Wong Kar-Wai aura lives on

[Sandy]

Wong Kar-Wai aura lives on

WIDE ANGLE| Saibal Chatterjee

January 24, 2005|03:46 IST

http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_1212074,00110003.htm

The mystique of the enigmatic Wong Kar-Wai is an exceptionally enduring entity. Much like the esoteric yet evocative films that he crafts with an extraordinary mix of spontaneity and precision, the maverick Hong Kong-based director is a man and an artist wrapped in mystery.

Every encounter with him and his creative universe only adds to the aura. As Wong, hiding behind a pair of dark glasses, ambles into the press conference room of the Bangkok International Film Festival 2005 and takes his seat on the podium, it is pretty obvious that he is merely going through a chore he would have avoided given half a chance. This meeting with the media is part of the promotional tour for his latest labour of love, 2046, which has been picked up for distribution by Fox Thailand.

Holding forth on his films does not come naturally to Wong Kar-Wai. He prefers to let his work do the talking. But when the widely admired filmmaker does decide to answer a query, no matter how laconic he is with his responses, one is compelled to hang on to every syllable that he utters. Like he does with the tactile images and resonant sounds that make his films so memorable, Wong chooses his words carefully even when he is merely hurling a half-hearted quip back at a scribe.

"I prefer to leave the interpretation of my film to the audience, otherwise it would be very boring," the celebrated director says in response to a question about the rationale behind 2046, a delightfully sumptuous film about the centrality of the past in any discourse about the future.

Wong is here to repay a debt. The film, five years in the making, might not have happened without the support of Bangkok. It was in the capital of Thailand that Wong, cinematographer Christopher Doyle and production designer William Chang recreated 1960s Hong Kong, which constitutes the film's principal setting when it isn't moving back and forth between a smoke-filled Singapore gambling den and a train headed for a metaphorical destination in the future.

"I began the 2046 shoot in this city and wrapped up the film right here, mixing and editing it in a Bangkok studio. The print that went to the Cannes film festival last year was made here," he says. Wong and his creative team saw the full film on the big screen for the very first time in the Cannes Palais. "We were proud of the effort," he says, "but I noticed quite a few technical flaws which needed ironing out."

Wong, however, denies that 2046 was re-shot and reedited post-Cannes. "That is a rumour," he says. "We merely incorporated some CGI sequences that were not in place in the print that was sent to Cannes. But it is amazing how many people who have seen 2046 twice, once in Cannes, once thereafter, feel that it is different now. It is actually very much the same film."

Wong began work on 2046 in 1999 but it wasn't until mid-2004 that he was ready with the final print. "Getting an all-star cast to commit their time to the film took several years," he recalls. "When things began to fall into place, the SARS outbreak interrupted our work. Actual shooting happened in the last 18 months." The cast of 2046 features some of Chinese-language cinema's biggest contemporary stars - Tony Leung, Maggie Cheung, Faye Wong, Gong Li and Zhang Ziyi.

While his response to queries about what a particular film of his is designed to convey is invariably curt, Wong launches himself into poetic analogies when one draws him out on the creative ground rules that provide the bedrock of his art. "A perfect film is like taste - you cannot describe it, you can only feel it," he says.

"A film," he continues with straight-faced flourish, "is a combination of various elements. If you have a story, write a novel. If you have an image, take a photograph. A film is more than just a story or an image. A film is like a full plate of food, made up of an array of ingredients, flavours, tastes and smells. You cannot put it into words. You can only savour it and enjoy it."

Though it is obvious that it is own artistic vision that steers the ship, Wong Kar-Wai isn't one to corner all the credit for the great work he has done since debuting as a director in the late 1980s with the ultra-violent As Tears Go By. The accolades cannot be his alone, he insists. "Filmmaking is essentially about teamwork. I am fortunate to have had a great team from the very outset - Chris Doyle, William Chang, fine actors like Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung," he says.

"We have always pursued the joy of creativity for its own sake," he explains. "We believe in doing things differently. We believe in following our dreams. So I produce my own films as nobody else wants to."

Despite his refusal to follow the rules of the market, Wong Kar-Wai has a steady following among film lovers and financiers. His next film, The Lady from Shanghai, will be an English-language thriller starring Nicole Kidman. "It is set to roll in June 2005 though I haven't hard from Nicole about her availability," Wong announces. That apart, all he is willing to divulge is that the upcoming film is about "a very dangerous woman".