One of cinema’s most revered modern auteurs, Hong Kong director Wong Kar-wai is noted for his rich and sensuous visual style, non-linear narratives, and atmospheric music. Perhaps even more idiosyncratic are the powerful performances he elicits from his actors, most notably the tacit, simmering-but-never-quite-bubbling love affair between Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung in the 2000 masterpiece In the Mood for Love.
Wong found fame with 1994’s Chungking Express, one of his finest works, before firmly establishing himself as an internationally acclaimed director with Happy Together (1997), a portrait of a turbulent romance between two young Chinese men, far from home in Argentina, which earned him a nomination for the Palme D’Or at Cannes.
But, as with all great directors, not all Wong’s films are critically lauded. Here are a couple of overlooked or less acclaimed entries in his filmography.
My Blueberry Nights
A slightly baffling foray into Hollywood, My Blueberry Nights is Wong’s first English language film from 2007, a drifter/road movie starring Norah Jones and Jude Law. Critics noted that it suffered from an unfamiliarity with the subject matter and locale. But as one critic noted “The nice thing about Wong is that, like a good gambler, he knows when to bet the farm and when to hold back”, and fittingly, the best sequence in the film is a pivotal casino scene.
Often, gambling scenes in films do prove effective — the inherent tension that comes with them has provided much entertainment both in the movies and beyond. In the digital era, of course, much of the suspense synonymous with casinos can be found online. Classic table games like poker and blackjack have been adapted to enable players to participate from home, but so too have live iterations of games like online live bingo, which essentially strive to emulate the brick-and-mortar experience.
Despite technological advancements and changes in the way that people gamble, it’s clear that the casino setting remains popular, both in blockbuster and independent productions. The casino scene in My Blueberry Nights may be one of only a few saving graces, but the film is still a watchable addition to his oeuvre.
As Tears Go By
Wong’s directorial debut from 1988 takes clear inspiration from the early films of his hero Martin Scorcese, especially Mean Streets. Essentially a hard-boiled crime drama with some action sequences, it could easily have sunk into the ocean of other Hong Kong movies of the same ilk. However, it showed promising directorial flourishes, and was bolstered by an up-and-coming cast who would provide the bedrock for Wong’s later, more acclaimed films.
Andy Lau stars as Wah, a low-level triad enforcer trying to keep his friend Fly (Jacky Cheung) out of trouble. Maggie Cheung appears as visiting cousin/love interest Ngor, and the plot thickens and thins towards a fairly predictable but tragic finale. As Tears Go By was screened at Cannes in 1989, but received very little attention. However, it was retrospectively reviewed as “a new vision not yet in perfect focus” by the New York Times.
Ashes of Time
Wuxia, or martial arts films set in Ancient China, is a popular genre in Hong Kong cinema, and Ashes of Time (1994) was Wong’s take on the style. Despite being a kung-fu film, Ashes of Time is light on fight scenes and heavy on existential journeys, longing, loneliness, and the psychology of villainy. It crams an infuriatingly elliptical plot into just 100 minutes, and although it was nominated for the Golden Lion at Venice that year, critics were divided and baffled.
Wong’s Chungking Express was released the same year, and promptly overshadowed the film entirely, silencing whatever critical debate had begun. But in the 3 decades since, a director’s redux cut has been released, and the movie remains an intriguing piece of cinema.
Wong Kar-wai is rightly regarded as one of cinema’s greatest directors, and although these three movies may not rank alongside In The Mood For Love or 2046, they’re interesting additions to the canon. Definitely worth checking out for any dedicated film buff.
