Hong Kong 1960: York (played by Leslie Cheung) is a vain, amoral sexual predator abandoned in his childhood. In his youth he drifts through a series of casual friendships and affairs with one purpose, to discover the identity of his natural mother. She has long since moved to the Philippines and his foster mother refuses to tell him where. As one of York's lovers courts a policeman (played by Andy Lau), York travels to the Philippines in search of the truth.

Representing a transition for Wong Kar-Wai from his earlier television and film work, Days Of Being Wild was filmed by his long time collaborator and celebrated cinematographer, Christopher Doyle. This is a haunting and beautiful film with the storytelling dexterity and sumptuous cinematography common to many of Wong Kar-Wai's later films.