AJ’s Page no. 1: The Wong Kar-wai Effect
Wong Kar-wai is a Hongkong film director, screenwriter, and producer. He likes to narrate his films with not only his storylines, which make you sit still and ponder about the lives of the characters hours after you have watched the movie, but also with his marvelous choices of multicultural music, genius cinematography with unique camera work, vivid palates of colors and much more.
This is a very raw encounter between me and Kar-wai and the relationship that started developing in Chungking Express in January of 2021. Here is me, gushing about what it felt like to meet him through his movies and interviews and marveling at his work.
Watched a Wong Kar-wai interview today. And I really really LOVE the way this person thinks. For his movies, he would bring out a perspective that we couldn’t even imagine existed. The way he sees, observes, and apprehends the world around him, it’s remarkable! I don’t know how many people I know can think like that. He indeed is an artist in the truest sense.
In his movies, he tries to capture the landscape of Hongkong (best in Chungking Express). The neon sign boards and the amalgamation of the different cultures. The diversity in his characters and the background that they come from gives you an insight into what would life look like for people beyond just the surface. He would make you think about things like ‘does a hitman have insurance?’ (Fallen Angels), what is it like to keep a secret in an affair (in the mood of love), all that, and more in the most minimal ways.
The concepts that he brings to the table are really thought-provoking. I am yet to watch more from him but what I love the most is how subtle the changes are depicted in his movies and you have to pay close attention to the minute details. Perfect for someone like me who loves to take a deep dive into the movie while watching it.
The change of seasons is depicted by the kind of vegetables being used in the soup that is served (in the mood for love). The importance and presence of the character and focus of the story are shown by blurring out other characters at times (Chungking Express) or not showing the other characters at all throughout the movie (in the mood for love). Wong Kar-wai movies are an experience. You just don’t watch it, you feel it, you live it.
It would be unfair for anyone to talk about the work of Kar-wai and not mention his genius when it comes to the depiction of time. The way Kar-wai uses time in his movies is an expression of how we all are linked to each other and are walking together on the same line of time. The best example of it can be seen with the recurrence of ‘May 1st’ in the movie Chungking Express where the main character eats all the pineapples with an expiry date of 1st May on 30th April so the pineapples do not expire as his love did.
In his movies, he tries to recreate the scenery of Hongkong in the 1960s where he grew up. It was a time when Hongkong was still under the colonial rule of Britain. The culture itself was a mixture of the west and the east. There were a lot of Indians living there at the time too hence, were a part of the culture. Wong Kar-wai depicts all of this very beautifully in his movies. I always wish to express my experiences the way he does, so beautifully.
The style of his cinematography is very unique. Although he has made multiple different movies throughout the period, all of his movies have that “Wong Kar-wai” feel to them. You can look at a frame and tell in a heartbeat that it is a still from one of his movies.
I love this person’s brain. If there’s one person I get to choose to have dinner with or have a conversation with over a meal, it would definitely be him. I cannot begin to talk about his choices of music without thinking about how deep creativity must be running in this person’s mind and body.
He uses other people’s music but it becomes his. It is from all over the world. Chinese, English, Spanish, Indian sounds, etc. It makes me feel exactly what he wants me to feel. California dreamin’ is a song which is a landmark song for me that I will forever associate with Faye Wong’s character in the movie and her idea of the song being ‘Louder the better. Stops me from thinking.’
AJ’s Pages is a series of conscious writing. In this series, I write about anything and everything that makes me feel strong emotions. These are not literary masterpieces but very raw and vulnerable accounts of me being in the moment.
