critics consensus

Days of Being Wild uses a young man's struggle to come to terms with a family secret as the foundation for a beautifully filmed drama with a darkly dreamy allure. Read critic reviews

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Days of Being Wild Photos

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Movie Info

The lives of several lovelorn individuals (Leslie Cheung, Maggie Cheung, Andy Lau) intersect as they drift through Hong Kong.

Genre:

drama
Original Language:

Chinese
Director:

Kar Wai Wong
Release Date (Streaming):

Mar 22, 2007
Box Office (Gross USA):

$141.9K
Runtime:

1h 40m
Production Co:

In-Gear Film

Cast & Crew

Leslie Cheung
Yuddy

Maggie Cheung
Su Li-zhen

Andy Lau
Tide

Carina Lau
Leung Fung-ying

Rebecca Pan
Rebecca

Jacky Cheung
Zeb

Show all Cast & Crew

Critic Reviews for Days of Being Wild

All Critics (30) | Top Critics (16) | Fresh (27) | Rotten (3)

Quote not available.

February 26, 2005 | Rating: 4/4

Stephen Cole
Globe and Mail
Needless to say a must-see for Wongcolytes, Days of Being Wild is also an excellent entry point for people who haven't yet caught this most exotic and habit-forming of cinematic bugs.

February 25, 2005 | Rating: 4/4 | Full Review…

Geoff Pevere
Toronto Star
Every shot is perfectly composed and compelling, with light and shadow manipulated to maximum effect.

February 25, 2005 | Rating: 4/4 | Full Review…

Carla Meyer
San Francisco Chronicle
It now seems like a promising apprentice work, almost a blueprint for the writer-director's most acclaimed and famous film, In the Mood for Love.

February 18, 2005 | Rating: 2.5/4

John Hartl
Seattle Times
There are images in Days that can make your heart stop for no other reason than that they're perfect.

February 18, 2005 | Rating: 4/4 | Full Review…

Ty Burr
Boston Globe
It may have been released in the olden days of 1991, but Wong Kar-Wai's Days of Being Wild remains pulsatingly contemporary.

February 3, 2005 | Full Review…

Desson Thomson
Washington Post
These days are both electric and exhausted.

October 25, 2015 | Rating: 3.5/4 | Full Review…

Josh Larsen
LarsenOnFilm
A dark moody period piece about unrequited love.

December 19, 2006 | Rating: A- | Full Review…

Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews
Twelve years after first seeing Days of Being Wild, I'm finally developing some fondness for it.

July 31, 2005

Andy Klein
Los Angeles CityBeat
Quote not available.

June 19, 2005 | Rating: 4/5

Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com
The '60s were a time of alienation and sadness, which I suppose Wong was trying to reflect here. But he's chosen characters so monumentally self-destructive that it's difficult to care about them.

March 12, 2005 | Full Review…

Jean Lowerison
San Diego Metropolitan
Unless the film is pure homage, the film lacks authenticity

March 10, 2005

John Esther
Pasadena Weekly

View All Critic Reviews (30)

Audience Reviews for Days of Being Wild

Sep 30, 2015

Days of Being Wild delivers as expected: a highly aesthetic and enjoyable film. You can feel the humidity of melancholy summer nights and sense the fatalistic but untragic vibe the characters give off. This is quintessential HK cinema and easy to recommend.

Robert B Super Reviewer
Nov 15, 2008

Wong Kar Wai's somehow reaching his unique style in here

Arash X Super Reviewer
Feb 04, 2008

Great little film by the fantastic Wong Kar-Wai. Very engaging and beautiful.

Christopher B Super Reviewer
Feb 02, 2008

Wong Kar Wai and Maggie Cheung. Together, a project couldn't possibly go off the ropes and it doesn't here. Those who saw In the Mood for Love should treat themselves to early Wai.

John B Super Reviewer