Wong Kar-wai at the Berlin Film Festival 2013/CC-Attribution 3.0 Unported
Wong Kar-wai’s Jet Tone Films Ltd. will be honored at the upcoming Hong Kong Film Festival on March 21 to April 4, 2016 and some of the production company’s well-known movies will be screened during the course of the festival in spring.
Although a definitive list is yet to be released, you can look forward to some of these movies on the HKIFF screening.
Days of Being Wild
This 1990 drama stars Leslie Cheung, Maggie Cheung, Andy Lau, Carina Lau, Tony Leung Chiu-wai, and Jackie Cheung. Leslie Cheung plays Yuddy, a consummate playboy who breaks the heart of Li-zhen (Maggie Cheung) and Mimi (Carina Lau). The film casts light into the characters’ psychological drama, but has been labelled as frustrating by many audiences because it does not present a clear plot. This project started Wong Kar-wai’s collaboration with premier cinematographer Christopher Doyle and brought to life 1960s Hong Kong and the Philippines.
Chungking Express
Chungking Express was made when Wong Kar-wai decided to take a break from editing his epic movie Ashes of Time. The upbeat comedy features Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Faye Wong, Takeshi Kaneshiro, and Brigitte Lin. This light-hearted film is divided into two parts and depicts the inner lives of Hong Kong residents. It is made more poignant as it is Brigitte Lin’s last film before her retirement.
Ashes of Time
This under-appreciated epic film was among Wong Kar-wai’s collaboration with a long line of Hong Kong superstars including Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Leslie Cheung, Maggie Cheung, Tony Leung Ka-fai, Brigitte Lin, and Carina Lau. Loosely based on The Legend of the Condor Heroes, this film features Tony Leung Chiu-wai as Malicious East and the late great Leslie Cheung as the Venomous East. A revival of interest in Wong Kar-wai’s wuxia film produced a reboot version of Ashes of Time in 2008.
In the Mood for Love
It seems Tony Leung Chiu-wai and Maggie Cheung are two of the director’s favorite actors. No surprise there as both actors returned in this mesmerizing and critically-acclaimed drama with superb acting and sizzling chemistry. Maggie Cheung reprised her role as Su Li-zhen from Days of Being Wild and Tony Leung brings his suave yet brooding charm on screen. Notice Maggie Cheung’s sumptuous cheongsams that change each time she appears on screen.
The Grandmaster
Released in 2013 to critical acclaim and box office success, The Grandmaster is Wong Kar-wai’s latest hit film. Tony Leung Chiu-wai plays the iconic Wing Chun grandmaster Ip Man and Zhang Ziyi returns to the screen as Gong Er, a fellow martial arts master. Cinematography is by Philippe Le Sourd and the fight scenes between the actors are spectacular and lush with detail.