4. Wong Kar-wai

A few days ago, we saw Wong Kar-wai's film Ashes of Time Redux on DVD. Despite the muddy storyline (apparently, the plot is clearer in the Redux version than in the original), we were reminded of films by him that we've admired.

At this point, we've seen all of Kar-wai's feature films except for two: As Tears Go By (1988; this was his first film as a director) and the original Ashes of Time (1994). (It would take at least a paragraph or two to explain why there are two different versions of Ashes of Time, so we won't go into it here.) Everything that we've seen is worth a look-see. That said, his best films are great and his lesser films include great moments.

How we discovered Wong Kar-wai:

Shortly before the release of Chungking Express in North America, we read an article in Film Comment about Wong Kar-wai's films. (All we can recall from the article is that he seemed to scribble ideas for his screenplays in coffee shops.) A while later, we rented Chungking Express from a local video store. We thoroughly enjoyed the film's performances and its distinctive style. Later, we made trips to the university cinema (Cinecenta, in Victoria, BC) to see his next two films Fallen Angels (1995) and Happy Together (1997).

Why Wong Kar-wai's films are worth watching:

We know that we aren't going out on a limb by recommending Wong Kar-wai. He's one of the most acclaimed directors in the world. He's had several books written about him. In a Sight and Sound poll from 2002, UK critics were asked to list the top ten directors and films of the past 25 years. Wong Kar-wai ranked #3 as director (just behind Scorsese and Kieslowski) and the #8 film was Chungking Express. (In the Mood For Love missed the Top 10 by one vote.)

Truth be told, Kar-wai isn't one of our favourite directors. But there's something very alluring about his films. Even when we don't get what he's doing exactly, we sometimes feel compelled to re-watch his films to try to find out. (Much of our favourite art -- literature, music, cinema -- tends to take time to digest. We like books, albums, and films that have tough bits, bits of gristle that we can gnaw on.)

We love the look and tone of Wong Kar-wai's films. The best of them involve close collaboration with Christopher Doyle (one of our favourite contemporary cinematographers) and William Chang (on many Kar-wai films he has somehow managed to be editor, production designer, and costume designer), both of whom are instrumental in creating the unique style of the films. His films are refreshingly peculiar and there's an intangible brilliance to his best work.

For what it's worth, Wong Kar-wai also uses rain and music in film as well as anyone since Singin' in the Rain and The Umbrellas of Cherbourg.

Where to start:

Days of Being Wild (1990)

Chungking Express (1994)

In the Mood For Love (2000)

The films:

The first time we saw Days of Being Wild, we didn't fully appreciate it. Taking place in Hong Kong and the Philippines (circa 1960), the film focuses on a few volatile relationships. Leslie Cheung is convincing as the not-too-nice main character (his name is "Luddy" according to the DVD box and IMDb, but we think he's generally referred to as "York" in the subtitles), a rebel with a plausible cause (he's adopted and has a troubled relationship with his adopted mom). His chemistry with actress Maggie Cheung (playing York's girlfriend/ex-girlfriend) is amazing, as is Maggie Cheung's chemistry with Andy Lau (playing a cop/sailor). In one riveting scene, York's ex-girlfriend asks, "Did you ever really love me?" He replies, "I can't know how many more women I'll fall for in my life. I won't know which I love most until the end of my life." Meanwhile, this exchange is being overheard by his current girlfriend. Ouch. (A barely-related, indulgent digression: The tone of this scene reminds us of the ex-lovers song "Hearts of Stone," with its devastating line "But I can't talk now; I'm not alone." Here's a remixed version of the song by Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes w/ Bruce Springsteen, who wrote the song. We prefer the version on the SJ and the AJ album Hearts of Stone [1978], or even the Springsteen version on Tracks [1998]. Yes, we have been listening to a lot of Southside Johnny lately.)

Like some of Wong Kar-wai's other films, Days of Being Wild is indebted to French New Wave director Jean-Luc Godard, particularly the film's overly abrupt ending. Kar-wai also has a similar approach to writing screenplays to Godard's (that is, he relies heavily on improvisation).

Chungking Express is the most fine-tuned and consistently rewarding of WKW's early films (that is, his pre-2000 films). It has two dovetailing love-related storylines (its third storyline was made into a separate film, Fallen Angels [1995], which isn't one of our favourite of Kar-wai's movies). One story is about a lovelorn, tinned-pineapple-eating cop who meets a wig-wearing, gun-toting vixen, and the other story is about a cute, doe-eyed girl who works at a food stall and falls for a chef-salad-ordering cop. The film looks great (thanks, Chris Doyle and William Chang!), and the performances are dynamite, particularly those by Faye Wong (the doe-eyed girl) and Tony Leung (the chef salad cop).

Here's a clip of the chef salad cop and the doe-eyed girl meeting:

In the Mood For Love is different stylistically and tonally than Wong Kar-Wai's previous films. It has less handheld camera work and is more meticulously composed. It looks gorgeous and has the feel of a 98-minute-long novel. (We recall seeing an interview with Michael Ondaatje, who has made documentary films himself, in which he mentioned how In the Mood For Love reminded him of a great novel.)

The film is at once languorous, intense, rigorous, and sensuous. It is also one of very few films we can think of in which characters' clothing reveals aspects of their personalities. If you have have never seen a Wong Kar-wai film, start with In the Mood For Love. It is rich, romantic, and truly remarkable. The lead performances by Maggie Cheung (as Mrs. Chan) and Tony Leung (as Mr. Chow) are astonishingly good. Enough said.

Here is an illustrative clip from the film:

Other viewing/reading:

We would also recommend seeing 2046 (2004). It is an unusual, difficult-to-describe film that stars Tony Leung, a frequent Kar-wai collaborator and an all-around fantastic actor. We can't remember much of this movie, but we will certainly be seeing it again before long.

There are many books about Wong Kar-wai, though we have not read any of them. We understand that the best one might be Stephen Teo's Wong Kar-wai (one of at least two books with that title published in 2005). That's the one that we're planning to borrow from the library soon.