Speaking of Wong Kar-wai and his films, the first word that comes to mind is "literary and art". From storyboards to scripts, to lines and soundtracks, they are all the favorites of young literary and artistic people. Although his films do not have wonderful stories, they can portray the ultimate beauty in the fragments of life, grasp the hearts of the audience, and make people involuntarily immersed in them.
Apart from the movies, Wong Kar-Wai's most impressive thing is probably the pair of sunglasses that almost grow on his face. But what is little known is what kind of story is hidden behind him, who is ridiculed as "sunglass king" .
Wong Kar-wai was born in Shanghai in 1958 and moved to Hong Kong with his parents when he was 5 years old.
And this move completely changed the trajectory of his life.
Wong Kar-wai's mother is a big movie buff and goes to see a movie almost every day when she is free. When she first arrived in Hong Kong, she didn't know Cantonese and didn't have any friends. Her husband still went out a lot, so he could only take the little Wong Kar-wai to the cinema.
Domestic, Japanese, European and American... Except for horror themes, both mother and son are involved in everything.
Due to the language barrier, the most beautiful domestic films are still seen.
"Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai" released in that year is not only the most popular movie of the year, but also a collective memory of many Hong Kong directors.
After a long time, Wong Kar-wai became interested in movies. Through the film, he sees a different world and experiences a variety of emotions.
Wong Kar-Wai did not learn to speak Cantonese until he was 3 years old , so in his long and lonely childhood, movies became Wong Kar-wai's best partner.
At that time, although Wong Kar-wai's mother was in Hong Kong, she still maintained the habits of Shanghainese. Whether it's going to the movies or shopping for groceries, you have to be dignified and decent. Even if the living environment is not rich, the family's attitude towards life is exquisite and serious.
The exquisite life and the wonderful movie have a subtle influence on Wong Kar-wai. For him, his childhood in the 1960s was the best of times. Even when he grows up, he still pursues delicacy and perfection. Just like Zhang Manyu in the movie "In the Mood for Love" , even if he goes out for a meal, he will put on delicate makeup and put on a neat cheongsam.
In 1982, Wong Kar-Wai was admitted to the wireless director training class and took the first step into the film and television industry.
In 1982, Wong Kar-wai began to write the script;
In 1987, he and Tan Jiaming co-wrote the script "Final Victory" , and was nominated for the 7th Hong Kong Film Awards Best Screenplay for this.
Therefore, Wong Kar-wai's talent is appreciated by Deng Guangrong .
Thus, in 1988, "Mongkok Carmen" came into being.
Since then, Wong Kar-wai's directorial career has officially begun.
I have to say that Wong Kar-Wai has one characteristic from the beginning as a screenwriter - he loves procrastination.
It took a long time to write a script, and waited until he handed in the script, and the movie had a sequel.
Wong Kar-Wai is often fired due to procrastination.
According to Wong Kar-wai, his "slowness" comes from too high requirements, and he basically overthrows the previous day's self every day.
But at that time, in order to make quick money, Hong Kong movies could complete a script in two days and a film in less than a month.
Wong Kar-wai's "slowness" was so incompatible with the fast pace of film production at that time!
This situation continued until 1987. After Wong Kar-wai joined Deng Guangrong's Yingzhijie Film and Television Company , he finally adapted to the fast-paced work style and wrote many fast-food works.
, such as "Ghostbusters" , is what he and his partner Liu Zhenwei thought about overnight.
The box office effect is also good, so that a sequel - "Evil Ghost School" was later made.
But Wong Kar-wai didn't want to live like this again. He thought of the classic movies he had seen before, and his favorite movie actors.
At that time, the actor's frown and smile were carefully sculpted. But 20 years have passed, and Wong Kar-wai, who has passed his thirties, is farther and farther away from the movie he dreamed of in his childhood.
After writing the gangster movie "Dragon and Tiger Fight" , Deng Guangrong is very satisfied with the box office reaching more than 5 million Hong Kong dollars .
Wong Kar-Wai simply struck while the iron was hot, persuaded him to invest in himself, dug out the script that was disdainfully thrown into the trash can by investors a few years ago, and found Andy Lau who was hidden by TVB, Maggie Cheung, who was called "Vase" at the time, and others. Carmen " on the big screen. The result of
is a lot of money again.
The word of mouth and the box office went hand in hand, winning nine nominations for the Academy Awards.
In an instant, not only Deng Guangrong's confidence in him has doubled, but the entire film and television industry is saying "This director has a future".
html In 389, Wong Kar-wai told Deng Guangrong another wonderful gangster story, which he hoped to make into the next episode.
Deng Guangrong directly invested 0 million Hong Kong dollars this time , please come to the popular Leslie Cheung, Tony Leung, Andy Lau, Jacky Cheung, Carina Lau, Maggie Cheung. The movie
is known as "The True Story of A Fei" .
Although in today's opinion, this is an unquestionable masterpiece, it was a bleak box office at the time, and even indirectly caused the company to go bankrupt , which made Deng Guangrong angry enough.
One of the reasons is that Wong Kar-wai's "procrastination" that he endured for a long time has returned to the arena.
Actually, Wong Kar-Wai was not fully prepared when the filming started, and even the script was written while filming.
was originally a gangster-themed commercial film, but because Wong Kar-Wai was too scrupulous, the amount of film used exceeded the standard!
Just , a story of a footless bird, spent all the money ;
Andy Lau took 20 shots for a line; Played 27 times, so much so that he began to wonder if he could act.
After returning home, I cried for many days and was depressed for 2 weeks before I regained the courage to return to the set...
When the last episode was finished, I happened to meet Wang Jing's "The Gambler" , which grossed HK$40 million, yes "A Fei Zhengzhuan" more than 4 times.
The overall trend of the environment makes it difficult for literary films such as "A Feifei" to adapt to the film market. Coupled with the various rumors about Wong Kar-wai from the outside world during the filming period, the entire Hong Kong film industry is extremely disdainful of Wong Kar-wai's procrastination.
Since then, Wong Kar-wai has been crowned "box-office poison" .
also started from this time, people found that Wong Kar Wai's sunglasses appeared more and more frequently.
Could it be that "The True Story of Ah Fei" put too much pressure on Wong Kar-wai?
It was only because he was shy by nature that he had to cover his heart with sunglasses and was unwilling to face the public?
Although The True Story of Ah Fei ended with a fiasco at the box office, Wong Kar-wai did not believe it.
In order not to cause too much trouble to others, and to continue shooting his favorite films, Wong Kar-wai decided to set up his own company.
Of course, he also has to prove to the world: In the movie market where the box office comes first, Wong Kar-wai's movies have a way to go!
Just when the entire movie almost "banned" Wong Kar-wai, fortunately there was such a person who stood by his side firmly.
He is the director of "The Holy Gambler" and "Journey to the West 2", Liu Zhenwei.
In 1984, the two met for the first time, and Wong Kar-wai's broad knowledge left a deep impression on Liu Zhenwei.
And an opportunity three years later led the two to start a long-term cooperation.
In 1987, Liu Zhenwei joined Deng Guangrong's company and became a partner with Wong Kar Wai.
In 1990, after the box office fiasco of "A Fei Zhengzhuan", Deng Guangrong and Wong Kar Wai terminated their cooperation, leaving only Liu Zhenwei.
With his assistance, Wong Kar-wai established his own film company.
At that time, the martial arts film was very popular in the Hong Kong film industry. So, the two decided to shoot two films first with this martial arts style.
The first investment was made by Liu Zhenwei very quickly.
Unexpectedly, Wong Kar-Wai's "procrastination" has recurred.
The film was originally planned to be filmed in three months, but after just one month of filming, Wong Kar-wai had to scrap the script and start over again.
Investors have given an ultimatum to let them catch up with the Lunar New Year no matter what method they use.
No way, Liu Zhenwei and Wong Kar Wai held an emergency meeting overnight.
In the end, it was decided that Liu Zhenwei and the original team are now editing a new film to shoot.
Wong Kar-wai followed his own ideas and then pondered the original script.
Finally, Liu Zhenwei's "East and West" took only one month to shoot, and it was a big hit at the box office.
is adapted from Jin Yong's novel "The Legend of the Condor Heroes". It is also the first martial arts film "Evil in the West" directed by Wong Kar-wai and supervised by Liu Zhenwei.
However, this film won the Hong Kong Film Critics Society Award for Best Film , and Leslie Cheung also won the Best Actor for this.
In the same year, Wong Kar-wai's other small-budget film "Chongqing Forest" was also released.
When he was a child, Wong Kar-wai's family lived in Tsim Sha Tsui, very close to Chungking Mansions , and his parents told him not to go there.
After all, Chungking Mansions of that era were already notorious. Located in the heart of Hong Kong, it is one of the most mixed places in Hong Kong.
As he grew older, Wong Kar-wai became more and more curious about this mysterious place.
As a result, this place where he had no chance to find out when he was a child, took off the gray, dilapidated and dangerous coat in his films, and became a bizarre romance in the lens.
Speaking of Wong Kar-wai's sunglasses, the story starts from his youth.
One day, the brokenhearted Wong Kar-wai and his friends went to a bar to get drunk. He said: From now on, I will pursue the first woman who comes in.
Not long after, a woman actually walked in, wearing sunglasses even late at night.
Wong Kar-wai said to his friends: There are only three reasons why a woman still wears sunglasses so late. The first one, it means she is blind; the second one, it means she is playing cool; the third one, because she is in love, she doesn't want others to see that she has cried.
A friend asked him, which type do you think she belongs to?
"It must be lovelorn! In fact, it's normal to be lost in love, so why cry like this."
After the woman heard it, she said: I think, you should be the one who lost your love.
The woman wearing sunglasses is Chen Yijin, who later became Wong Kar Wai's wife.
and a familiar scene also appeared in "Chongqing Forest" many years later.
On the ideal road, Wong Kar-wai still has to endure extraordinary pressure. In addition to the economic aspect, there are ridicules from all sides, including his old rival Wang Jing.
In 1977, when Wang Jing's "Hardcover Brothers in Difficulties" was released, many audiences laughed.
Because the protagonist of this film, director Wong Ching-wai, obviously has the shadow of Wong Kar-wai.
From 1990 to the present, while Wong Kar-Wai pursued art and endured pressure from all walks of life, Wong Jing has produced nearly 100 films such as "The Gambler", "The Tricky Expert", and "Fighting Dragon 3". One is fully loaded.
In Hong Kong movies, people often compare the two. One is dedicated to shooting commercial films and the other is dedicated to shooting art films.
Wong Ching and Wong Kar Wai represent the extremes of business and art.
In the eyes of many people, they should be incompatible, but this is not the case.
Wang Jing once told such a story: Once, he and Wong Kar-wai were sitting together drinking tea and chatting. A young man was very surprised to see the harmony between them.Immediately asked, how do you two sit and drink tea? Shouldn't there be a fight?
That's right, although Wong Jing made a movie to complain about Wong Kar Wai, in this movie, he also expressed his love and admiration for Wong Kar Wai in his own way.
The little boy in overalls and a checkered shirt plays Wang Jing himself.
He said to Wang Jingwei who was wearing sunglasses: I have seen three of your films, and I think your films are very stylish and innovative.
also said that he also wanted to be a director when he grew up, and hoped that Wang Jingwei could help him.
Wang Jing in reality also said: Wong Kar-wai's courage is very admirable. If I were to go, I might not have that much courage.
Over the years, Wong Kar-Wai still insisted on his unique style, continued to make one at the speed of several years, and continued to create, and his works are still few and far between.
In 2014, Wong Kar-wai's film "The Grandmaster" won the Best Director Award at the Beijing International Film Festival.
At the same time, "The Grandmaster" has become the highest-grossing film in North America since 2006.
Nowadays, Wong Kar-wai's films are not only well received by film critics, but also recognized at the box office, and have gained a lot of loyal fans, adding a bright and unique color to domestic films.
Wong Kar-wai at this time is like a mentor and a master. The disturbance of the outside world is long gone, replaced by awe to the surrounding masters.
And people have also found that Wong Kar Wai's sunglasses have been worn occasionally to often at the beginning, and they can no longer be taken off until now.
What is the reason for this?
In 2013, Wong Kar-wai found Bowers , hoping that he could write an autobiography for himself.
In order to get to know Wong Kar-wai, Bowers often chats with him. When it comes to the issue of sunglasses, Wong Kar-wai said: Sunglasses can give me time to think, give me a sense of security, and allow me to see the outside world without naked eyes.
So far, the secret behind Wong Kar Wai's sunglasses has finally been revealed.
Just like this line of Lin Qingxia in "Chongqing Forest": I don't know when to start, I have become a very careful person, every time I wear a raincoat, I will wear sunglasses. You never know when it will rain and when the sun will come out.
may just show Wong Kar-wai's obsession with sunglasses.
For Wong Kar-Wai, sunglasses are like a mask, wearing them Wong Kar-Wai becomes director Wong Kar-Wai.
Sunglasses can give him a sense of security and courage, can help him erase the shyness in his character, let him photograph the world of his dreams willfully, and let him live without fear of living in a world that may have his own incompatibility.
Wong Kar-Wai is like a persistent big boy, dedicated to telling the public about the exquisite life he experienced in his childhood.
Someone once asked Wong Kar-wai to give an example of the most perfect moment in life. Wong Kar-wai's answer sounded very simple. He said: When you see a child's face, you wake up one morning and you are surrounded by someone you like. Sleep, one day you are walking on the road and smell the fragrance of the food in other people's homes.
We have reason to believe that the reason why Wong Kar-wai can persist for many years and go against the current is not only because of the sense of security brought by a pair of sunglasses, but perhaps the more accurate answer is because of his love for life.
In his spare time, Wong Kar-wai takes off his sunglasses and goes shopping and drinking tea with his wife. At that time, he was an ordinary husband and an ordinary father.
Wong Kar-wai said: The purpose of 's autobiography is to dedicate it to his son. He wants his son to know what his father has been doing over the past 30 years.
I don't think it matters much about being a master, or what critics say. When I make a movie, I want to bring the joy, sadness, and loss of my childhood to the audience.
