Wong Kar-Wai is, most certainly, one of the most celebrated and acclaimed Chinese filmmakers currently working in film; his films have been recognized as innovative, dreamlike and visceral. Critics and film scholars throughout the world have observed and celebrated his work as an auteur, who creates vivid, stunning stories as only an artist can. Due to the individualistic and personal nature of his films, Wong Kar-Wai is certain to be regarded as an auteur who pours the entirety of his artistic vision into his films.
Wong's style is far from contemporary; in fact, his aesthetics and sense of tone borrow greatly from the French New Wave, and filmmakers like Jean-Luc Godard and Alain Renais (Wright, 2002). At the same time, in his use of the city as a character, and some of his elegant editing techniques, he is said by some to be "the most contemporary filmmaker of [the modern school of Chinese filmmakers]" (Lalanne et al., p. 13). He tends to use and re-use the same actors and crew throughout his films, creating a signature team around him that contributes to the singular, directed look of his films. Actors such as Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung, cinematographer Patrick Doyle, and others are simply some of the professionals with whom he works on multiple films; this helps him to cement his unique artistic vision and establish himself as an auteur.
In terms of the dreamlike mood of his films, Wong conveys “a particularly intense experience of the period as an experience of the negative; an experience of some elusive and ambivalent cultural space that lies always just beyond our grasp” (Abbas, p. 41). Wong uses time and space very effectively; in Chungking Express, he exploits multiple stories through "a character or a motif or just spatial contiguity" (Bordwell, p. 264). Roger Ebert says, of this use of time in the same film, that "He is concerned more with the materials of a story than with the story itself, and he demonstrates that by telling two stories, somewhat similar, that have no obvious connection" (Ebert, 1996). This obsession with time is very prevalent in Wong's work, and more evidence of his signature work as an auteur. These themes are celebrated by critics and scholars alike, who praise his "tradition of capturing moments within a potentially isolating and disconnected environment," which plays into the aforementioned themes of the mixed identity those in Hong Kong share (Wright, 2002).
One aspect of Wong's nature as an auteur is his ability to defy genre; his films rarely classify cleanly as one type of film or another. He often does this through the use of music and song; in this way, his "restructuring and modernisation of genres involves re-interpreting codes, a process in which music is central" (Martinez, p. 30). In his review of Fallen Angels, PJ asserts that "To expect conventional film-making from WKW is a mistake," given his preference to use unconventional actors, a dreamlike narrative, and crisp, hallucinogenic camerawork (PJ, 2004). This penchant for originality is echoed in Shelly Kraicer's review of Happy Together, when she states that "Wong Kar-wai's greatest gift, up to now, has been to tell us stories whose shapes and contents we've never even begun to think of, before" (1997). Wong Kar-Wai is universally recognized as having a unique eye, and his elegant, twisted perspective on the subjects of his films contributes to the singular vision that he carries throughout his work.
All of these elements have brought his films an air of sophistication and a political/social importance that evident for the time in which they were made, something that film critics and scholars are quick to pick up on. As a Second New Wave Hong Kong filmmaker, Wong deals heavily with themes of the Hong Kong handover to China in 1984. He manages to put a new spin on the subject, making it introspective instead of cynical, broad instead of flashy; he represents the dual identity of Hong Kong as a Chinese or British entity through the alienated characters and settings of his works (Wright, 2002).
Wong's status as an auteur has brought him nearly universal acclaim from an array of film critics and scholars. According to film analyst Fiona Villela, "Wong Kar-wai has brought to our cinema screens over the last ten years images of modern living, urban alienation, and forlorn love in a dazzlingly intimate, fluid, poetic and fragmented formal register" (2001). In this way, he brings his own individualistic vision, free of studio influence and collaborative interference; it can be safely said that what is put on screen is the pure, unadulterated vision of Wong Kar-Wai. Given the critical acclaim he has received, and the sheer quality and innovation of his films, this has led to a positive net influence on the Hong Kong film landscape.
References
Abbas, A. (1997). Wong Kar-Wai: The Erotics of Disappointment. Paris: Dis Voir 3.
Bordwell, D. (2000). Planet Hong Kong. Cambridge, Massachusetts and London, England:
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Ebert, R. (1996, March 15). Chungking Express. Retrieved November 29, 2011, from
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Ebert, R. (1998, June 19th). Fallen Angels. Retrieved November 29, 2011, from Roger
Ebert.com:
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Kraicer, S. (1997, October 17). Happy Together: review by Shelly Kraicer. Retrieved November
29, 2011, from Chinesecinemas.org: http: //www.chinesecinemas.org/happy.html
Lalanne, J. -M., Martinez, D., Abbas, A., & Ngai, J. (1997). Wong Kar-Wai. Paris: Eidtions Dis
Voir 3,Rue Beautreillis 75004.
Lalanne, J.-M. (1997). Wong Kar-Wai: Images From the Inside. Paris: Dis Voir 3.
Martinez, D. (1997). Wong Kar-Wai: Chasing the Metaphysical Express. Paris: Dis Voir 3.
Ngai, J. (1997). Wong Kar-Wai: A Dialogue with Wong Kar-Wai. Paris: Dis Voir 3.
PJ. (2004, August 21). Fallen Angels (1995) Review by PJ-Chinese Movies. Retrieved
November 29, 2011, from Spcnet.tv: http://www.spcnet.tv/Movies/Fallen-Angels-review-
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Teo, S. (2005). World Directors: Wong Kar-Wai, Auteur Of Time. London: British Film
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Villella, F. A. (2011, June 9th). The Cinema of Wong Kar-Wai 'Writing Game'. Retrieved
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Wright, E. (2010, December 15th). Wong Kar-Wai. Retrieved November 29, 2011, from Senses
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