Three decades ago, Days of Being Wild, the breakthrough film of cinema legend Wong Kar Wai, premiered. During that time, however, the film did not meet the expectations of critics and viewers accustomed to big-budget genre films. Now revered as a classic, the film’s cast includes a lineup of Hong Kong’s biggest stars in the prime of their youth and at the start of their illustrious careers: Leslie Cheung, Andy Lau, Maggie Cheung, Carina Lau, Jacky Cheung, and Tony Leung.

Following Wong’s debut As Tears Go By (1988), Days of Being Wild features the formal flourishes, poetic touches, and subtle cinematic moods that would become the filmmaker’s signature. Through tender portrayals of a group of wayward friends and lovers, Days of Being Wild meditates on themes of romance, fate, memory, and time set against a nostalgic urban landscape.

While the closing shot with Tony Leung was intended to serve as a teaser for a sequel, it was eventually cancelled. Instead, Leung reunited with Maggie Cheung, who plays Su Lizhen, in In the Mood of Love. Set in the 1960s, In the Mood of Love is both a continuation of its prologue and a new chapter.

Wong Kar Wai (b. 1958, Shanghai) moved to Hong Kong when he was five. He was recognised as one of the most promising filmmakers with his first feature film, As Tears Go By in 1988. His works competed at Cannes, including Happy Together (1997), which won him Best Director; In the Mood for Love (2000); 2046 (2004); and My Blueberry Nights (2007). The Grandmaster (2013) that followed was the opening film of Berlin Film Festival that year. His most recent TV series Blossoms Shanghai (2023) was also a hit in China.