ ho arc making a<br />
number <strong>of</strong> films at the same time, are not able to "enter the \\orld" <strong>of</strong> the particular<br />
film \Vong is shooting. "I h,l\e to get them to lccl\T themschcs in order<br />
to prepare them for their role. T h,nc to exhamt them so that theY get riel <strong>of</strong><br />
the acting cliches that come out in their other films."H<br />
BY exhausting his performers, \Vong is able to extract from them performances<br />
<strong>of</strong> great intensit\· and intimae\. I ,eung, \\ho also appeared in<br />
Davs <strong>of</strong> Being \Vile!, Ashes <strong>of</strong>Time /Dong Xie Xi Du) (1994l. and Clnmgking<br />
ExfJress, ''as, according to\ Vong, I ike many Hong Kong actors'' ith rclc\ is ion<br />
experience; he \\as \\onclerfulh cxpressi\c \\ith his face, hut did not quite<br />
kmm hem· to uti]i;.e his hoch·. 4 ' After thirt\ unsuccessful takes- for a sequence<br />
that was cut from Da)'S <strong>of</strong> Being Wild-\Vong fin all\ managed to instill<br />
in Leung the neccssih <strong>of</strong> concentrating on the most intimate bodih<br />
gestures. ln the case <strong>of</strong> l'vlaggic Cheung, \Yho began \\ ork '' ith \Vong on his<br />
first film, As 'I ems Go By (Wcmgjiao Kamen/ (19S8), the director noticed that<br />
she \\as quite cxprcssi\e \\ith her hoch, but not particularly gifted \\ith dialogue.<br />
"So 1 cut the majoritY <strong>of</strong> her lines in order to concentrate on her actions,<br />
on her most intimate bodily moYcments, and her performance became<br />
excellent.''-+!.<br />
\\ 7 ong's ahilih to solicit intimate performances is paired \\·ith the cinematographer<br />
Christopher Dode's skill at producing intimate images. Om 1c<br />
is particularh kmmn for his agility \\ith a handheld camera. \\'orking in this<br />
\\ay a lim\ shim mobility and the 1 iberty to follow the actions <strong>of</strong> the performer<br />
more closeh+- "Our kind <strong>of</strong> camera\\·m-k is 'anticipation aml respomc.' I
290 I MARC SIEGEL<br />
need to follm\ the actor or dancer as much as lncccl him or her to 'lead."'~'<br />
Doyle's images, ,,·hich attempt to match or be in tune \\ ith the bodih- gestures<br />
and mm·ements <strong>of</strong> the performers, achie\ e an unusual kind <strong>of</strong> intimac~·.<br />
Remarking on Dodc's \\ork 011 TemfJtress Moon [f
THE INTIMATE SPACES OF WONG KAR-WAI 1291<br />
her to 'lead."' 4 "<br />
the bodih geswl<br />
kind <strong>of</strong> inti<br />
Yue}, the direcs,<br />
you feel the<br />
udience to love<br />
, musical qualilc\<br />
"camera caprison<br />
crs <strong>of</strong> the<br />
ors and charac-<br />
~s:<br />
. In<br />
!<br />
metaphor,<br />
otalh<br />
·oriel \\C<br />
ight not expect<br />
.ln Chungking<br />
Angels, the feassing<br />
because<br />
ong Chi-ming.<br />
t because <strong>of</strong> a<br />
le to hear conaC\<br />
inclependlobal<br />
context,<br />
ggcst that inti<br />
's affection for<br />
'ideo images.<br />
tial comfort <strong>of</strong><br />
s that what the<br />
~·but 'courage'<br />
erm and looks<br />
the encl <strong>of</strong> the<br />
tancl in· E1ipei.<br />
Here he steals a photo from Chang's trip to the lighthouse in South America.<br />
l ,ai's return home to Hong Kong \\ith Chang's photo in hand, far from signaling<br />
his solitude or melancholy, suggests rather his acknowledgment <strong>of</strong> a<br />
potential for ne\\ kinds <strong>of</strong> intimae\·. \\'hat Chang gives Lai is thm not enduring<br />
phvsical proximity, but the comfort <strong>of</strong> an image.<br />
In a global context, in \\ hich the movement <strong>of</strong> queer images across<br />
national borders facilitates the creation <strong>of</strong> a public \\oriel <strong>of</strong> belonging, the<br />
comfort <strong>of</strong> an image cannot be taken too lighth. \\'ith Happv 'J(Jgether, \Vong<br />
<strong>Kar</strong>-<strong>wai</strong>'s images ha\C begun to circulate ,,·ithin a queer \\oriel. Tn the context<br />
<strong>of</strong> contemporary gay and lesbian films, these images arc distinguished In au<br />
intimae\· that is all too rare. As B. Rubv Rich notes in an article in ,,hich she<br />
. .<br />
singles out Happv Together for praise '' hilc bemoaning the current state <strong>of</strong><br />
ga\· and lesbian filmmaking, "It's ,·cry much a gav story and one that no ga\<br />
director has dared shmv. \Vhv is that? \Vhy are\\ estill cmcring up the realities<br />
<strong>of</strong> our lives for the sake <strong>of</strong> a respectable image?"" <strong>The</strong> respectable images<br />
that Rich criticizes are those sterile depictions <strong>of</strong> ga~s and lesbians that<br />
are so prevalent among commercial films that treat hmuosexualit\·; these are<br />
images without tracking problems in which intimacy ancl sexual it\~ if depicted<br />
at all~ are safely confined to the realm <strong>of</strong> the pri\atc. In contrast,<br />
\Vong's unstable images <strong>of</strong> drunken, angrv, scxuallv active characters ancl the<br />
public spaces \\here thev find and lose one another suggest a depth <strong>of</strong> feeling<br />
and an imaginati\c arrm <strong>of</strong> affccti,·c relations. From the perspecti\·e <strong>of</strong><br />
the sexual ghetto, these images attest to the rich possibilities for imaging ami<br />
imagining intimacy in a global context.<br />
Notes<br />
1 Sec Berenice Rcmaud, "HafJfJ)' 'lbgether de \Vong <strong>Kar</strong>-\\ai,'' Cahiers du c:inema<br />
513 (1\Jav 1997): ;6<br />
2 Chrio.tophcr Dodc, Buenos :\ires ('loho: Prcnom II, 1997), )).<br />
) Quoted in Hmvard Feinstein, "Celluloid 'E1kcm cr: I long Kong's 1\ lini\\an: <strong>of</strong><br />
Ca\·-Thcmcd mmics," Out, October 1997, 40. \\'ong\ rcntake <strong>of</strong> I long Kong in<br />
Buenos Aires occurred just prior to the end <strong>of</strong> British rule in the colon\ in<br />
Juh·1997 and thus at a time <strong>of</strong> intense anxieh· 0\er the potential remake <strong>of</strong> Hong<br />
Kong by the Chmcse gmenunent. A .. s \Vong notes in an intcn·ic\\ \\ith Jimm\<br />
Ngai, "One <strong>of</strong> the reasons that I chme Argentina \\as that it is on the other side<br />
<strong>of</strong> the\\ oriel, and 1 thought that b\ going there, I would be able to sta\
2921 MARC SIEGEL<br />
4 Conference de presse, "HafJfJ)' 'li>gether de \\'ong <strong>Kar</strong>-11ai" (Cannes, I';" \LI\<br />
ll)l)jl, Il.Jl. All tramlatiom from the French arc 1m· cm11.<br />
Quoted in Richard I .ippe, "Ga1 1\lcnics, \\'est and Kist," CineAc:ticm 45 (ll)l);l:<br />
::;0.<br />
(J Conference de pressc, 11.p.<br />
Thien\ jousse, "1-fapfJl' 'li>gether de \\'ong <strong>Kar</strong>-\\ai." Cahiers clu czm!ma )Lf<br />
(june ll)l)j): 20.<br />
8 \\'ong has stated: ":\cmnalh I hate nio\ics \\ith labels like 'ga1 film,' 'art film,' or<br />
'eoiiiinereial film.' <strong>The</strong>re is onh good film and bad film." Quoted in I .ippe, ::;8.<br />
9 Rc1naucl, "/lafJ/Jl' 'li>gether," ;C1<br />
10 Dm lc, 130.<br />
11 Sec .\ckbar \hbas, Hong Kong: Culture and the Politics <strong>of</strong>DisafJpearanc:e (:\linneapolis:<br />
Unin'fsih· <strong>of</strong> \linncsota Press, ll)l)jl, chapters 2 and '3·<br />
12 Ibid., 20.<br />
I) Ibid.<br />
q 'l(m\ R
.....<br />
THE INTIMATE SPACES OF WONG KAR-WAI j293<br />
\Ll\<br />
l)l)jl:<br />
(/ :;q<br />
m, or<br />
C, :;0.<br />
(:\lin-<br />
::; ): 12.<br />
s \\ ith<br />
1ith a<br />
n one<br />
1t," in<br />
\'Cilh·<br />
alue:,<br />
o ca II<br />
night<br />
ociatporal<br />
puban<br />
not<br />
tiona!<br />
ocal:<br />
1 and<br />
1 and<br />
f De<br />
? <strong>The</strong><br />
Iobal<br />
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Pathsing<br />
11Sll
2941 MARC SIEGEL<br />
"34 Larrv Crms, ":\onchalant Crace," Sight and Sound 6, no. y (H)96): 10.<br />
) s Do de, ;S.<br />
)6 Gros:>, 10.<br />
"37 In this respect, \Vong's films arc engaged in a similar project to those <strong>of</strong> director<br />
[ sai i\ling-liang.<br />
)S Berenice Rcmaud, "l.<br />
4Y "~lotion aml !