Wong Kar Wai

Film is an artistic medium unlike any other. It is a multisensory experience with a potential that is rarely used to its fullest. However, there are filmmakers that understand this and as a result have deviated from the typical styles of film production. One of the most innovative directors working to day is Chinese director Wong Kar Wai. By examining two of his film, “In the Mood for Love” and “Ashes of Time”, it is easy to understand why he is such a revered filmmaker. The two films are opposites in genre, “In the Mood for Love” is a romance set in 1960s era Hong Kong while “Ashes of Time” is a period picture martial arts film, yet both are connected by his themes, alternative editing styles, and abstract shot compositions.

Wong Kar Wai’s films are not films concerned with excess, but are instead focused upon subtle thematic details. “In the Mood for Love” is a film centered upon the growing relationship between neighbors. Both characters are trapped within unhappy marriages, and come to the conclusion that their perspective partners are having an affair. Out of their common pain and solitude blooms an intimate relationship and ultimately the two fall in love with one another. The film observes their interactions, allowing the audience to witness their parallel lives in detail. In the same manner, “Ashes of Time” deals with the loneliness and isolation of being a heroic swordsman. The central character, Feng, lives alone by himself in the desert, separated from all others. People come to him with their problems and Feng hires out other swordsmen to solve them. All of the swordsmen that Feng meets in the film have a commonality in their lifestyle and all of them have become alienated from everyone they cared for. One of the warriors he encounters even drinks a wine, which supposedly has the ability to erase memory, to wipe clear the pain from his past. Regardless of the genre, Wai’s films tend to deal with the lovelorn and the isolated.

Wai uses the camera in a very specific manner. The shots become more important than the dialogue revealing undertones that could not be put into words. In “Mood for Love” the camera becomes a means to isolate the two central characters. The blocking of the shots never reveals the face of the cheating husband or wife, but instead always focus on the main character. The narrow and tight hallways and rooms of Hong Kong apartments become visual representations of the isolation of the main characters, while at the same time connecting them within the audience’s mind. Again, in “Ashes of Time” Wong Kar Wai goes opposite of the normal, filming the dialogues scenes in tight close ups, generally fixed upon one subject throughout the scene. He even took an alternative, impressionistic route, to shooting his action sequences for the film. Wai has been quoted by Interview magazine saying, “For me, shooting an action scene is no different from shooting a love scene. What really matters is what happens before the penetration and not after." By setting different camera speeds the action becomes blurred and rapid in motion.

To match his films creative camera work, Wai has a very specific editing style, focused on ambiance and texture. “In the Mood for Love” is filled with slow motion sequences that put the audience in the same position as the principle characters. Repeatedly Mo-Won watches Li-Zheng, the woman next door wearing her brightly colored dresses, while walking down the street steps to the noodle market, a place he frequents. It is here that they both come by themselves but always end up running into each other, and it raises the question of whether they are there out of loneliness or desire for each other. The “Ashes of Time” Redux opens with a duel between two swordsmen. The action is rapid and blurred, giving the impression that these men have unnatural abilities that cannot be tracked by the human eye. The shots of the warriors are dispersed by intercuts of the ocean, sky, and sun, moving chaotically. These simple cutaways infer that this battle is one of colossal proportions, like a force of nature. All of this information is inferred in a matter of seconds, without any dialogue to explain it.

Wong Kar Wai is an original artist, who refuses to follow the pitfalls of traditional storytelling. He uses the medium the way it was meant to be, using every element as another means to transport the audience into the world he has imagined. No matter the genre, Wai continues to make atmospheric films that deal with the emotions, desires, and regrets of his characters. The script, cinematography, and editing in his body of work make him a director that others should follow.