Wong Kar-Wai - Definition and Overview

Wong Kar-wai (王家衛; pinyin: Wáng Jiāwèi) (born July 17, 1958) is a Hong Kong film director.

Born in Shanghai, China, he moved to Hong Kong with his parents at the age of five and graduated from the Hong Kong Polytechnic College in graphic design in 1980. After graduation, he enrolled in the Production Training Course organized by Hong Kong Television Broadcasts Limited and became a full-time scriptwriter. Between 1982 and 1987, he wrote about ten scripts, covering an array of genres from romantic comedy to action drama. Of these, he considered Final Victory (最後勝利; 1986 Patrick Tam) his best script.

Since 1989, Wong Kar-wai has directed eight feature films and won numerous awards, including the best director's prize at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival for Happy Together.

In 2001 Wong Kar-wai directed the short-film The Hire: The Follow as part of the BMW films initiative.

Wong Kar-wai's latest film is 2046, released in 2004.

Filmography

Feature films

1. Eros (2004) - segment The Hand
2. 2046 (2004)
3. Six Days (2002) - short movie
4. In the Mood for Love (2000)
5. Happy Together (1997)
6. Fallen Angels (1995)
7. Ashes of Time (1994)
8. Chungking Express (1994)
9. Days of Being Wild (1990)
10. As Tears Go by (1988)

Awards

• 2001 César Award, Best Foreign Film
• 2000 European Film Awards, Screen International Award
• 1997 Cannes Film Festival, Best Director

See also

• Cinema of Hong Kong
• Christopher Doyle

External Links

• Meditations on Loss: A Framework for the Films of Wong Kar-wai (http://www.mediacircus.net/wkw.html)
• What's This Wong Kar Wai? (http://www.wongkarwai.net/)
• BMW Films (http://www.bmwfilms.com/)

Further Reading

• Wong Kar Wai by Jean-Marc Lalanne et al.
• Wong Kar Wai's Ashes of Time by Wimal Dissanayake & Dorothy Wong
• Wong Kar Wai's Happy Together by Jeremy Tambling
• Hong Kong: Culture and the Politics of Disappearance by M. A. Abbas