A homage to the works of Wong Kar Wai

Hey folks, this is my very first post on this blog and I decided to write about something that I am quite passionate about- the films of Wong Kar Wai. This desire to write on the subject was brought up by a rather well-written article I found in the New York Times today. One of the great things about this article is that it cites the photographer, William Gedney as one of Wong's influences. This is the photographer that has been described by John Cage as portraying subjects who "seem to be doing happy things sadly, or maybe they're doing sad things happily." This says a lot about the aesthetic of Wong's films and the characters that he portrays. His films tend to leave a bittersweet aftertaste. Wong's films have been so influential that the Scottish band Texas even produced a music video that blatantly draws influences from his film, Chung King Express.




Wong's films work for me on many levels and stylistically he has been a strong influence on how I think visually. One of the strongest elements in his films is the sense of time and how it affects his characters. This is most explicitly done in his latest work 2046. The premise of the film is set by the title, which is actually the date when China's promise to allow Hong Kong autonomous rule ends. The film also sees Tony Leung reprise the role of Chow Mo-Wan from 2000's In the Mood for Love.

Adrain Tomine 


For those of you not famliar with Wong's work, you should definitely start with Chung King Express and its follow up Fallen Angels. I have been hankering to watch Happy Together but have not been able to do so, courtesy of the Board of Film Censors in Singapore.

/jude/