Happy 62nd Birthday, Wong Kar-wai! Born today in 1958, this Hong Kong screenwriter, producer and film director's features are characterized by nonlinear narratives, atmospheric music, and vivid cinematography involving bold, saturated colors.
The main challenge for the uninitiated is that Wong is not driven by action or even plot but by his characters’ own thoughts; haunted by the past, they ruminate endlessly on love, memory and time.
Among his credits of the 1990s, Wong is best known for writing and directing the 1994 Hong Kong romance-comedy drama film 'Chung Hing sam lam' ('Chungking Express', lit. 'Chunking Forest').
Every day, Cop 223 He Zhiwu (Takeshi Kaneshiro) buys a can of pineapple with an expiration date of May 1, symbolizing the day he'll get over his lost love.
He's also got his eye on a mysterious woman in a blond wig (Brigitte Lin), oblivious of the fact she's a drug dealer.
Cop 663 (Tony Leung Chiu Wai) is distraught with heartbreak over a breakup over his flight attendant girlfriend (Valerie Chow).
But when his ex drops a spare set of his keys at a local cafe, pixie-cut waitress Faye (Faye Wong) lets herself into his apartment and spruces up his life.
"Chungking" in the title refers to Chungking Mansions in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong, where Wong grew up in the 1960s. "Express" refers to the food stand Midnight Express, located in Lan Kwai Fong, an area in Central Hong Kong.
Also among his credits of the 1990s, Wong is best known for writing, producing and directing the 1997 Hong Kong 'Chun gwong cha sit' ('Happy Together'. lit. 'Spring Light at First Glance').
The English title is inspired by American rock band The Turtle's titular 1967 song, which is covered by Hong Kong record producer, composer and actor Danny Chung on the film's soundtrack.
The Chinese title (previously used for Italian film director, screenwriter, editor, painter, and short story author Michelangelo Antonioni's 1966 British/Italian Metrocolor mystery/drama thriller film 'Blow-Up') is an idiomatic expression suggesting "the exposure of something intimate".
Lai Yiu-fei (Tony Leung Chiu Wai) and his boyfriend, Ho Po-wing (Leslie Cheung), arrive in Argentina from Hong Kong, seeking a better life. Eventually, their highly contentious relationship turns abusive and results in numerous break-ups and reconciliations.
When Lai befriends another man, Chang (Chen Chang), he sees the futility of continuing with the promiscuous Ho. Chang, however, is on his own personal journey and, ultimately, both Lai and Ho find themselves far from home and desperately lonely.
'Happy Together' is regarded as one of the best LGBT films in the New Queer Cinema movement and received positive reviews and screened at several film festivals.
It was nominated for the Palme d'Or and won Best Director at the 50th Cannes Film Festival in May 1997.
The film also received acknowledgement at the 22nd Toronto International Film Festival in September 1997.
Among his credits in the 2000s, Wong is best known for writing, producing and directing the 2000 Hong Kong drama/romance film 'Fa yeung nin wah' ('In the Mood for Love', lit. 'Flowery Years').
The film is set in exiled Shanghainese community in British Hong Kong in 1962.
It tells the story of a journalist, Chow Mo-wan (Tony Leung) and his next-door neighbor Su Li-zhen - Mrs. Chan (Maggie Cheung).
Later on, both of their spouses have affairs. Slowly, Chow and Su develop feelings for each other.
'In the Mood for Love' premiered at the 53rd Cannes Film Festival on May 20, where it was nominated for the Palme d'Or and Tony Leung was awarded Best Actor (the first Hong Kong actor to win this award at Cannes).
The feature is frequently listed as one of the greatest films of all time and one of the major works of Asian cinema.
In a 2016 survey by the BBC, 'In the Mood for Love' was voted the second-best film of the 21s century by one hundred and seventy-seven film critics from around the world.
'In the Mood for Love' forms the second part of an informal tetralogy, alongside Wong's 1990 Hong Kong drama/romance film 'Days of Being Wild', his 2004 Hong Kong romance/drama film '2046' and his upcoming film 'Blossoms'.
For those that fall under his hypnotic spell, his work is utterly enthralling, but for those unfamiliar with him, they could start off wondering if there’s enough happening to keep their attention.
Wong is often transfixed by the smallest details – smoke swirling towards the ceiling or a reflection shimmering in a puddle – and he prefers his drama to be understated.
He is also noted for his atmospheric films about memory, longing, and the passage of time.
His multi-narrative, non-linear storylines delight in jumping around restlessly. All of this requires patience but for those who have it, they’ll be richly rewarded.
Throughout the years, Wong has become more and more experimental, finding his feet once he started a fruitful collaboration with Australian-Hong Kong cinematographer Christopher Doyle (also known as Dù Kěfēng or Dou Ho-Fung).
Hong Kong actor and singer Tony Leung is also known for his collaborations with Wong, with whom he has worked in seven films.
Together they consolidated Wong’s famous style turning his films into stunning, neon-drenched reveries using a step-printing process, which allowed them to slow certain sequences down, to dazzling effect.
As a director, Wong feels his way to the very heart of his stories, relying on instinct rather than scripts, and in doing so captivates the soul. He has a reputation as the master of melancholy romance but he knows how to make you laugh as well.
A pivotal figure of Hong Kong Cinema, Wong has had a considerable influence on filmmaking with his trademark personal, unconventional approach. His films frequently appear on best-of lists domestically and internationally.
Wong is wary of sharing his favorite directors, but has stated that he watched a range of films growing up – from Hong Kong genre films to European art films. They were never labelled as such, and so he approached them equally and was broadly influenced.
The energy of the Hong Kong films had a "tremendous" impact according to Brunette, while some of the international names associated with Wong include Alfred Hitchcock, Martin Scorsese, Michelangelo Antonioni and Bernardo Bertolucci.
Some of Wong's favorite contemporary filmmakers include Scorsese, Christopher Nolan, and Quentin Tarantino.
Wong is often compared with the French New wave filmmaker, being French-Swiss film director, screenwriter and film critic Jean-Luc Godard.
Aside from Tarantino, Wong's influence have also impacted other contemporary directors. These include Sofia Coppola, Barry Jenkins, Tom Tykwer, Tsui Hark, Zhang Yuan and Lee Myung-se.
On May 24, 2018, Wong was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Arts degree by Harvard University.
However, Wong's most direct influence was Hong Kong film director Patrick Tam Car Ming, of whom was an important mentor and likely inspired his use of color.
According to Wong's personal life, Wong and his wife, Esther, have one child – a son named Qing
Wong is known for always appearing in sunglasses, of which James Motram of The Independent says adds "to the alluring sense of mystery that swirls around the man and his movies."
Wong's films frequently appeared on best-of lists domestically and internationally.
On the Hong Kong Film Awards Association's 2005 List of The Best 100 Chinese Motion Pictures, all except one of his films up to that time made the list.
Few other directors can convey the pain and suffering of love quite as seductively as Wong. His films are breathtaking symphonies composed of those unspoken emotions and hidden desires that we conceal deep inside of ourselves.
They are stories of doomed romances that unravel languidly featuring loners, dreamers and the heartbroken.
Wong has been active from 1982–present.
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