“Wong Kar-wai”的意思、由来-开放百科全书

Wong Kar-wai, BBS (born 17 July 1958) is a Hong Kong filmmaker. Internationally renowned as an auteur of the Hong Kong Second Wave, his visually unique and highly stylized work includes As Tears Go By (1988), Days of Being Wild (1990), Ashes of Time (1994), Chungking Express (1994), Fallen Angels (1995), Happy Together (1997), 2046 (2004), and The Grandmaster (2013). His film In the Mood for Love (2000), starring Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung, notably garnered widespread critical acclaim.

Wong's films frequently feature protagonists who yearn for romance in the midst of a knowingly brief life. His scenes can often be described as sketchy, digressive, exhilarating, and containing vivid imagery.^[1]

Biography

Early life and career beginnings (1958–1989)

Wong Kar-wai was born on 17 July 1958 in Shanghai, the youngest of three siblings.^[2]{{sfn|Bettinson 2014|p=2}} His father was a sailor and his mother was a housewife.{{sfn|Teo 2005|p=10}} By the time Wong was five years old, the seeds of the Cultural Revolution were beginning to take effect in China and his parents decided to relocate to British-ruled Hong Kong.{{sfn|Bettinson 2014|p=2}} The two older children were meant to join them later, but the borders closed before they had a chance and Wong did not see his brother or sister again for ten years.^[3]^[4] In Hong Kong, the family settled in Tsim Sha Tsui, and his father got work managing a night club.{{sfn|Bettinson 2014|p=2}} Being an only child in a new city, Wong has said he felt isolated during his childhood; he struggled to learn Cantonese and English, only becoming fluent in these new languages when he was a teenager.{{sfnm|1a1=Bettinson 2014|1p=2|2a1=Teo 2005|2p=13}}

As a youth, Wong was frequently taken to the cinema by his mother and exposed to a variety of films.{{sfn|Bettinson 2014|p=2}} He later said: "The only hobby I had as a child was watching movies".^[4] At school he was interested in graphic design, and earned a diploma in the subject from Hong Kong Polytechnic in 1980. After graduating, Wong was accepted onto a training course with the TVB television network, where he learned the processes of media production.{{sfnm|1a1=Bettinson 2014|1p=2|2a1=Teo 2005|2p=13}}

He soon began a screenwriting career, firstly with TV series and soap operas, such as Don't Look Now (1981), before progressing to film scripts.{{sfn|Brunette 2005|p=xvi}} He worked as part of a team, contributing to a variety of genres including romance, comedy, thriller, and crime.{{sfn|Teo 2005|p=13}} Wong had little enthusiasm for these early projects, described by film scholar Gary Bettinson as "occasionally diverting and mostly disposable", but continued to write throughout the 1980s on films including Just for Fun (1983), Rosa (1986), and The Haunted Cop Shop of Horrors (1987).{{sfn|Bettinson 2014|p=2}} He is credited with ten screenplays between 1982 and 1987, but claims to have worked on about fifty more without official credit.{{sfn|Stokes & Hoover 1999|p=26}} Wong spent two years co-writing the screenplay for Patrick Tam's action film Final Victory (1987),{{sfn|Bettinson 2014|p=3}} for which he was nominated at the 7th Hong Kong Film Awards.^[5]

As Tears Go By

By 1987 the Hong Kong film industry was at a peak, enjoying a considerable level of prosperity and productivity.^[4] New directors were needed to maintain this success, and – through his links in the industry – Wong was invited to become a partner on a new independent company, In-Gear, and given the opportunity to direct his own picture. Gangster films were popular at the time, in the wake of John Woo's highly-successful A Better Tomorrow (1986), and Wong decided to follow suit.^[4]{{sfn|Bettinson 2014|p=3}} Specifically, unlike Hong Kong's other crime films, he chose to focus on young gangsters.{{sfn|Brunette 2005|p=3}} The film, named As Tears Go By, tells the story of a conflicted youth who has to watch over his hot-headed friend.{{refn|The plot has been compared to Martin Scorsese's Mean Streets (1971). Wong later admitted that he borrowed Robert De Niro's character from Scorsese's film, but claimed that he was mainly inspired by the experiences he had as a young man when he was friends with a low-level gangster.{{sfn|Brunette 2005|p=3}}|group=note}}

Because he was well acquainted with the producer, Alan Tang, Wong was given considerable freedom in the making of As Tears Go By.{{sfn|Brunette 2005|p=3}} His cast included what he considered some of "the hottest young idols in Hong Kong": singer Andy Lau, Maggie Cheung, and Jacky Cheung.^[4] As Tears Go By was released in June 1988 and was popular with audiences. It was also a critical success, as several journalists named Wong among the "Hong Kong New Wave".{{sfn|Bettinson 2014|p=3}} While it was a conventional crime film,{{sfn|Teo 2005|p=15}} critic David Bordwell said that Wong "[stood] out from his peers by abandoning the kinetics of comedies and action movies in favour of more liquid atmospherics."{{sfn|Brunette 2005|pp=5–6}} As Tears Go By received no attention from Western critics upon its initial release,{{sfn|Brunette 2005|p=3}} but was selected to be screened during Directors' Fortnight of the 1989 Cannes Film Festival.{{sfn|Brunette 2005|p=xvi}}

Developing style (1990–1994)

Days of Being Wild

For his follow-up film, Wong decided to move away from the crime trend in Hong Kong cinema, to which he felt indifferent. He was eager to make something more unusual, and the success of As Tears Go By made this possible.{{sfn|Bettinson 2014|p=3}} Developing a more personal project than his previous film,{{sfn|Brunette 2005|p=xvii}} Wong picked the 1960s as a setting – evoking an era that he remembered well and had a "special feeling" for.{{sfn|Teo 2005|p=34}} Days of Being Wild focuses on a disillusioned young adult named Yuddy and those around him. There is no straightforward plot or obvious genre,{{sfnm|1a1=Teo 2005|1p=44|2a1=Brunette 2005|2p=18}} but Stephen Teo sees it as a film about the "longing for love".{{sfn|Teo 2005|p=34}} Andy Lau, Maggie Cheung, and Jacky Cheung rejoined Wong for his second film, while Leslie Cheung was cast in the central role.{{sfn|Brunette 2005|p=16}} Hired as cinematographer was Christopher Doyle, who became one of Wong's most important collaborators, photographing his next six films.{{sfn|Teo 2005|p=44}}

With its popular stars, Days of Being Wild was expected to be a mainstream picture; instead it was a character piece, more concerned with mood and atmosphere than narrative.^[4]{{sfn|Teo 2005|p=35}} Released in December 1990, the film earned little at the box office and divided critics.{{sfn|Bettinson 2014|p=3}} Despite this, it won five Hong Kong Film Awards, and received some attention internationally.{{sfnm|1a1=Brunette 2005|1p=30|2a1=Bettinson 2014|2p=4}} With its experimental narrative, expressive camerawork, and themes of lost time and love, Days of Being Wild is described by Brunette as the first typical "Wong Kar-wai film".{{sfn|Brunette 2005|pp=17–19, 24}} It has since gained a reputation as one of Hong Kong's finest releases.{{sfn|Brunette 2005|p=30}} Its initial failure was disheartening for the director, and he could not gain funding for his next project – a planned sequel.^[4]{{sfn|Teo 2005|p=31}}

Ashes of Time

Struggling to get support for his work, in 1992 Wong formed his own production company, Jet Tone Films, with Jeff Lau.{{sfn|Bettinson 2014|pp=4–5}} In need of further backing, Wong accepted a studio's offer that he make a wuxia (ancient martial arts) film based on the popular novel The Legend of the Condor Heroes by Jin Yong.^[4]{{sfn|Teo 2005|p=65}} Wong was enthusiastic about the idea, claiming he had long wanted to make a costume drama.^[4] He eventually took little from the book other than three characters,{{sfn|Teo 2005|p=69}} and in 1992 began experimenting with several different narrative structures to weave what he called "a very complex tapestry".{{sfn|Brunette 2005|p=32}} Filming began with another all-star cast: Leslie, Maggie, and Jacky Cheung returned alongside Brigitte Lin, Carina Lau, Charlie Young, and Tony Leung Chiu-wai − the latter of which became one of Wong's key collaborators.{{sfn|Dissanayake 2003|p=1}}

Set during the Song dynasty, Ashes of Time concerns a desert-exiled assassin who is called upon by several different characters while nursing a broken heart.{{sfn|Brunette 2005|pp=33–34}} It was a difficult production and the project was not completed for two years, at a cost of HK$47 million.{{sfnm|1a1=Brunette 2005|1p=40|2a1=Dissanayake 2003|2p=1}} Upon release in September 1994,{{sfn|Teo 2005|p=65}} audiences were confused by the film's vague plotting and atypical take on wuxia.{{sfnm|1a1=Brunette 2005|1p=31|2a1=Dissanayake 2003|2p=1}} Film scholar Martha P. Nochimson has called it "the most unusual martial arts film ever made", as fast-paced action scenes are replaced with character ruminations and story becomes secondary to the use of colour, landscape, and imagery.{{sfn|Nochimson 2010|p=341}} As such Ashes of Time was a commercial failure,{{sfn|Dissanayake 2003|p=1}} but critics were generally appreciative of Wong's "refusal to be loyal to [the wuxia] genre".{{sfn|Brunette 2005|p=32}} The film won several local awards, and competed at the Venice Film Festival where Christopher Doyle won Best Cinematography.{{sfn|Brunette 2005|p=xvii}}^[6] In 2008, Wong reworked the film and re-released it as Ashes of Time Redux.{{refn|In an interview, Wong explained the reasoning and difficulties behind the restoration: "The laboratory where we stored all our negatives went bankrupt overnight following the Asian economic crisis in 1997. So on short notice we had to retrieve all the materials ... we noticed that some of the original negatives and sound tapes had deteriorated into pieces. We decided to rescue the film ... We spent the first few years searching for missing materials ... [Eventually] we realized that a 100-percent restoration of the original version was out of the question, so we trimmed out the parts that were beyond repair and replaced them with other options. From there we embarked on another five-year journey from restoration to redux".^[7]|group=note}}

Breakthrough (1994–1995)

Chungking Express

During the long production of Ashes of Time, Wong faced a two-month break as he waited for equipment to re-record sound for some scenes.{{sfn|Brunette 2005|p=46}} He was in a negative state, feeling heavy pressure from his backers and worrying about another failure,{{sfn|Teo 2005|p=48}} and so decided to start a new project: "I thought I should do something to make myself feel comfortable about making films again. So I made Chungking Express, which I made like a student film."^[4] Conceived and completed within only six weeks, the new project ended up being released two months before Ashes of Time.^[3]{{sfn|Teo 2005|p=49}}

Chungking Express is split into two distinct parts – both set in contemporary Hong Kong and focusing on lonely policemen (Takeshi Kaneshiro and Tony Leung Chiu-wai) who each fall for a woman (Brigitte Lin and Faye Wong).{{sfn|Nochimson 2010|p=337}} Wong was keen to experiment with "two crisscrossing stories in one movie"{{sfn|Teo 2005|p=49}} and worked spontaneously, filming at night what he had written that day.^[4] Peter Brunette notes that Chungking is considerably more fun and lighthearted than the director's previous efforts, but deals with the same themes.{{sfn|Brunette 2005|p=46}} At the 1995 Hong Kong Film Awards it was named Best Picture, and Wong received Best Director.^[8] Miramax acquired the film for American distribution, which according to Brunette "catapulted Wong to international attention".{{sfn|Brunette 2005|p=xvii}} Stephen Schneider includes it in his book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die with the summary: "While other films by Wong may pack more emotional resonance, Chungking Express gets off on sheer innocence, exuberance, and cinematic freedom, a striking triumph of style over substance".{{sfn|Schneider 2009|p=835}}

Fallen Angels

"Chungking Express and Fallen Angels together are the bright and dark of Hong Kong."|source = —Journalist Han Ong conversing with Wong^[4]

Wong continued to work without break, expanding his ideas from Chungking Express into another film about alienated young adults in contemporary Hong Kong. Chungking had originally been conceived as three stories, but when time ran out Wong developed the third as a new project instead: Fallen Angels.{{sfn|Brunette 2005|p=58}} Although it contained new characters, Wong conceived both films as complementary studies of Hong Kong; he later said, "to me Chungking Express and Fallen Angels are one film that should be three hours long."^[4]

Fallen Angels is broadly considered a crime thriller, and contains scenes of extreme violence, but is atypical of the genre and heavily infused with Wong's fragmented, experimental style.{{sfnm|1a1=Brunette 2005|1p=61|2a1=Nochimson 2010|2p=342|3a1=Biancorosso 2010|3p=230}} The loose plot again involves two distinct, subtly overlapping narratives, and is dominated by frantic visuals.{{sfnm|1a1=Brunette 2005|1pp=58, 61|2a1=Nochimson 2010|2p=342}} The film mostly occurs at night and explores the dark side of Hong Kong, which Wong planned intentionally to balance the sweetness of Chungking: "It's fair to show both sides of a coin".^[4] Takeshi Kaneshiro and Charlie Young were cast again, but new to Wong's films were Leon Lai, Michelle Reis and Karen Mok. Upon release in September 1995, several critics felt that the film was too similar to Chungking Express and some complained that Wong had become self-indulgent.{{sfnm|1a1=Teo 2005|1p=83|2a1=Brunette 2005|2pp=57, 60, 70}} Film historians Zhang Yingjin and Xiao Zhiwei commented: "While not as groundbreaking as its predecessors, the film is still different and innovative enough to confirm [Wong's] presence on the international scene"{{sfn|Zhang & Xiao 1999|p=368}} Since its release, Fallen Angels has been considered to be one of Wong's greatest and most influential works, along with Chungking Express and In the Mood For Love.

Widespread recognition (1996–2000)

Happy Together

While his reputation grew steadily throughout the early 1990s, Wong's international standing was "thoroughly consolidated" with the 1997 romantic drama Happy Together (1997).{{sfn|Stringer 2002|p=400}} Its development was influenced by the Handover of Hong Kong from Britain to China, which occurred that year. Wong was widely expected to address the event in his next film; instead, he avoided the pressure by choosing to shoot in Argentina.{{sfnm|1a1=Stokes & Hoover 1999|1pp=269–270|2a1=Brunette 2005|2p=76}} The issues of the Handover were nevertheless important: knowing that homosexuals in Hong Kong faced uncertainty after 1997, Wong decided to focus on a relationship between two men.{{sfn|Teo 2005|p=99}}{{refn|Lisa Stokes and Michael Hoover believe Happy Together is even more strongly linked to the Handover, as they argue that the relationship of the main characters represents that of China and Hong Kong.{{sfn|Stokes & Hoover 1999|pp=268, 278}} Jeffrey Tambling agrees this is a viable interpretation.{{sfn|Tambling 2003|p=13}} Wong has denied this, but admits that the title is a reference to his hope that "we could all be happy together after 1997".{{sfn|Teo 2005|p=100}}|group=note}} He was keen to present the relationship as ordinary and universal, as he felt Hong Kong's previous LGBT films had not.^[9]

In the Mood For Love

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."{{sfn|Brunette 2005|pp=xvii, 70}} 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{{sfn|Teo 2005|p=128}} set in 1960s Hong Kong that is seen as an unofficial sequel to Days of Being Wild.{{sfn|Teo 2005|p=115}}{{refn|In the Mood For Love is set two years after Days of Being Wild, and in both films Maggie Cheung's character is named Su Li-zhen.{{sfn|Teo 2005|p=117}}|group=note}} Wong decided to return to the era that fascinated him, and reflected his own background by focusing on Shanghainese émigrés.{{sfn|Brunette 2005|p=86}}^[10]

Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung Chiu-wai play the lead characters, who move into an apartment building on the same day in 1962 and discover that their spouses are having an affair; over the next four years they develop a strong attraction. Teo writes that the film is a study of "typical Chinese reserve and repressed desire",{{sfn|Teo 2005|p=118–119}} while Schneider describes how the "strange relationship" is choreographed with "the grace and rhythm of a waltz" and depicted in "a dreamlike haze by an eavesdropping camera".{{sfn|Schneider 2009|p=893}}

The shoot lasted 15 months, with both Cheung and Leung reportedly driven to breaking point.{{sfn|Brunette 2005|p=87}} Wong shot more than 30 times the footage he eventually used, and only finished editing it the morning before its Cannes premiere.{{sfn|Brunette 2005|pp=xvii, 93}} At the festival, In the Mood For Love received the Technical Grand Prize and Best Actor for Leung.^[11] It was named Best Foreign Film by the National Society of Film Critics and nominated in the same category by BAFTA.^[12] Wong said after its release: "In the Mood For Love is the most difficult film in my career so far, and one of the most important. I am very proud of it."{{sfn|Brunette 2005|p=101}} In subsequent years it has been included on lists of the greatest films of all time.^[13]^[14]

International work (2001–2007)

2046

While In The Mood For Love took two years to complete, its sequel – 2046 – took double that time.^[31] The film was actually conceived first,{{sfn|Teo 2005|p=114}} when Wong picked the title as a reference to the final year of China's "One country, two systems" promise to Hong Kong.{{refn|The Chinese government stated in 1997 that for 50 years Hong Kong was guaranteed to stay the same and keep its capitalist economy. Wong said: "2046 is the last year of this promise and I thought it would be interesting to use these numbers to make a film about promises."^[15]|group=note}} Although his plans changed and a new film developed, he simultaneously shot material for 2046, with the first footage dating back to December 1999. Wong immediately continued with the project once In The Mood For Love was complete, reportedly becoming obsessed with it.{{sfn|Teo 2005|p=114}} In Bettinson's account, it "became a behemoth, impossible to finish".{{sfn|Bettinson 2014|p=1}}

Eros and My Blueberry Nights

Before starting on his next feature, Wong worked on the anthology film Eros (2004), providing one of three short films (the others directed by Michelangelo Antonioni and Steven Soderbergh) that centre on the theme of lust. Wong's segment, titled "The Hand", starred Gong Li as a 1960s call girl and Chang Chen as her potential client. Although Eros was not well received, Wong's segment was often called the most successful.^[19]

Following the difficult production of 2046, Wong wanted his next feature to be a simple, invigorating experience.{{sfn|Nochimson 2010|p=349}} He decided to make an English-language film in America,^[20] later justifying this by explaining: "It’s a new landscape. It’s a new background, so it’s refreshing."^[21] After hearing a radio interview with the singer Norah Jones he immediately decided to contact her, and she signed on as the lead.{{refn|Jones had never acted before, but Wong had a history of casting singers in his films and said it felt "very natural".^[22] He also liked "the idea of this being her first movie and my first movie in English, which made us equals."^[20] Wong insisted that she not take acting lessons.^[23]|group=note}} Wong's understanding of America was based only on short visits and what he had seen in films, but he was keen to depict the country accurately.{{sfn|Nochimson 2010|p=349}}^[22] As such, he co-wrote the film (one of the rare times a screenplay was pre-prepared) with author Lawrence Block.^[20] Titled My Blueberry Nights, it focused on a young New Yorker who leaves for a road trip when she learns that her boyfriend has been unfaithful. Cast as the figures she meets were Jude Law, Natalie Portman, Rachel Weisz and David Strathairn.^[20]

Filming on My Blueberry Nights took place over seven weeks in 2006, on location in Manhattan, Memphis, Tennessee, Ely, Nevada, and Las Vegas.^[20] Wong produced it in the same manner as he would in Hong Kong,{{sfn|Biancorosso 2010|p=349}} and the themes and visual style – despite Christopher Doyle being replaced by cinematographer Darius Khondji – remained the same.{{sfnm|1a1=Nochimson 2010|1p=349|2a1=Khoo & Metzger 2009|2p=23}} Premiering in May 2007, My Blueberry Nights was Wong's fourth consecutive film to compete for the Palme d'Or at Cannes.^[24] Although he considered it a "special experience",^[20] critics were not enamoured by the results.^[4] With common complaints that the material was thin and the product uneven, My Blueberry Nights emerged as Wong's first critical failure.^[25]^[26]

Commercial success (2008–present)

The Grandmaster

Wong's next film was not released for five years, as he underwent another long and difficult production on The Grandmaster (2013) – a biopic of the martial arts teacher Ip Man. The idea had occurred to him in 1999 but he did not commit to it until the completion of My Blueberry Nights.^[3] Ip Man is a legendary figure in Hong Kong,{{sfn|Bettinson 2014|p=127}} known for training actor Bruce Lee in the art of Wing Chun, but Wong decided to focus on an earlier period of his life (1936–1956) that covered the turmoil of the Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II.^[3]^[27]{{refn|Wong began the project when there had not been any other Ip Man biopics, but in the time it took him to make The Grandmaster three others were released first: Ip Man (2008), Ip Man 2 (2010), and Ip Man (2010).^[3]|group=note}} He set out to make "a commercial and colourful film".^[28] After considerable research and preparation, filming began in 2009.^[28] Tony Leung Chui-wai rejoined Wong for their seventh film together, having spent 18 months being trained in Wing Chun, while Zhang Ziyi played Gong Er.^[3]^[29] The "gruelling" production lasted intermittently for three years, twice interrupted by Leung fracturing his arm, and is Wong's most expensive to date.^[3]

Upcoming

In September 2017 Amazon Video issued a straight-to-series order for Tong Wars, a television drama to be directed by Wong. It focuses on the gang wars that occurred in nineteenth-century San Francisco.^[36] Regarding his next film, the Asian media has reported that it will be titled Blossoms and based on a book by Jin Yucheng, which focuses on numerous characters in Shanghai from the 1960s to the 2000s.^[37] When asked about his career in 2014, Wong told The Independent, "To be honest with you, I feel I’m only halfway done."^[3]

Personal life

Wong and his wife, Esther, have one child – a son named Qing.^[38] The director is known for always appearing in sunglasses, which James Motram of The Independent says adds "to the alluring sense of mystery that swirls around the man and his movies."^[3]^[38]

Filmmaking

Influences

Wong is wary of sharing his favourite directors,^[4] 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.{{sfn|Brunette 2005|p=3}} The energy of the Hong Kong films had a "tremendous" impact according to Brunette,{{sfn|Brunette 2005|p=xiii}} while some of the international names associated with Wong include Martin Scorsese, Michelangelo Antonioni, Alfred Hitchcock, and Bernardo Bertolucci.{{sfn|Biancorosso 2010|p=229}} Some of his favorite contemporary filmmakers include Scorsese, Christopher Nolan, and Quentin Tarantino.^[39] He is often compared with French New Wave director Jean-Luc Godard.{{sfnm|1a1=Brunette 2005|1p=xvi|2a1=Teo 2005|2p=88}} Wong's most direct influence was his colleague Patrick Tam, who was an important mentor and likely inspired his use of colour.^[38]{{sfnm|1a1=Teo 2005|1p=13|2a1=Brunette 2005|2p=6}}

Outside of cinema, Wong has been heavily influenced by literature. He has a particular affinity for Latin American writers, and the fragmentary nature of his films came primarily from the "scrapbook structures" of novels by Manuel Puig and Julio Cortázar, which he attempted to emulate.^[38]{{sfn|Teo 2005|p=115}} Haruki Murakami, particularly his novel Norwegian Wood, also provided inspiration, as did the writing of Liu Yichang.{{sfnm|1a1=Teo 2005|1p=41, 51|2a1=Biancorosso 2010|2p=229}} The television channel MTV was a further influence on Wong. He said in 1998, "in the late eighties, when it was first shown in Hong Kong, we were all really impressed with the energy and the fragmented structure. It seemed like we should go in this direction."^[4]

Method and collaborators

Wong has an unusual approach to filmmaking, starting production without a script and generally relying on instinct and improvisation rather than pre-prepared ideas.^[4]{{sfnm|1a1Bettinson 2014|1p=1|2a1=Teo 2005|2p=160}} He has said he dislikes writing and finds filming from a finished script "boring".{{sfn|Brunette 2005|p=xvii}} As such, he writes as he shoots, "drawing inspiration from the music, the setting, working conditions, and actors".{{sfn|Stokes & Hoover 1999|p=270}} In advance, the cast are given a minimal plot outline and expected to develop their characters as they film.^[20] To capture naturalness and spontaneity he does not allow for rehearsal,^[29] and forbids his actors from using "techniques",^[40] but improvisation and collaboration are encouraged.{{sfn|Stokes & Hoover 1999|p=270}} Wong similarly does not use storyboards or plan camera placement, preferring to experiment as he goes.{{sfn|Teo 2005|p=44}} His shooting ratio is therefore very high, sometimes forty takes per scene, and production typically goes well over schedule and over budget.{{sfn|Bettinson 2014|p=1}} Tony Leung has commented that this approach is "taxing on the actors", but Stokes & Hoover speculate that people endure it because "[the] results are always unexpected, invigorating, and interesting."{{sfn|Stokes & Hoover 1999|p=270}}

Though Wong admits to being controlling,^[29] and oversees every aspect the filmmaking process,{{sfn|Teo 2005|p=159}} he has formed several long-lasting partnerships and close collaborators. In 2013 he said, "It is always good to work with a very regular group of people because we know how high we can fly and what are the parameters, and it becomes very enjoyable."^[29] Two men have been instrumental in developing and achieving his aesthetic: production designer William Chang and cinematographer Christopher Doyle.^[38]{{sfn|Bettinson 2014|p=4}} Chang has worked on every Wong film and is a trusted confidant, responsible for all set design and costuming.{{sfn|Dissanayake 2003|p=1}}^[23] Doyle photographed seven of his projects, all from Days of Being Wild to 2046. Stephen Schneider writes that he deserves "much credit" in Wong's success, as his "masterful use of light and colour renders every frame a work of art".{{sfn|Schneider 2009|p=865}} Wong's other regular colleagues include writer-producer Jeffrey Lau, producer Jacky Pang, and assistant director Johnnie Kong.{{sfn|Teo 2005|p=48}}

Wong often casts the same actors. He is strongly associated with Tony Leung Chiu-wai, who has appeared in every film apart from As Tears Go By and The Grandmaster.{{sfn|Daniel 2014|p=22–23}} Wong describes him as a partner, stating, "I feel like there is a lot of things between me and Tony that is beyond words. We don’t need meetings, talks, whatever, because a lot of things are understood."^[22] Other actors who have appeared in at least three of his films are Maggie Cheung, Chang Chen, Leslie Cheung, Jacky Cheung, and Carina Lau.

Style

Wong is known for producing art films focussed on mood and atmosphere, rather than following convention.{{sfnm|1a1=Stokes & Hoover 1999|1p=x|2a1=Khoo & Metzger 2009|2p=16|3a1=Brunette 2005|3p=xvi}} His general style is described by Stephen Teo as "a cornucopia overflowing with multiple stories, strands of expression, meanings and identities: a kaleidoscope of colours and identities".{{sfn|Teo 2005|p=160}} Structurally, Wong's films are typically fragmented and disjointed,{{sfnm|1a1=Nochimson 2010|1p=340|2a1=Teo 2005|2p=78|3a1=Dissanayake 2003|3p=42|4a1=Cui 2007|4p=9}} with little concern for linear narrative,{{sfn|Brunette 2005|p=xv}} and often with interconnected stories.{{sfnm|1a1=Brunette 2005|1p=29|2a1=Teo 2005|2p=115}} Critics have commented on the lack of plot in his films,{{sfn|Brunette 2005|p=72}} such as Ty Burr who says "The director doesn't build linear story lines so much as concentric rings of narrative and poetic meaning that continually revolve around each other".^[17] Similarly, Peter Brunette says that Wong "often privileges audio/visual expressivity over narrative structure".{{sfn|Brunette 2005|p=54}} Wong has commented on this, saying "in my logic there is a storyline."^[4]

The visual style of Wong's films is key to his work, often described as beautiful and unique.^[38]^[29] The colours are bold and saturated, the camerawork swooning, resulting in what Brunette calls his "signature visual pyrotechnics".^[4]{{sfnm|1a1=Brunette 2005|1p=xiii|2a1=Khoo & Metzger 2009|2p=23}} One of his trademarks is the use of step-printing,^[4] which alters film rates to "[liquefy] hard blocks of primary colour into iridescent streaks of light."{{sfn|Bettinson 2014|p=3}} Other features of the Wong aesthetic include slow motion,{{sfnm|1a1=Nochimson 2010|1p=349|2a1=Khoo & Metzger 2009|2p=23}} off-centre framing,{{sfnm|1a1=Teo 2005|1p=125|2a1=Brunette 2005|2p=62}} the obscuring of faces,{{sfnm|1a1=Nochimson 2010|1p=349|2a1=Bettinson 2014|2p=70}} rack focus,{{sfn|Khoo & Metzger 2009|p=23}} filming in the dark or rain,{{sfn|Brunette 2005|p=26}} and elliptical editing.{{sfn|Teo 2005|p=125}} Stephen Schneider writes of Wong's fondness for "playing with film stock, exposure, and speed the way others might fiddle with a script."{{sfn|Schneider 2009|p=835}}

Another trademark of Wong's cinema is his use of music and pop songs.{{sfn|Brunette 2005|p=26}} He places great importance on this element,{{sfn|Bettinson 2014|p=27}} and Biancorosso describes it as the "essence" of his films; a key part of the "narrative machinery" that can guide the rhythm of the editing.{{sfn|Biancorosso 2010|pp=230, 241}} He selects international songs, rarely cantopop, and uses them to enhance the sense of history or place.{{sfnm|1a1=Stringer 2002|1p=397–398|2a1=Brunette 2005|2p=27}} According to Julian Stringer, music has "proved crucial to the emotional and cognitive appeal" of Wong's films.{{sfn|Stringer 2002|p=398}}

The dependence on music, heavily visual and disjointed style of Wong's films has been compared to music videos,{{sfnm|1a1=Bettinson 2014|1p=29|2a1=Kemp 2011|2p=499}} and detractors claim that they are "all surface and no depth".{{sfn|Brunette 2005|p=xvi}} Curtis K Tsui argues that style is the substance in Wong's film, while Brunette believes that his "form remains resolutely in the service of character, theme, and emotion rather than indulged in for its own sake".{{sfn|Brunette 2005|p=xv (for quote from Tsui), 87}}

Recognition and impact

Wong is an important figure in contemporary cinema, regarded as one of the best filmmakers of his generation.{{sfnm|1a1=Bettinson 2014|1p=1|2a1=Martin 2014|2p=22}}^[41] His reputation as a maverick began early in his career: in the 1996 Encyclopedia of Chinese Film, Wong was described as having "already established a secure reputation as one of the most daring avant-garde filmmakers" of Chinese cinema.{{sfn|Zhang & Xiao 1999|p=367}} Authors Zhang and Xiao concluded that he "occupies a special place in contemporary film history", and had already "exerted a sizeable impact".{{sfn|Zhang & Xiao 1999|p=367–368}} With the subsequent release of Happy Together and In the Mood For Love, Wong's international standing grew further,{{sfnm|1a1=Stringer 2002|1p=400|2a1=Brunette 2005|2p=xvii}} and in 2002 voters for the British Film Institute named him the third greatest director of the previous quarter-century.^[42] In 2015, Variety named him an icon of arthouse cinema.^[43]

East Asian scholar Daniel Martin describes Wong's output as "among the most internationally accessible and critically acclaimed Hong Kong films of all time".{{sfn|Martin 2014|p=23}} Because of this status abroad, Wong is seen as a pivotal figure in his local industry; Julian Stringer says he is "central to the contemporary Chinese cinema renaissance",{{sfn|Stringer 2002|p=395}} Gary Bettinson describes him as "a beacon of Hong Kong cinema" who "has kept that industry in the public spotlight",{{sfn|Bettinson 2014|p=1}} and Film4 designate him the filmmaker from China with the greatest impact.^[38] Together with Zhang Yimou, Wong is seen by historian Philip Kemp as representing the "internationalisation" of East Asian cinema.{{sfn|Kemp 2011|p=499}} Domestically, his films are generally not financial successes but he has been consistently well-awarded by local bodies.{{sfn|Brunette 2005|p=xvii}} From early on he was regarded as Hong Kong's "enfant terrible", one of their most iconoclastic filmmakers.{{sfnm|1a1=Teo 2005|1p=82|2a1=Schneider 2009|2p=835}} Despite this he has been recognised in both cult and mainstream circles, producing art films that receive commercial exposure.{{sfnm|1a1=Stringer 2002|1p=395|2a1=Cui 2007|2p=6}} He is known for confounding audiences, as he adopts established genres and subverts them with experimental techniques.{{sfn|Stringer 2002|pp=399–400}}

Both Stringer and Nochimson claim that Wong has one of the most distinctive filmmaking styles in the industry.{{sfnm|1a1=Stringer 2002|1p=397|2a1=Nochimson 2010|2p=349}} From his first film As Tears Go By he made an impact with his "liquid" aesthetic, which Ungerböck claims was completely new and quickly copied in Asian film and television.{{sfn|Brunette 2005|p=6}} His second film, Days of Being Wild, is described by Brunette as "a landmark in Hong Kong cinema" for its unconventional approach.{{sfn|Bettinson 2014|p=1}} Nochimson writes that Wong's films are entirely personal, making him an auteur, and states, "Wong has developed his own cinematic vocabulary, with an array of shot patterns connected with him".{{sfn|Nochimson 2010|p=349}} Stringer argues that Wong's success demonstrates the importance of being "different".{{sfn|Stringer 2002|p=397}}

In the 2012 Sight & Sound poll – whereby industry professionals submit ballots to determine the greatest films of all time – In the Mood For Love was ranked 24th, the highest ranked film since 1980 and the sixth greatest film by a living director.^[44] Chungking Express and Days of Being Wild both ranked in the top 250; Happy Together and 2046 in the top 500; and Ashes of Time and As Tears Go By also featured (all but two of Wong's films to that point) .^[45] Directors influenced by Wong include Quentin Tarantino, Sofia Coppola, Lee Myung-se, Tom Tykwer, Zhang Yuan, Tsui Hark,{{sfn|Teo 2005|p=163}} and Barry Jenkins.^[46]

On 24 May 2018, he was awarded the Doctor of Arts degree by Harvard University.^[47]

Filmography and awards

Wong's oeuvre consists of ten directed features, 16 films where is he credited only as screenwriter, and seven films from other directors that he has produced. He has also directed commercials, short films, and music videos, and contributed to two anthology films. He has received awards and nominations from organisations in Asia, Europe, North America, and South America. In 2006, Wong accepted the National Order of the Legion of Honour: Knight (Lowest Degree) from the French Government. In 2013, he was bestowed with the Order of Arts and Letters: Commander (Highest Degree) by the French Minister of Culture.^[48] The International Film Festival of India gave Wong a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2014.^[49]

References

Notes

1. ^{{cite book|last=Bordwell|first=Kristin Thompson, David|title=Film History: An Introduction|year=2010|publisher=McGraw-Hill Higher Education|location=New York, NY|isbn=978-0-07-338613-3|page=651|edition=3rd}}
2. ^{{cite news|title=Wong Kar-wai – Biography|url=https://www.nytimes.com/movies/person/194627/Wong-Kar-Wai/biography|accessdate=24 January 2015|work=The New York Times}}
3. ^¹²³⁴⁵⁶⁷⁸{{cite news|last1=Mottram|first1=James|title=Wong Kar-Wai interview: the revered film director on returning to his first love - kung fu|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/wong-karwai-interview-the-revered-film-director-on-returning-to-his-first-love--kung-fu-9905855.html|date=6 December 2014|accessdate=27 January 2015|work=The Independent}}
4. ^¹²³⁴⁵⁶⁷⁸⁹¹⁰¹¹¹²¹³¹⁴¹⁵¹⁶¹⁷¹⁸¹⁹²⁰{{cite journal|last1=Ong|first1=Han|title=Interview with Wong Kar-wai|journal=Bomb Magazine|date=Winter 1998|volume=62|url=http://bombmagazine.org/article/2113/wong-kar-wai|accessdate=25 January 2015}}
5. ^{{cite web|title=Zui hou sheng li – Awards|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094387/awards?ref_=tt_awd|publisher=Internet Movie Database|accessdate=24 January 2015}}
6. ^{{cite web|title=Ashes of Time – Awards|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0109688/awards?ref_=tt_awd|publisher=Internet Movie Database|accessdate=2 September 2015}}
7. ^{{cite web|title=Christopher Doyle and Wong Kar-wai|url=http://www.interviewmagazine.com/film/christopher-doyle-and-wong-kar-wai/#_|website=Interview|date=25 November 2008}}
8. ^{{cite web|title=Chungking Express – Awards|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0109424/awards?ref_=tt_awd|publisher=Internet Movie Database|accessdate=3 September 2015}}
9. ^{{cite web|last1=Khoi |first1=Lebinh; Eng, David |title=Wong Kar-wai Exclusive Interview |url=http://www.asiastudios.com/interviews/members/wongkarwai.html |publisher=Asia Studios |accessdate=9 September 2015 |date=1997 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20071229154411/http://www.asiastudios.com/interviews/members/wongkarwai.html |archivedate=29 December 2007 }}
10. ^{{cite web|last1=Kaufman|first1=Anthony|title=Interview: The "Mood" of Wong Kar-wai; the Asian Master Does it Again|url=http://www.indiewire.com/article/interview_the_mood_of_wong_kar-wai_the_asian_master_does_it_again|website=Indiewire|accessdate=24 September 2015|date=2 February 2001}}
11. ^{{cite web|title=In The Mood For Love|url=http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/archives/ficheFilm/id/0224a1df-f33f-49e7-b0fa-e796f097a401/year/2000.html|publisher=Festival de Cannes|accessdate=24 September 2015}}
12. ^{{cite web|title=In the Mood For Love|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118694/awards?ref_=tt_awd|publisher=Internet Moview Database|accessdate=24 September 2015}}
13. ^{{cite web | title=The Top 50 Greatest Films of All Time | date=1 August 2012 | author=Christie, Ian | publisher=British Film Institute| url=http://www.bfi.org.uk/news/50-greatest-films-all-time | work=Sight & Sound| accessdate=24 September 2015}}
14. ^{{cite web|last1=Frater|first1=Patrick|title=Busan Festival Proposes Ranking of Best-Ever Asian Films|url=https://variety.com/2015/film/asia/busan-festival-proposes-ranking-of-best-ever-asian-films-1201568400/|website=Variety|accessdate=24 September 2015|date=12 August 2015}}
15. ^¹²{{cite news|last1=Salisbury|first1=Mark|title=2046|url=http://www.londonnet.co.uk/ln/out/ent/cinema_wongkarwai.html|accessdate=28 October 2015|publisher=London Net}}
16. ^{{cite web|title=2046|url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/2046/|publisher=Rotten Tomatoes|accessdate=28 October 2015}}
17. ^¹²{{cite news|last1=Burr|first1=Ty|title=Wong's '2046' is a mind-altering cocktail, perfectly blended|url=http://www.boston.com/ae/movies/articles/2005/08/19/wongs_2046_is_a_mind_altering_cocktail_perfectly_blended/|newspaper=The Boston Globe|date=19 August 2005|accessdate=28 October 2015}}
18. ^{{cite web|author=Erikson, Steve|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-134733364.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160222060453/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-134733364.html|dead-url=yes|archive-date=22 February 2016|title=Love and desire: with 2046, Wong Kar-wai completes his masterpiece|work=Los Angeles Magazine| via=HighBeam Research {{subscription}}|date=1 August 2005|accessdate=28 October 2015}}
19. ^{{cite web|title=Eros (2004)|url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/eros_2005/|publisher=Rotten Tomatoes|accessdate=29 October 2015}}
20. ^¹²³⁴⁵⁶{{cite web|author=Kung, Michelle|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-16251508.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160506004409/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-16251508.html|dead-url=yes|archive-date=6 May 2016|title=Road movie sends director down new path ; Wong Kar Wai makes his first English-language film|work=The Boston Globe| via=HighBeam Research {{subscription}}|date=13 April 2008|accessdate=28 October 2015}}
21. ^{{cite news|last1=Guerrasio|first1=Jason|title=Cannes ’07: Wong Kar-wai on My Blueberry Nights|url=http://filmmakermagazine.com/4859-cannes-07-wong-kar-wai-on-my-blueberry-nights-by-howard-feinstein/#.VjINhWsYx_k|accessdate=6 November 2015|work=Filmmaker|date=15 May 2007}}
22. ^¹²{{cite web|title=Wong Kar-wai exclusive My Blueberry Nights interview|url=http://www.thedivareview.com/My_Blueberry_Nights_Wong_Kar-Wai_Interview.html|website=The Diva Review|accessdate=6 November 2015|date=1 April 2008}}
23. ^¹{{cite web|last1=Toy|first1=Sam|title=Norah Jones on My Blueberry Nights: The RT Interview|url=http://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/article/norah-jones-on-my-blueberry-nights-the-rt-interview/|publisher=Rotten Tomatoes|accessdate=6 November 2015|date=21 February 2008}}
24. ^{{cite web|title=Wong Kar-wai|url=http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/archives/artist/id/317346.html|publisher=Festival de Cannes|accessdate=6 November 2015}}
25. ^{{cite web|title=My Blueberry Nights (2007)|url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/my_blueberry_nights/|publisher=Rotten Tomatoes|accessdate=6 November 2015}}
26. ^{{cite web|title=Kar-wai Wong|url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/karwai_wong?sort_column=rating#moviesFilmography|publisher=Rotten Tomatoes|accessdate=6 November 2015}}
27. ^¹{{cite web|last1=Taylor|first1=Drew|title=Interview: Wong Kar-Wai Talks Kung Fu, The Different 'The Grandmaster' Cuts & His Favorite Directors|url=http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/the-grandmaster-director-wong-kar-wai-talks-kung-fu-the-different-cuts-and-who-his-favorite-directors-are-20130821|publisher=IndieWire|accessdate=28 November 2015|date=14 December 2013}}
28. ^¹²³{{cite web|last1=Patten|first1=Dominic|title=Wong Kar Wai On China's Growth, Kung Fu, Oscar Contenders & Bruce Lee|url=http://deadline.com/2013/12/wong-kar-wai-interview-grandmaster-oscars-kung-fu-652212/|publisher=Deadline|accessdate=28 November 2015|date=22 August 2013}}
29. ^¹²³⁴{{cite web|last1=Feinberg|first1=Scott|title=Wong Kar-wai, Master of Hong Kong Cinema, on His Journey to 'The Grandmaster'|url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/race/wong-kar-wai-master-hong-609026|publisher=The Hollywood Reporter|accessdate=28 November 2015|date=24 August 2013}}
30. ^{{cite web|last1=Apello|first1=Tim|title=Wong Kar Wai Says His 108-Minute 'The Grandmaster' Is Not 'A Watered-Down Version'|url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/wong-kar-wai-says-his-668633|publisher=The Hollywood Reporter|accessdate=28 November 2015|date=6 January 2014}}
31. ^{{cite news|last1=Mulligan|first1=Jake|title=Interview: Wong Kar-wai|url=http://www.slantmagazine.com/features/article/interview-wong-kar-wai|accessdate=28 November 2015|work=Slant Magazine|date=15 August 2013}}
32. ^{{cite web|last1=Chu|first1=Karen|title=Hong Kong Film Awards: 'The Grandmaster' Nabs 12 Wins|url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/hong-kong-film-awards-grandmaster-695707|publisher=The Hollywood Reporter|accessdate=28 November 2015|date=13 April 2014}}
33. ^{{cite web|title=86th Academy Awards 2014|url=https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2014|publisher=Academy Awards|accessdate=29 November 2015}}
34. ^{{cite web|title=The Grandmaster (2013)|url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_grandmaster/|publisher=Rotten Tomatoes|accessdate=28 November 2015}}
35. ^{{cite web |url= http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=grandmasters.htm|title= The Grandmaster|accessdate=28 November 2015|work=Box Office Mojo}}
36. ^{{cite web|title=Amazon Orders Fred Armisen-Maya Rudolph Comedy, Wong Kar-wai Drama, 3 Other Projects (EXCLUSIVE)|url=https://variety.com/2017/tv/news/amazon-armisen-rudolph-wong-1202552683/|website=Variety|date=8 September 2017}}
37. ^{{cite web|last1=Davis|first1=Edward|title=Wong Kar Wai Announces Next Project, Jim Jarmusch & ‘Zombieland’ Writers Land New Gigs|url=http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/wong-kar-wai-announces-next-project-jim-jarmusch-zombieland-writers-land-new-gigs-20150217|publisher=IndieWire|accessdate=28 November 2015|date=17 February 2015}}
38. ^¹²³⁴⁵⁶⁷⁸⁹{{cite web|title=Wong Kar-Wai|url=http://www.film4.com/special-features/5-min-guides/wong-kar-wai|publisher=Film4|accessdate=27 January 2015}}
39. ^{{cite news|url=http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/the-grandmaster-director-wong-kar-wai-talks-kung-fu-the-different-cuts-and-who-his-favorite-directors-are-20130821?page=2#blogPostHeaderPanel|title=Interview: Wong Kar-Wai Talks Kung Fu, The Different 'The Grandmaster' Cuts & His Favorite Directors|date=22 August 2013|publisher=The Playlist|accessdate=16 March 2016}}
40. ^{{cite web|last1=Walters|first1=Mark|title=Tony Leung talks about 2046|url=http://www.bigfanboy.com/pages/interviews/tonyleung/2046.html|website=Big Fan Boy|accessdate=24 February 2016}}
41. ^{{cite news|last1=Dargis|first1=Manohla|title=Style and Kinetics Triumph in a Turbulent China|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/23/movies/the-grandmaster-wong-kar-wais-new-film.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0|accessdate=29 November 2015|work=The New York Times|date=22 August 2013}}
42. ^{{cite web|url=http://old.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/feature/63 |title=Modern Times|publisher=British Film Institute|accessdate=29 November 2015}}
43. ^{{cite news|last1=Frater|first1=Patrick|title=Wong Kar-wai to Produce First Movie for Alibaba Pictures|url=https://variety.com/2015/film/asia/wong-kar-wai-to-produce-first-movie-for-alibaba-pictures-1201400009/|accessdate=29 November 2015|work=Variety|date=11 January 2015}}
44. ^{{cite web|title=Critics’ Top 250 Films|url=http://explore.bfi.org.uk/sightandsoundpolls/2012/critics|publisher=Sight & Sound|accessdate=29 November 2015}}
45. ^{{cite web|title=The Greatest Films Poll: All Films|work=Sight & Sound|url=http://explore.bfi.org.uk/sightandsoundpolls/2012/film|publisher=British Film Institute|accessdate=29 November 2015}}
46. ^{{cite web|title=Under The Influence|work=Criterion|url=https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/4328-under-the-influence-barry-jenkins-on-wong-kar-wai|accessdate=2 March 2017}}
47. ^https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2018/05/harvard-awards-seven-honorary-degrees/
48. ^{{cite web|title=Wong Kar-wai Awarded France’s Biggest Cultural Honor|url=https://blogs.wsj.com/scene/2013/05/06/wong-kar-wai-awarded-frances-biggest-cultural-honor/|publisher=Wall Street Journal|accessdate=11 May 2013}}
49. ^{{cite news|last1=Ramachandran|first1=Naman|title=Wong Kar-wai To Get Lifetime Accolade At Goa Festival|url=https://variety.com/2014/film/asia/wong-kar-wai-to-get-lifetime-accolade-at-goa-festival-1201354381/|accessdate=29 November 2015|work=Variety|date=12 November 2014}}

Biography

Early life and career beginnings (1958–1989)

As Tears Go By

Developing style (1990–1994)

Days of Being Wild

Ashes of Time

Breakthrough (1994–1995)

Chungking Express

Fallen Angels

Widespread recognition (1996–2000)

Happy Together

In the Mood For Love

International work (2001–2007)

2046

Eros and My Blueberry Nights