Cinematic Hong Kong of Wong Kar-Wai
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CINEMATIC HONG KONG OF WONG KAR-WAI by HAIHONG LI ABSTRACT In order to promote an understanding of the centrality of space and the intimate relationship between space and identity in Wong Kar-wai’s films, this dissertation examines the director’s construction of cinematic space and the characters’ sense of who they are in relation to Hong Kong in his six films Days of Being Wild, In the Mood for Love, 2046, As Tears Go by, Chungking Express, and Fallen Angels. The investigation of Wong’s use of cinematic space involves the analysis of his selection of location and strategic employment of the mise-en-scène, camera angles, lenses, lighting, and music, which constitute his fictional world. It is my assertion that Wong’s construction of Hong Kong in these films responds to the formation and transformation of identity and showcases the impact of colonialism, modernization, decolonization, globalization, and postmodern culture upon the lives of Hong Kong inhabitants. INDEX WORDS: Wong Kar-wai, Hong Kong, Cinematic space, Identity CINEMATIC HONG KONG OF WONG KAR-WAI by HAIHONG LI B.A., Fu Zhou University, China, 2000 M.A., Truman State University, 2004 A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of The University of Georgia in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY ATHENS, GEORGIA 2012 © 2012 Haihong Li All Rights Reserved CINEMATIC HONG KONG OF WONG KAR-WAI by HAIHONG LI Major Professor: Hyangsoon Yi Committee: Richard Neupert Ronald Bogue Masaki Mori Karim Traore Electronic Version Approved: Maureen Grasso Dean of the Graduate School The University of Georgia May 2012 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I wish to extend my sincere gratitude to my supervisor, Hyangsoon Yi, who helped me develop research skills and understanding of the subject during the completion of the project. This dissertation would not have been possible without her diligent work and encouragement. I would also like to express my thanks to Professor Richard Neupert for his most insightful and valuable comments, Professor Ronald Bogue for his warm support, and Professor Masaki Mori and Professor Karim Traore for their patience and kindness. A special acknowledgment of mine goes to my family for their undivided support. I want to thank my dearest Anna for her love and my parents for all of the sacrifices that they have made for me. My husband Joe was so patient with my late nights, and I want to thank him for believing in me from the beginning. Lastly, I offer my regards and blessings to my editors, Jon Falsarella Dawson and Jessica Taylor, for their best work. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS........................................................................................................... iv CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION .........................................................................................................1 2 THE LIMINAL SPACE—DAYS OF BEING WILD...................................................45 3 IN THE MEMORY OF THE SHANGHAINESE COMMUNITY—IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE...................................................................................................................67 4 THE DACADENT CITY—2046 ................................................................................86 5 MAPPING MONGKOK—AS TEARS GO BY ..........................................................108 6 THE GLOBAL CITY—CHUNGKING EXPRESS ...................................................132 7 THE POSTMODERN CITY—FALLEN ANGELS ...................................................155 8 CONCLUSION.…………………………………………………………………….177 BIBLIOGRAPHY........................................................................................................................188 v CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION This study examines Wong’s films as cinematic responses to cultural crises and social transformation that result from colonization, decolonization, and globalization of Hong Kong through the analysis of the urban space in Wong’s six films, As Tears Go by (1988), The Days of Being Wild (1990), Chungking Express (1994), Fallen Angels (1995), In the Mood for Love (2000), and 2046 (2004). This project presents fresh insights into the production of colonial and postcolonial subjectivity and the formation of Hong Kong identity. Wong’s six films provide various historical and cultural accounts that present a cinematic Hong Kong, which grows from the colonial past into its current status as a global city. His films invoke multiple spatialitites and temporalities while imagining the past, pondering the present, and anxiously anticipating the unknown future. An investigation into the cinematic space and the characters’ relationships with their surroundings in Wong Kar-wai’s films reveals how cinematic space embodies social concerns and issues and how the filmmaker exploits the imagery. This analysis focuses on the filmmaker’s construction of space, investigating how these films manifest transformations of social reality that is essential to the building of local identity but hidden in an otherwise illegible urban setting that is too complex to understand. Cinematic space in Wong’s films requires close and sustained study because the construction of urban Hong Kong is closely related to the development of local identity. In Wong’s films, space has a critical role in shaping individual identity, determining who and what the characters are and what their relations are. Accentuating the importance of space, Wong 1 Kar-wai asserts, “I believe geographical accessibility is a deciding factor for human relationships” (Wong Kar-wai 88). Human geography is one of the director’s major concerns. He exploits urban space as well as human relationships with their physical environment. His stories are not only about where the characters are but also about how an urban setting shapes characters and make them who they are. While space is essential in Wong’s films, reinventing the urban landscape has always been Wong’s priority in filmmaking. When asked to evaluate himself as a film director, Wong says: “I am an architect who doesn’t work on a blueprint” (Chia). Urban space and the way human beings are embedded in their surroundings fascinate him. Space is so important to the director that it comes before everything else in his filmmaking. In his mind, characters’ social relationships and social practices are always associated with, or even determined by, the kind of space they are in, and space is inscribed with historical memory, societal transformation, and cultural difference. Wong reveals that he must have a location before he can make up a story and decide what type of characters should be involved in such a setting. Wong says: the most important thing about the script is to know the place it takes place in. Because if you know that, then you can decide what the characters do in this space. The space even tells you who the characters are, why they’re there, and so on. Everything else just comes bit by bit if you have a place in your mind. So I have to scout locations before I even start writing. (Tirard 197) For Wong, space produces characters and stories while also predetermining how the characters react to the space and their spatial practice. 2 A brief introduction to Wong and his critical reception is necessary before delving into a broader discussion of space in his films. Wong is a controversial Hong Kong film director, whose works are often found puzzling by some yet whole-heartedly celebrated by others. As one of the filmmakers from the Second New Wave of Hong Kong cinema, Wong rose to international fame through Happy Together (1997), a film regarding a homosexual couple’s adventures in Buenos Aires, which won him the Best Director prize at the Cannes Film Festival in 1997. As a result, he has been invited to make a number of commercials for multinational enterprises, such as BMW, Christian Dior, Lancôme, Lacoste, and Motorola, and he also made a music video for American musician DJ Shadow’s “Six Days.” In 2006, he was the first Chinese director named president of the jury panel for the Cannes Film Festival, and his first American movie, My Blueberry Nights (2007), starring Norah Jones, Jude Law, Rachel Weisz, and Natalie Portman, made its debut the following year. Critics have praised Wong for his stunning visual style, expressive lighting and colors, cryptic shot composition, and skillful incorporation of elements from MTV and popular art. In Wong Kar-wai, Stephen Teo points out the essential MTV elements in Wong’s films because of the “hyped colours and baroque sets” as well as “the incessant and repetitive movement” (158). Ken Dancyger notices Wong’s often fragmented and sometimes illogical narrative structures, his subversion of traditional genres, and the inspiring incorporation of music in order to create desired mood among the audience. However, Wong is notorious for shooting films without finished scripts, his endless improvisation, and obsession with exhausting every narrative possibility, all of which often result in an exceedingly lengthy filmmaking process that risks falling far behind schedule. What’s 3 more, although Wong’s works are usually considered art-house films and widely applauded, most of them have been box office failures. Critics have taken various approaches to Wong’s works. For instance, David Bordwell focuses on the director’s creative choices in composing stories, which challenge and destabilize conventional genres. Elizabeth Wright praises Wong for his stunning visual style, often credited to Australian cinematographer Christopher