WK-W

I love and hate Wong Kar-Wai, simultaneously. His films, they are art at its truest level. But the guy drives me bat shit crazy. He's a train wreck: he's insanely interesting and you've got to hear what he has to say and in the same breath, you realise he's the worst kind of artiste: self-absorbed, neurotic, knows just how talented he is and appears to be the biggest asshole on the planet. Granted, those are all attributes of great artists.

His style is very much his own - once you start watching his films, you get his repertoire of shots, music, color, the same actors, etc. Couldn't be further from Hollywood: his filming process is near legend. He has an idea he'd like to convey, but not a script. He writes as they film: extemporary is being polite. The idea he may have had when they picked a location and set up camp is generally very far from what you actually see. He'll shoot ten story lines for each character, which you don't realise until you've had the chance to watch one of the "making of" docs which are the length of a normal feature film. Happy Together is clearly a great example (which I finally watched this afternoon.) It's a great piece, but when you watch the making of, you feel like this guy doesn't have his shit together at all and wonder how in the hell he's able to find financing. He often works on more than one film at a time, even taking parts of a film he couldn't "finish" making them into another piece. The Hong Kong film industry is very different from Hollywood..and WKW is way out there even for them...My Blueberry Nights shifted production for him. He filmed it here in the states - the concept of breaks and meal penalties blew his mind. I really enjoyed it, but I have a hard time NOT enjoying time spend oogling over Jude Law on the screen (I didn't say he's superbly talented, he's incredibly hot.)

Watching him speak is nearly unbearable. Everytime there is footage of him speaking at a festival, I cringe, but ultimately force myself to watch it. I want to turn it off a hundred times and somehow still manage to read the credits. Part of me would love to work for him, although, I might find myself wanting to pick up a blunt object, a very heavy one. Oxymoron by definition. In fact, open Merriam-Webster and you'll see his crooked half assed smile (and great glasses.)

If you dig film not as pure entertainment but as art, do yourself a favor and watch his films. Sometimes the plot doesn't follow a straight line (I charge you to find one that does), but always worth the time. You can skip the extras if you'd like to just put him on a pedestal. In The Mood for Love and 2046 are amongst my favorite films.

On a side note, the best things to come from WKW are his collaborators: Christopher Doyle (DP/cinematography), Tony Leung Chiu Wai (little Tony), Maggie Cheung, Chen Chang and so many others.

I cannot walk past a tree with a visible hole; I simply must put my hands on the bark, lean in and share a secret...