Wong Kar-wai Essays

Many of Wong Kar-wai’s films read as a continual narrative, or a rewriting of the same story in a different setting or at a different level of maturity. This sameness is shown in a variety of ways such as his characters’ fetishistic obsession with everyday surroundings, their search for relationships—and his inevitable depiction of them as realistically imperfect, and a failure to connect or communicate with other characters which portrays the loneliness of the individual. Even though the same themes

Fae Myenne Ng was a first generation Chinese-American. Being in a family that immigrated to the United States after it was finally allowed, influenced her writing. Fae’s writing brought light to the Chinese-American culture and the struggles they must face in a country founded upon freedom. Primarily, Fae’s biographical background greatly influenced her writing; she moved to the United States at a very young age. The adjustment for this alternate environment considerably changed her views on life

The documentary Kelly Loves Tony (1993) directed by Spencer Nakasako explores the daily life and tribulations of a young Asian-American couple, Kelly Saeteurn and Tony Saelio who live in the urban city of Oakland, California. When I learned I would be viewing this movie, I grew high expectations because this was going to be my first time watching a film that depicts the actual lives of Asian-Americans through one of the most realistic mediums—video blogging or vlogging. Furthermore, I was optimistic

The film "Thirst Street" portrait an emotional journey of a flight attendant named Gina, who wrongly fall in love with a Frenchman, Jerome after a one night stand in Paris, then both their destiny changes in the face of another. The film is stunning with very compelling visual cinematography and two gifted actors, however the movie was somehow not satisfying because of its predictability. Because of the suicidal strategy of Gina's husband, this one-sided affection becomes an important motivation

Not Just another Love Story An Interpretation of Lovesong   Frantic Assembly is a British theatre company that specialises in the development of exciting postmodern and contemporary performances for new audiences (Frantic Assembly). A great example of a postmodern contemporary theatre piece is the performance Lovesong, which was created by the artistic directors of Frantic Assembly, Scott Graham and Steven Hoggett. The riveting performance explores the story of an old couple’s relationship from

Breathless, originally titled ‘À bout de souffle’, made in 1960 is a movie about a small-time thief who steals a car and murders a policeman. The story is about authorities chasing him while he reunites with an American journalist and attempts to persuade her to run away with him to Italy. Jean-Luc Godard, the director of the movie often quotes, ‘To make a film, all you need is a girl and a gun.’, which is probably the inspiration behind this movie. Breathless was one of the movies that kicked off

The year is 1920; Tyrus Wong, a young, innocent nine year-old lives in Guangdong, China with his family. With China’s corrupt government and deteriorating economy, Tyrus’s family struggles to find sufficient resources to support themselves. Because of this, Tyrus lacks adequate nutrition, education, and the ability to live a childhood full of imagination, fantasies, and fun. Meat is rarely ate and only eaten on occasion. His family’s shelter was very substandard; it consisted of a kitchen area, a

Time is a mystery. It never stops or looks back, always steadily moves forward. The only thing it left behind is trails of memory. Those memories pile up, building a bridge to connect the past and the present that we call history. It is not only just a junction; it is also a tool for anyone or anything to learn. For a country that is still in development, understanding and learning history are crucial for their ongoing development. Taiwan as an independent country has rich history, one that

Tan’s narrative style involves giving the symbols and allusions in all her novels. She emphasizes the symbols such as food, dreams, orchids, silence, ink, fate and paintings to carry the weightage of the themes in all her novels. In case of The Joy Luck Club, the symbols and allusions are interwoven with food, dreams and Chinese language. Through these devices, Tan explores the layers of palimpsest that is her text, her narrative of the immigrant experience in America, her exploration of the bond

Wong Lok Yi 14206900 Auteur Theory and Wong Kar-Wai’s Films Auteur theory emerged in France in the late 1940s from the theory suggested by two French film critics, who are André Bazin and Alexandre Astruc. After that, it was advocated by a film director called Francois Truffaut in 1954. 1 He suggests that a good director exert a unique style or promotes such a consonant film theme that his or her influence is unmistakable in the body of his or her work. In 1962, Andrew Sarris, an American film

cheating on them with each other, and their friendship is initially driven by their repetitive, even bordering on obsessive, re-enactment of what might have happened and what would happen next. The former seems to be one of the key themes of the film. Wong Kar Wai seems intent on exploring the human condition of regret and the tragedy of missed opportunities and moments, which also drives the rather unsatisfactory ending of the film.

4. Cop 663 and Faye meet (Chungking Express, 1994) Cop 663 enters the shop where Faye is working and asks for a chef salad. She prepares it while dancing to "California Dreaming" by The Mamas and the Papas. The event occurs at night and Wong Kar-wai presents it through the perspective of Faye, who watches Cop 663 approach. She dances to the song and appears somewhat disinterested. However, the narration has already informed the spectator that she will be in love with her customer, giving the scene

18. Embracing Change as a Universal Concept in Chungking Express Chungking Express is a romantic film of two different tales, pieced together in an abrupt, stop-and-go fashion, where the end of one denotes the start of the other. The two distinct stories have no relations, and thus establish two very different worlds and versions of romance. However, this deliberate choice of knitting two incongruous stories together forces viewers to juxtapose them, and seek connections between them. Ultimately

Although Wong Kar-wai experiments with numerous elements of film in Chungking Express, one of the most notable aspects of the movie relates to sound. Using both diegetic and non-diegetic sound cleverly throughout the film, Wong creates an atmosphere in which his audience is able to form a connection with his four central characters. He commences what could be considered the first act of the film with dramatic instrumentals, introducing Michael Galasso’s “Baroque” as it is juxtaposed with chase scenes

by how such a simple story can be so difficult to understand if you do not pay close attention to the details. In the Mood for Love, a Hong Kong romantic melodrama film directed by Wong Kar-Wai which brought actress Maggie Cheung and actor Tony Leung together for this film. Both had previously worked with Wong Kar-Wai films separately. The film received 40 nominations and 43 awards in various film festivals around the world. Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung for Best Actress and Actor, Christopher Doyle

On the contrary, this flask back scene in Swallowtail Butterfly is more like a pursuit of art film. The immediate change of distinct color lens is a technique 6th generation directors rarely, or never, use in their films. The color lens change from yellow to green to purple to black and white and to purple and to yellow, and the colors are not bright but faded to recall a style of reminiscence. The faded color tone here further stresses the fact that this random capture of sceneries is an implication

The realisation that I wanted to study film came whilst watching Michel Gondry’s ‘The Science Of Sleep”. At the age of eleven, everything about that film had me captivated. He presented a world in which horses could fly, limbs could inflate and romance was not lost. Struck by the sudden awareness that, with film, the confines of reality could be abandoned, my current pursuit was fuelled in developing a deeper understanding and respect for the artistic medium which is film. This reverence for film

6. A City of Sadness (Hou Hsiao Hsen, 1989) The script describes the life of Lin family, during the turbulent period from 1945, when the Japanese army withdrew from Taiwan after 51 years, to 1949 and the secession from China. The eldest brother Wen Heung returns from the war and opens a restaurant that names “Little Shanghai” to honor the reunification with China. The second brother, Wen Leung became insane during his tour of duty, and is being treated at the local hospital. Eventually he is released