The widely acclaimed films of Wong Kar-wai are characterized by their sumptuous yet complex visual and sonic style. This study of Wong’s filmmaking techniques uses a poetics approach to examine how form, music, narration, characterization, genre, and other artistic elements work together to produce certain effects on audiences. Bettinson argues that Wong’s films are permeated by an aesthetic of sensuousness and “disturbance” achieved through techniques such as narrative interruptions, facial masking, opaque cuts, and other complex strategies. The effect is to jolt the viewer out of complete aesthetic absorption. Each of the chapters focuses on a single aspect of Wong’s filmmaking. The book also discusses Wong’s influence on other filmmakers in Hong Kong and around the world. The Sensuous Cinema of Wong Kar-wai will appeal to all who are interested in authorship and aesthetics in film studies, to scholars in Asian studies, media and cultural studies, and to anyone with an interest in Hong Kong cinema in general, and Wong’s films in particular. “In this carefully written study, Gary Bettinson offers a critical assessment not only of the stylistic features of Wong Kar-wai’s films but also of the scholarship that has developed around them. Arguing against the facile culturalism that tends to dominate such scholarship, this book does full justice to Wong’s cinematic methods in a series of impressively well-informed and informative readings.” —Rey Chow, Duke University

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. The book is structured as six conversations between Powers and Wong (each in a different locale), including the restaurant where he shot In the Mood for Love and the snack bar where he shot Chungking Express. Discussing each of Wong’s eleven films, the conversations also explore Wong’s trademark themes of time, nostalgia, and beauty, and their roots in his personal life. This first book by Wong Kar Wai, lavishly illustrated with more than 250 photographs and film stills and featuring an opening critical essay by Powers, WKW: The Cinema of Wong Kar Wei is as evocative as walking into one of Wong’s lush films.

Set in Hong Kong, Singapore and Cambodia in the 1960s, Wong Kar Wai's In the Mood for Love (2000) is a film that luxuriates in the feeling of being in love – without ever turning into a love story. Its central characters, Mr Chow and Mrs Chan, are tenants in next-door apartments in Hong Kong who discover that their respective spouses are having an affair. Both of them have promiscuous colleagues at work, but they struggle to make sense of their partners' behaviour – and to control their growing feelings for each other. Hailed by the press as 'the consummate unconsummated love story of the new millennium', this film about desire repressed has become a firmly established classic of the twenty-first century. In his sharp and revealing analysis of In the Mood for Love, Tony Rayns draws on his considerable expertise in East Asian cinema and on his proximity to Wong Kar Wai and his colleagues at Jet Tone during the film's long and complicated genesis. He delivers a personal and highly original commentary on the film and its production, complete with privileged insights into Wong's idiosyncratic working methods and influences. The book also places the film in the context of Wong's other work, with sidelights on its place in Hong Kong cinema as a whole. This special edition features original cover artwork by Jimmy Turrell.

Wong Kar wai is one of the most famous Chinese directors in modern filmdom. The cinema of Wong Kar wai is important 20th century cinema in 90 s Hong Kong society, which was in a post-industrial and post-colonial situation. In this paper, I have chosen four of Wong s films: As Tears Go By (1988), Happy Together (1997), In The Mood For Love (2000) and compared them respectively with American and British films Mean Streets (1973), Brokeback Mountain (2005), and Brief Encounter (1945) with similar themes. These comparisons will be used in order to explore the spiritual tendency of Wong s cinema, and to discover its meanings within the context of Chinese culture. In addition, the aim will be to demonstrate the methods of imitation, reproduction and the mixing up of genres that are Wong Kar wai s aesthetic strategy, which helped him to express his particular thematic, stylistic characteristics and establish his unique auteur status.

This study of Hong Kong cult director Wong Kar-wai provides an overview of his career and in-depth analysis of his seven feature films to date. Teo probes Wong's cinematic and literary influences - from Martin Scorsese to Haruki Murakami - yet shows how Wong transcends them all.

This book examines the aesthetic qualities of particular Chinese-language films and the rich artistic traditions from which they spring. It brings together leading experts in the field, and encompasses detailed and wide-ranging case studies of films such as Hero, House of Flying Daggers, Spring in a Small Town, 24 City, and The Grandmaster, and filmmakers including Hou Hsiao-hsien, Jia Zhangke, Chen Kaige, Fei Mu, Zhang Yimou, Johnnie To, and Wong Kar-wai. By illuminating the form and style of Chinese films from across cinema history, The Poetics of Chinese Cinema testifies to the artistic value and uniqueness of Chinese-language filmmaking.

Ashes of Time, by the internationally acclaimed director Wong Kar-wai, has been considered to be one of the most complex and self-reflexive of Hong Kong films. Loosely based on the stories by renowned martial arts novelist Jin Yong, Wong Kar-wai has created a very different kind of martial arts film, which invites close and sustained study.This book presents the nature and significance of Ashes of Time, and the reasons for its being regarded as a landmark in Hong Kong cinema. Placing the film in historical and cultural context, Dissanayake discusses its vision, imagery, visual style, and narrative structure. In particular, he focuses on the themes of mourning, confession, fantasy, and kung fu movies, which enable the reader to gain a deeper and more comprehensive understanding of the film.