In his 2005 monograph, Brunette gives the opinion that "Happy Together" marked "a new stage in [Wong's] artistic development", and along with its successor – "In the Mood For Love" (2000) – showcases the director at "the zenith of his cinematic art." The latter film emerged from a highly complicated production history that lasted two years. Several different titles and projects were planned by Wong before they evolved into the final result: a romantic melodrama set in 1960s Hong Kong that is seen as an unofficial sequel to "Days of Being Wild". Wong decided to return to the era that fascinated him, and reflected his own background by focusing on Shanghainese émigrés.