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Director's Chair: |
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American
filmmakers think the most romantic movies have to involve the
lovers hooking up at the end. Hong Kong maestro Wong Kar-wai
understands that often the most moving and sensual romances
are those in which the boy meets the girl, but doesn’t
even get her. Sometimes mistaken for another of those action wizards from the East (such as John Woo, Ringo Lam, and Tsui Hark) simply because Woo fanatic Quentin Tarantino released his Chungking Express in 1996, Wong Kar-wai couldn’t be further away from those guys. Even when his films have action, such as the swordplay epic Ashes of Time, it’s arty, slo-mo, and nearly incoherent. Wong is far more concerned with human emotion, most specifically love, and how difficult it is to sustain true romantic happiness in a hostile world of morals, betrayals, and the indifference of society. Wong’s best and most accomplished film is his most recent: 2001’s In the Mood For Love, recently released on Criterion DVD -- an absolute must. This intense masterpiece follows two cuckolded neighbors whose spouses are sleeping with each other. Tony Leung (Hard Boiled) and Maggie Cheung (Irma Vep) are brilliant as the would-be lovers who, instead of lowering themselves to the carnal desires of their spouses, become platonic friends yearning for a better life and acting out the dialogue they imagine their better halves are saying. It’s a luxurious tease, beautiful and sad. Ashes of Time is far more inaccessible (both artistically and physically, since the DVD is ugly and the videotapes are scarce), but equally interesting. In a veritable who’s-who of Chinese movie stars, the period piece grows in value on repeated viewings and represents Wong’s most challenging film. Chungking Express is the most popular and the most entertaining, and is probably the only film in history to contain a sequence where a man eats 30 cans of pineapple in one day, each with the same expiration date -- the anniversary of his break-up with a girlfriend. While Fallen Angels and Happy Together also have their merits, the only one to avoid is his debut As Tears Go By. As for the rest, grab your emo socks and a bottle of wine, and indulge in Wong’s loving, sad, cinematic elegance. |
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