Wong Kar-wai is a Réalisateur, Scénariste, and producing hongkongais born the July 17th 1958 with Shanghai, China.

Biography

Beginning of career

Born with Shanghai, he emigrates with HongKong with his mother at the five years age. His/her father, director of hotel, which should have joined them with his/her two other children, remains blocked in China by the Cultural revolution. Separation lasts ten years. This family exile, doubled of a cultural and linguistic exile (the young person Wong Kar-wai speaks only the Mandarin, it has difficulties in adapting to the Cantonese of Hong-Kong), perhaps explains the importance of separation, the wandering (recurrent theme of the " bird without pattes" who is only posed to die), and especially of the memory in the work of the scenario writer.

As of this period, he assiduously attends the cinemas with his mother, and is marked by the cinema " classique" Hollywood.

Studying in graphic arts at the Polytechnic school of HongKong, it is impassioned for the Photographie. He discovers the European cinema, and in particular the French scenario writers of the New wave. He obtains his diploma in 1980.

After being entered like assistant of production for the chain HongKong Television Broadcasts (HKTVB), he becomes scenario writer of television full-time and writes in particular the “Soap operated” Don' T Look Now which is a great success.

He leaves the chain to enter the department scenario of City Cinema which he leaves to become independent. He is credited of more than 10 scenarios between 1982 and 1987, comedies romantic, dramas or film of Kung fu but he claims to have written five times more without official credit of them. He regards Final Victory (最後勝利, 1986) a dark comedy carried out by Patrick Tam as his best scenario. This one will produce first film of Wong.

Realizer

He begins his career of realizer in 1988 with the whodunnit As Tears Go By , a kind sails about it at the time since the enormous success of the Syndicat of the crime of John Woo. This film has many loans with the Mean Streets of Martin Scorsese and presents already one of the future trademarks of Wong, a powerful atmosphere thanks to a palette almost expressionnist.

Its second film Our years wild leaves in 1990. This drama on a youth without goal in the Années 1960 enables him to fix its style: elliptic scenes on the memory and the melancholy around marginal characters. The film is a commercial failure but is regarded today by the critics as one of best films of Hong-Kong. One describes it like a Cantonese version of the Fury of living .

It creates its own company independent of production, called Jet Thunders Ltd Films. Its partner in this one is Jeffrey Lau a realizer and producer to which work is closer to commercial films of Hong-Kong.

In the Années 1990 Wong carries out several films produced by Jet Thunders which enables him to work at its own rate/rhythm. Among them, Chungking Express (1994), a film with the Godard on the life of two police officers in the broken hearts and a mysterious woman.

In the same vein, the Fallen angels , often regarded as the continuation of Chungking Express is a black film néo- on a disillusioned killer seeking to reconquer the love of its partner in a decoration of sordid and surreal urban night.

Ashes of time (1994) leaves between Chungking Express and the Fallen angels and makes it possible Wong to apply his approach to a Wu xia-side, film of saber. The catches of sight in continental China pushed back during more than one year made film one of the commercial disasters most resounding of the cinema of HongKong.

Its first international recognition is its price of the best realizer than it gains with the Cannes festival for Happy Together in 1997. A made film of splendid associated with an eclectic original soundtrack between Tango and instrumental images saturated with Frank Zappa to report the surging adventure of a gay couple alive expatriate with Buenos Aires.

In spite of its past of scenario writer, one of the marks of the style of Wong as realizer is his use of the improvisation and the experimentation rather than to follow a written scenario. That caused often problem for its actors, its financial allies as well as other people related to its films.

In 2000, Wong carries out an old project with In the Mood for Love where it recreates the HongKong of her childhood, that of the years 1960. The main actor, Tony Leung, obtains the price of male interpretation of the Cannes festival. The film is an immense success in France: more than 1,2 million entries - what is exceptional for a work then only available in VOST.

In 2003, it benefits from the interruption of the turning of 2046 due to the epidemic of SARS to carry out the Hand , one of the three parts of the film Eros (the two others being realized by Antonioni and Soderbergh) which leaves in rooms in 2004.

In 2005, thanks to the support of European producers, it completes 2046 . Five years of turning were necessary (including 6 month with Maggie Cheung… which appears only a few seconds!) with Shanghai, HongKong, Bangkok, and Macao. Wong Kar-wai worked for all his films with the chief-operator Christopher Doyle except for its first film As tears go by.

He entrusted the decorations, the costumes and the assembly of his last films with William Chang.

In 2006, it chairs the Jury of the Cannes festival and becomes thus the very first realizer Chinese to have this honor.

Short films

Wong Kar-wai carried out several court-measurings, televisual publicities and video clips. He carried out publicities for the Designer Takeo Kikuchi with Tadanobu Asano and Karen Mok, for Motorola in 1998 with Faye Wong and also Tadanobu Asano and more recently for Lacoste with Chang Chen and Diane MacMahon. One can also quote those for Suntime Wine with Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung, for JC Decaux or for a perfume of Dior with Eva Green (on a song of MUSE).

Wong also produced a video clip for the duet of Tony Leung with Niki, a song of the original soundtrack of In the mood for also coils on the album of Tony Leung. He produced the clip of Six Days for DJ Shadow with Chen Chang and Danielle Graham.

Its short-measuring Hua Yang De Nian Hua is an assembly of scene of old Chinese films considered as lost until copies nitrates are found in Californian warehouses. It was shown in 2001 with the Festival of Berlin.

Publicity for the news Ambilight (Aurea) of Philips with '' There' S only one sun '' in 2007

Scenario writer and producer

Like known as previously, Wong Kar-wai wrote many scenarios before coming to the realization.

Wong Kar-wai also produced all his films through Jet Thunders since 1993 except for ashes of time , a started project of the years before.

He also produced by Jet Thunders of other films of which some realized by Jeffrey Lau. As a scenario writer

Once Upon has Rainbow (1982), Just for Fun (1983), Silent Romance (1984), Chase has Fortune (1985), Intellectual Trio (1985), Unforgettable Fantasy (1985), Sweet Surrender (1986), Rosa (1986), Goodbye My Hero (1986), The Final Test (1987), Final Victory (1987), Flaming Brothers aka Dragon and Tiger Fight (1987), The Haunted COP Shop off Horrors (1987), The Haunted COP Shop off Horrors 2 (1988), Walk One Fire (1988), Return Engagement (1990), Drunk Savior off the (1992)

As a producer

Flaming Brothers aka Dragon and Tiger Fight (1987), The Eagle Shooting Heroes (1993), First Coils: the Litter one the Breeze (1997), Chinese Odyssey 2002 (2002), Sound off Colors (2003)

Catalog of films

Rewards

Named nearly about thirty times in various international festivals, are listed here only the gained prices.

  • Price of best film, better realizer and better artistic director at the time of the HongKong Film Awards 1991, for Our wild years

  • Price of best film and better realizer at the time of the HongKong Film Awards 1995, for Chungking Express
  • Price of the best realizer and better scenario at the time of the HongKong Film Critics Society Awards 1995, for Ashes of time
  • Price of the setting in scene with the Cannes festival 1997, for Happy Together
  • Price of best foreign film at the time of the International Arizona Film Festival 1998, for Happy Together
  • Price of best foreign film at the time of the Price of the European cinema 2000, for In the Mood for Coils
  • César of the best foreign film in 2001, for In the Mood for Love
  • Prix of best foreign film at the time of the German Film Awards 2001, for In the Mood for Love
  • Prix of the best realizer at the time of the HongKong Film Critics Society Awards 2001, for In the Mood for Love
  • Prix of best film at the time of the Valdivia International Film Festival 2001, for In the Mood for Coils
  • Prix of best foreign film at the time of the Argentinean Film Critics Association Awards 2002, for In the Mood for Love
  • Prix of best foreign film at the time of the Fotogramas de Plata 2002, for In the Mood for Love
  • Prix of best foreign film at the time of the Prix of the European cinema 2004, for 2046
  • Prix of best foreign film at the time of the Mainichi Film Contest 2005, for 2046
  • Prix of best foreign film at the time of the Sant Jordi Awards 2005, for 2046

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