Book Review: WKW - The Cinema of Wong Kar Wai

The long-awaited retrospective from the internationally renowned film director celebrated for his visually lush and atmospheric films. Wong Kar Wai is known for his romantic and stylish films that explore—in saturated, cinematic scenes—themes of love, longing, and the burden of memory. His style reveals a fascination with mood and texture, and a sense of place figures prominently. In this volume, the first on his entire body of work, Wong Kar Wai and writer John Powers explore Wong’s complete oeuvre in the locations of some of his most famous scenes.

Through six conversations we follow WKW through the jungle of his movies and get to know everything from how he creates the atmosphere of the most intense scenes, to how he struggled when some of his films were poorly received. Between chapters where past films and childhood memories are discussed the pages are covered with gorgeous photos from all his movies and a ton of behind-the-scenes photos. To me, WKW has always seemed like a more mysterious director or at least more secretive than other directors which you hear news from all the time, so the book definitely filled a void of things I wondered about ever since I first began watching his movies. A hearty recommendation to any fan of his films, and whether you're reading about juicy actor backstories from In the Mood for Love (2000) or how he were a bit regretful regarding the lead roles in Fallen Angels (1995), you're bound to be fascinated by one of the greatest minds in the history of cinema.

Shadow (China, 2018)

In a kingdom ruled by a young and unpredictable king, the military commander has a secret weapon: a "shadow", a look-alike who can fool both his enemies and the King himself. Now he must use this weapon in an intricate plan that will lead his people to victory in a war that the King does not want.

Zhang Yimou, director of visual spectacles such as House of Flying Daggers (2004) and Hero (2002), is back with another film that unleashes itself upon its viewer rather than getting watched. Zhang uses his usual style of amazing looking battles in slow-motion, rain drops which gets cut in half and sword strikes with terrifying precision. This is a film where brutal martial arts are being treated as beautiful poetry, and every punch flows as smooth as a stream through a bamboo thicket. The color palette rarely moves out of the gray, black and white so that the feeling of watching an old Chinese ink painting only gets stronger. Hand in hand with these jaw-dropping fight scenes we're treated to a bombastic Shakespeare-like historical drama, both intimate and epic in scope with political intrigue, and affection between fighters. A true return to form for Zhang.   

Genre: Action/Drama/War

Police Story 3: Supercop (Hong Kong, 1992)

A Hong Kong police officer, Ka Kui is sent undercover to mainland China to break up a drug smuggling ring. After breaking the brother of the drug lord out of prison, he and another agent (a beautiful communist policewoman) are taken to Hong Kong to work for the syndicate. The wife of the crime boss has been arrested in Malaysia for drug trafficking and is soon to be executed. However, she is the only person who knows the account number of a secret Swiss bank account containing millions in drug money. While the two officers are in Malaysia preparing for the jail break, Ka Kui accidentally runs into his girlfriend May, who has traveled there from Hong Kong.

It's easy to forget that Jackie Chan has had a career doing tons of crazy films back in Hong Kong, before he went all in with the crappy American comedies. I've written about the first Police Story film before, and the third entry in the series is just as insane. The stunts are unbelievable, with Jackie hanging from helicopters, fights on moving trains and just constantly gets himself in extreme situations. It's quite funny too, and there's a great chemistry between Jackie and his co-actress Michelle Yeoh (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon). An exciting shut-your-brain-off-and-enjoy-the ride kind of film, but if action is what you're looking for you can't go wrong at all with this one.

Genre: Action/Comedy/Crime

The Untold Story (Hong Kong, 1993)

In 1978 in Hong Kong, a grisly murder takes place. Eight years later, on a Macao beach, kids discover the severed hands of a fresh victim. A squadron of coarse, happy-go-lucky cops investigate, and suspicion falls on Wong Chi Hang, the new owner of Eight Immortals Restaurant, which serves delicious pork bao. The hands belong to the missing mother of the restaurant's former owner; he and his family have disappeared; staff at the restaurant continue to go missing; and, Wong can't produce a signed bill of sale: but there's no evidence. The police arrest Wong and try to torture him into a confession. Can they make him talk? And what was in those pork buns?

Oh my God. It's been a long time since I saw something this gruesome. It's based on real events too so that makes it even more insane. The Untold Story (a.k.a. The Eight Immortals Restaurant) is an insanely twisted story of a murderer who's trying to outsmart the local cops, all while he's slaughtering people in his restaurant and makes pork buns of them. I couldn't believe that scene with the whole family who're captured by Wong. No wonder the film was awarded a Category III (Persons aged 18 and Above Only) rating i Hong Kong, the equivalent of the United States' X-ratings. 

Even though we got all this disgusting killing going on, the writer still manages to fit in some humor. The group of policemen who're trying to nail Wong always banter with each other and jokes around, and it's a stark contrast to laugh at them just a second before a five minute rape/torture-scene takes place. Crazy movie. 

Genre: Comedy/Crime/Drama

The Assassin (Taiwan/Hong Kong, 2015)

The film is set during the mighty Tang Dynasty-period in Chinese history. Nie Yinniang returns to family after several years in exile. The mission of her order is to eliminate the tyranny of the Governors who avoid the authority of the Emperor. Now she will have to choose between sacrificing the man she loves, or break definitively with the "order of the Assassins".

One of 2015's best looking films is here, and it's directed by Hou Hsiao-Hsien (Café Lumière, Millennium Mambo). It's actually his first feature film in about eight years so he obviously had a lot of time to plan this project. Let me tell you that it shows. The Assassin contains so many breathtakingly beautiful scenes that it's almost ridiculous, with characters standing on top of mountains while clouds are literally swallowing them, or when the camera slowly pans to show a sword fight going on in the distance. That's also one thing to note: the fact that Hou never gets all action-camera on you, he basically always uses his more slower movements and calm camera work. Kind of like Yasujiro Ozu (Tokyo Story), who also were a master of rarely moving the camera.

The Assassin should be watched at the right time due to its slow tempo. It's never in a rush or tries to get to the violence faster. We get long monologues and long takes of people traversing forests and mountains. So have patience with it and dive into one of the most visually astounding films in recent times.

Genre: Action/Drama

Shaolin Soccer (Hong Kong, 2011)

After a fateful mistake costing his career, an ex-soccer player bum meets a shaolin kung fu student trying to spread the word of kung fu. The ex-soccer player helps reconcile with his five brothers, and teaches them soccer, adding shaolin kung fu as a twist.

If there's one thing that could get me interested in soccer, it's apparently the addition of martial arts. Shaolin Soccer is directed by Stephen Chow, the man behind Kung Fu Hustle (2004), and just like that one he also plays the main lead. Here, we basically get an answer to the question; what would you get if you mix Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon with soccer? The result is an hilarious comedy with goofy characters with some serious skills in shaolin kung fu. Just like Kung Fu Hustle it has a lot of slapstick action with bodies flying around and people kicking the ball so hard it acts as a fiery rocket across the field. Good fun.

Genre: Action/Comedy/Sport

A Chinese Ghost Story (Hong Kong, 1987)

Ning Tsai-Shen, a humble tax collector, arrives in a small town to carry out his work. Unsurprisingly, no-one is willing to give him shelter for the night, so he ends up spending the night in the haunted Lan Ro temple. There, he meets Taoist Swordsman Yen Che-Hsia, who warns him to stay out of trouble, and the beautiful Nieh Hsiao-Tsing, with whom he falls in love. Unfortunately, Hsiao-Tsing is a ghost, bound for all eternity by a hideous tree spirit.

Welcome to Lan Ro temple, don't mind the ghosts and demons, we have comfortable beds!

Or something. A Chinese Ghost Story is a haunted mansion comedy with Hong Kong action and some almost Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon like fights. Maybe that's not so weird due to the fact that the director also made Hero (2002), a huge favorite of mine. All in all, a fun and action heavy ghost flick with some cool monsters done with practical effects. Good stuff.

Genre: Action/Comedy/Fantasy

A Better Tomorrow (Hong Kong, 1986)

This story is the tale of two brothers: one a successful counterfeiter and the younger a fledgling graduate of the HK police academy. The plot revolves around the split when the younger brother learns the other is a criminal and the efforts of the criminal brother to reform.

John Woo is one of the masters of old Hong Kong action. His resumé includes gems like Hard Boiled (1992) and The Killer (1989), and A Better Tomorrow is an instant adrenaline shot for action fans. Chow Yun-fat, who's now almost known as an action hero, was given one of the main parts due to the fact that he didn't look like one at all. Thank God for that because he's excellent, and the style of his character Mark (trench coat, match in mouth and sunglasses) was copied all over Hong Kong after the films premiere. 

Some seriously well-shot shootouts are sprinkled all over this tale of brother versus brother, and I urge you to see it if you haven't already. A sequel was made the following year, and it also delivered some brutal shootouts and has one of the highest body counts ever.

Genre: Action/Crime/Drama

Aberdeen (Hong Kong, 2014)

The extended Cheng family, which, like Aberdeen harbor's Chinese namesake, represents today's "Little Hong Kong" and its myriad of contradictions between traditions and modernity; superstitions and materialism; family and individuality.

Aberdeen, named after a part of Hong Kong, explores the relationships and personal struggles of a typical Hong Kong family. It does an amazing job of showing off the towering metropolis its set in, and the use of colors makes me absolutely drool. Gorgeous stuff. A good film for those who like drama's that focuses on a group of people rather than just one main character. 

Genre: Drama

Still Life (China/Hong Kong, 2006)

Coalminer Han Sanming comes from Fengyang in Shanxi to the Three Gorges town Fengjie to look for his ex-wife whom he has not seen for 16 years. The couple meet on the bank of the Yangtze River and vow to remarry. Nurse Shen Hong also comes to Fengjie from Taiyuan in Shanxi to look for her husband who has not been home for two years. The couple embrace each other and waltz under the imposing Three Gorges dam, but feel they are so apart and decide to have a divorce. The old township has been submerged, while a new town has to be built.

Still Life is a story about searching for what has been lost. In a town that's slowly being flooded during the construction of a dam, a man and a woman tries to find family and husbands. The beautiful mountains and rivers serves as a contrasting backdrop to the more desperate plot. 

Genre: Drama

Kung Fu Hustle (China/Hong Kong, 2004)

Set in Canton, China in the 1940s, the story revolves in a town ruled by the Axe Gang, Sing who desperately wants to become a member. He stumbles into Pigsty Alley, a slum ruled by eccentric landlords who turns out to be the greatest kung-fu masters in disguise. Sing's actions eventually cause the Axe Gang and the slumlords to engage in an explosive kung-fu battle. Only one side will win and only one hero will emerge as the greatest kung-fu master of all.

You might have heard of or seen this one already because it became quite big upon its release. Kung Fu Hustle is  filled with insanely cartonish action and lots of slapstick fun, it plays around with the whole Hong Kong martial arts-genre and has a blast with it. There's no shortage of imaginative fighting styles, my favorite is the two men who shoot swords by playing a huge stringed instrument. Watch it if you like something that's not too serious or slow.

Genre: Action/Comedy/Crime

Dream Home (Hong Kong, 2010)

A woman will go to whatever lengths necessary to obtain her dream home with a view of the sea. This includes driving down the property value and decreasing the occupancy rate by killing her potential neighbors.

Dream Home is a dark slasher flick with a good plot to back it up. It goes back and forth between the past and present to show how desperate our main character becomes, and tells a story that spans almost her whole life; from the dreams of a young and innocent girl, to the psychotic killings of her older self. One of the death scenes is quite horrifying. The road to the perfect apartment is covered with blood. 

Genre: Horror/Thriller

A World Without Thieves (China, 2004)

Sha Gen, a naïve village boy working as construction worker in Tibet, is returning home to get married. Refusing to believe that thieves exist in the world, Sha Gen insists on carrying his five years of savings worth ¥60,000 with him rather than use remittance. As such, he has attracted the attention of Wang Bo and Wang Li, who are lovers as well as highly skilled thieves. Wang Bo wants to steal the money as a last hit to end their career, but Wang Li, pregnant with their child and moved by Sha Gen's innocence, decides to protect the boy. The situation is further complicated when a small gang of thieves boards the train.

A World Without Thieves takes places almost entirely on a train, which make sort of a mini-heist movie, where a group of thieves and robbers all try to get their hands on a poor boys savings. Will any of them succeed?

Genre: Action/Crime/Drama

As Tears Go By (Hong Kong, 1988)

A low-level triad "big brother" has a hot-tempered "little brother" who can't keep out of trouble, and consequently is in constant need of being bailed out by his protector. The "big brother" is super cool, but lacks the ambition to rise in the ranks of the triad societies - and once he meets his cousin from Kowloon and falls in love with her, he even thinks about leaving "the life".

As Tears Go By was the directorial debut of Wong kar-Wai (2046) and shows his first use his trademark color palette. It also starred a very young Andy Lau (Infernal Affairs), who did a great job portraying a small time gangster.

Genre: Crime/Drama/Romance

Farewell My Concubine (China, 1993)

In 1924 Beijing, the youthful Douzi and Shitou are brought together under the thumb of the strict master of a small acting troupe. It quickly becomes apparent that these are the most talented of the master's pupils, and he pushes them harder than his other students. Thirteen years later, their suffering has paid off. Douzi, now going by the name of Chen Dieyi, and Shitou, called Duan Xiaolou, are major opera stars, and their production, "Farewell My Concubine" is nationally known. The two are inseparable, until the woman Juxian comes between them.

Farewell My Concubine is an epic drama that spans 53 years, telling a story about two men who vows to stay together forever, and at the same time their home country is in turmoil. It's nearly three hours long, but that's what it took to tell a story of this magnitude and do it justice. 

Genre: Drama

Days of Being Wild (Hong Kong, 1990)

Set in 1960, the film centres on the young, boyishly handsome Yuddy, who learns from the drunken ex-prostitute who raised him that she is not his real mother. Hoping to hold onto him, she refuses to divulge the name of his real birth mother. The revelation shakes Yuddy to his very core, unleashing a cascade of conflicting emotions. Two women have the bad luck to fall for Yuddy. One is a quiet lass named Su Lizhen who works at a sports arena, while the other is a glitzy showgirl named Mimi. Perhaps due to his unresolved Oedipal issues, he passively lets the two compete for him, unable or unwilling to make a choice. 

Days of Being Wild is one of the earliest movies made by the universally praised director Wong Kar-wai, and even here we get to see his own characteristic film style that becomes more prominent in his later work. 

Genre: Drama/Romance

Once Upon a Time in China (Hong Kong, 1991)

Set in late 19th century Canton this martial arts film depicts the stance taken by the legendary martial arts hero Wong Fei-Hung (1847-1924) against foreign forces' (English, French and American) plundering of China. When Aunt Yee arrives back from America totally westernised, Wong Fei-Hung assumes the role of her protector. This proves to be difficult when his martial arts school and local militia become involved in fierce battles with foreign and local government. As violence escalates even Aunt Yee has to question her new western ideals, but is it possible to fight guns with Kung Fu?

Once Upon a Time in China is a showcase of brilliant kung fu and slapstick brawls. Jet Li plays the hero, but the real protagonist is the advanced martial art that's being unleashed on all the thugs and turns them into stew. A very entertaining fighting movie.

Genre: Action/Adventure/Drama  

The Last Tycoon (Hong Kong, 2012)

Set in Shanghais Gangster era of the early 1900s, THE LAST TYCOON tells the tale of Cheng, a young man who is set up by the chief of police and must leave the life he knows and Qiu, the woman he loves, to start again. After escaping prison Cheng quickly and violently moves his way up the ladder of Shanghais criminal underworld to become on the most powerful mob bosses in Shanghais history. But fame and notoriety take their toll when Cheng finds himself stuck between the looming Japanese army and the scheming local secret service. Matters are only made worse when he bumps into the love of his life Qiu, along with her new husband.

The Last Tycoon has all the elements of a big-budget, massive production and it's wildly entertaining to boot. Plus it got a great cast, in the midst of all the clashing enemies is Chow Yun-fat (The Killer, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) in the lead role. Add a couple of well-directed action scenes, some seriously satisfying explosions and an overall interesting period drama-plot and you got yourself a winner.

Genre: Action/Crime/Drama

Police Story (Hong Kong, 1985)

Kevin Chan (aka Jackie) is a Hong-Kong cop, who scores his first big hit by virtually single-handedly capturing and arresting a big drug- lord. Of course, the drug-lord isn't too happy about this, and frames Kevin with the murder of another cop (who happened to be on the take). Kevin has to clear his name, whilst keeping himself from getting killed or arrested, and keeping his girlfriend from leaving him.

Police Story is a perfect example of how great of a stuntman and martial artist Jackie Chan could be on film before his american career made him much, much worse. The car chase near the beginning of the film is incredibly cool and is one of many moments where you just want to cheer at the screen at how awesome it is. An often very funny film that's packed with amazing stunts. 

Genre: Action/Comedy/Thriller

The Grandmaster (Hong Kong/China, 2013)

Ip Man, a legendary martial artist and teacher of Bruce Lee, lives a peaceful life in Foshan. But it changes after Gong Yutian seeks an heir for his family in Southern China. Ip Man then meets Gong Er who challenges him for the sake of regaining her family's honor. After the Second Sino-Japanese War, Ip Man moves to Hong Kong and struggles to provide for his family. In the mean time, Gong Er chooses the path of vengeance after his father was killed by Ma San.

The Grandmaster became quite the spectacle for some time, due to being in development for many years. Director Wong Kar-wai (Fallen Angels, 2046) took many breaks during the production (some were even long enough that actor Tony Leung could shoot other movies during that time) but luckily he finished it. 

It's a smash hit on all fronts, a martial art film of epic proportions and delivers jaw-dropping moments constantly. One of the best shot movies in recent years, without a doubt.

Genre: Action/Drama