Wong Kar-wai is really an enviable figure. Ang Lee, an internationally renowned director, once said bluntly: "Although I am a talent, he is a genius." I have to say that this is half polite, half sincere. The two directors are both industry professionals, and Ang Lee is not inferior in terms of awards or box office. His works not only have a deep humanistic concern and depth of thought, but also convey an astonishing power between the silences, and the overall film presents a first-class integrity.
Wong Kar-wai's directing style is equally impressive, with the expression of emotions always on point and at the same time exquisite, and the light and shadow effects are as unforgettable as the colorful pictures. Although nominally a competitor, in fact, the master-level Ang Lee sincerely admires Wong Kar-wai.
The reasons are really varied - this Wang Dao is too capricious. No director approaches a film shoot the way he does – shoot for a few years, then abruptly abandon film, or start over, or find a new actor, and end up with a completely different ending.
used to take out a loan to shoot "East Evil and West Poison", and now it has taken 10 years (6 years of preparation and 3 years of filming) for "Flowers", I thought that the veteran would have been slapped on the beach by the back waves a long time ago, but the results of "Flowers" once again proved that Jiang Lang was not exhausted.
Since its broadcast, this drama has won the championship (market share) for 12 consecutive days, and it is no exaggeration to become the first hot spot at the beginning of 2024.
The stream-of-consciousness narrative technique, the lens language of montage, and the single-camera shooting technique are on the surface filming men and women eating and drinking, but inside they are showing the changes of the mountains and rivers and the times.
Wong Kar-wai is not only good at capturing the image of men, but also at capturing the beauty of women. What he pursues is not only external beauty, but also to show their vitality, whether it is a strong aura, eight-sided exquisite, delicate and bright, never admit defeat, or domineering and strong, it can be vividly presented under his lens.
Vibrant, full of vitality, blooming in this ever-changing trend of the times. What's even more unexpected is that Wong Kar-wai personally selected the actors, invited Ma Yili to play Lingzi during the preparation period, and carefully studied her representative works "The First Half of My Life" and "Cheongsam Beauty Detective".
Even Hu Ge was asked to bring a sense of Li Xiaoyao to the role, which surprised Lao Hu, "It turns out that the director has also seen the fairy sword."
Regarding Wong Kar-wai's impression, most netizens learned about it through his mouth. Some people jokingly call him the "King of Sunglasses", some people say that he wears sunglasses to cover up his cross-eyed, and some people argue that it is a token of love from his wife. There are different opinions, but he himself never comes out to explain. It is said that if someone tries to take off his sunglasses, he will leave on the spot in anger.
It is rumored that filming Wong Kar-wai's drama is very challenging for actors, and it turns out that this is indeed the case. Hu Ge once posted on the Internet: "In the future, I will no longer film and do more meaningful things." At the time, fans just saw it as a "late-night emotional vent", but in retrospect, it may have been a lot of "hurt" during the filming of "Flowers".
During the filming, Lao Hu was asked to repeat it 42 times with just a close-up of his face, and even the original author Jin Yucheng couldn't watch it, reminding the director: "This one is enough." However, the director's answer was "one more". After many times of torture by Wong Kar-wai, Hu Ge finally presented an "amazing" performance.
It is worth mentioning that there are many eye-catching climactic scenes in the film, two of which stand out. The first scene is to see his first love leave, and the hairy boy Po is messy in the wind, and he is confused about the reason for Xuezhi's departure. Lonely, sad, helpless ......Tears swirled in his eyes, but they never flowed.
Before taking a slap for Miss Wang, she kept showing a cool look. However, after being hit by Lu Meilin, she looked a little embarrassed, and a trace of ruthlessness flashed in her eyes. Eventually, she smiled calmly at Miss Wang.
Actors are eager for opportunities, and good opportunities have been waiting for excellent actors, especially opportunities like Wong Kar-wai. In order to shoot "Flowers", Tang Yan did not take on other scenes for three years. Some people once blamed her for her "love brain" because she didn't have a new work online for three years, but now it seems that she really poured all her heart and soul into it for Miss Wang.
The pearl of Pujiang, her hair even shines, and she finally chases her own stage. She handed over such a bright and vivid role, for which Tang Yan spent three whole years, but it was all worth it.
Wong Kar-wai has unique insights in filming, even in the 90s, when Hong Kong films were in full bloom, "personnel are in a hurry, everything is urgent", he still adheres to the concept of "slow pace".
"East Evil and West Poison" was a box office fiasco, and the filming took two years. From the beginning to the end, every scene is like an oil painting. The first half is full of pride, accompanied by rhythmic drumbeats, which makes people's blood boil. In the second half, the style changes, and the tragedy is rendered. Even viewers who don't understand the plot will be amazed because of the atmosphere!
The fascination with atmosphere is vividly expressed by Wong Kar-wai in "Flowers". For example, in episode 22, Li Li slept in the car with his beautiful eyes closed, while Mr. Bao outside the car stared sideways through the car window, and the emotions between the two surged at this moment. Obviously nothing happened, but it gave people an ambiguous and tugging feeling. Wong Kar-wai never overtly photographs the relationship between men and women, he is fond of subtle expressions, leaving a blank space for the audience to interpret.
Many people have complained that he didn't write the whole script, always drafted hastily, and then adjusted the scene according to the actors and scenes. However, what few people know is that Director Wang is a screenwriter.
He graduated from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University with a degree in Graphic Design and spent his early years writing screenplays in Wong's company. In the past days, he paid a full 3 months of hard work, but the script was still unfinished, and the result was swept away.
Fortunately, Deng Guangrong became his Bole. At the age of 30, he successfully transformed into a director and presented the eye-catching ** work "Mong Kok Carmen".
Just like Ah Bao in the story of "Flowers", Director Wang always has kind nobles to help him in his life. During the filming of "The True Story of A Fei", the funds were overrun, the box office was dismal, and Deng Guangrong fell into bankruptcy. left a nobleman and ushered in Liu Zhenwei, who skillfully set up the filming of "East Becomes West" and solved the financial problem of "East Evil and West Poison".
Po insisted on his affection, asserting that "pork rib rice cakes are never a business", and finally got angry with those former partners. In Wong Kar-wai's story, he is both loved and resented by investors. People loved him for his brilliance, but they hated him for his willfulness.
Unexpectedly, "Flowers" unexpectedly made a lot of money this time, and Director Wang finally managed to get rid of the label of "box office poison".