We rank every Wong Kar-wai film from the good to the sheer perfection.
Anyone who has dipped a toe into Hong Kong cinema or international film is probably familiar with visionary director Wong Kar-wai. Bursting onto the scene in 1988 with his directorial debut As Tears Go By, Wong's films have been known for their melancholic plots, romantic themes, kinetic imagery, and poignant scores.
9. Ashes of Time 東邪西毒 Based on the Wuxia novel The Legend of the Condor Heroes, Ashes of Time is actually quite a sharp divergence from Wong's style, something he had established four years prior with Days of Being Wild and reinforced in 1994 with Chungking Express. Ashes brings in all of Wong's familiar faces to participate in this period piece, but where it fell flat for viewers and critics was its nearly incomprehensible plot.
The star of this is not Leung's Ip Man but rather Zhang's fictional Gong Er, the daughter, and heir to her father's unique martial arts style. Showcasing a woman at the center of this story, with an intriguing plot about avenging her father's death during the Second Sino-Japanese War, is exciting for a genre normally dominated by male stories. As one of the first Wong films I properly saw in theaters, this one holds a special place in my heart.
The second story features a perfectly eccentric Takeshi Kaneshiro as a prison escapee, focusing on his unrequited love for a girl named Charlie and his relationship with his dying father. Fallen Angels is a cocktail that shouldn't work, it mixes aspects of absurd whimsy with gritty crime, painful grief with comedic ridiculousness. The characters are interwoven despite the two separate stories, connected only by the colorful neon nights of Hong Kong.
3. Happy Together 春光乍洩 After much deliberation, Happy Together is number 3. While it originally held the number 2 spot, my personal connection to 2046 won over any unbiased defenses. As one of Wong's most chaotically romantic films, Happy Together follows the highs and lows of the relationship between Ho Po-Wing and Lai Yu-Fai . Often praised for its portrayal of a gay romance, there is more to love when it comes to this film than just representation.
Following Chow Mo-wan after his time during In the Mood for Love, 2046 is another story about love lost. Chow, as a journalist and a writer, offers a unique perspective on the people around him when he moves into apartment 2047 and observes the lives of people in the neighboring room 2046. Combining elements of sci-fi and a frame narrative, 2046 is one of the most exciting narrative structures, rivaled only by the puzzling Ashes of Time.
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