Asian Auteurs, part 1 of 3

Wong Kar-Wai 王家卫and Park Chan-Wook are two of the better known Asian directors in world cinema. Both possess distinctive styles – WKW’s startlingly beautiful cinematography (often with partner Chris Doyle), stand-still romances and blind longing; PCW’s spurts of brutal violence (not unlike Miike Takashi), high-strung tensions and compelling anti-heroes/heroines. The aspiring movie critic in me will shortly review 4 movies from each director, and compare their similarities and contrasting styles. I guess I was inspired by the Caravaggio-Rembrandt expo in Amsterdam, after re-visiting its excellent website.



Precursor to greatness: As Tears Go By 旺角卡门 (1988) VS Joint Security Area (2000)

(ATGB nutshell) HK triad Wah has issues: a girlfriend who just had an abortion, a brainless and trouble-making ‘leng’, debts, more trouble with taikors, and a sick pretty cousin. Despite being very much a genre film (note: A Moment of Romance 天若有情, also starring Andy Lau 刘德华 as a lead), it already is laden with WKW characteristics on his directorial debut – cigarette smoke, futile attempts to salvage pride, simmering romance. Although in this case it leads to a commercially-fulfilling ending of a tragic melodrama. Maggie Cheung 张曼玉 exhibits the strong-resolved dame look wonderfully, esp as Wah boards the red bus, making her a staple in many later WKW productions. It is also interesting to see Andy Lau and the so-much-more talented Jacky Chueng 张学友 resume being triad partners 15yrs later in Jiang Hu 江湖 (2004).
Key scene: the two leads are stuck in an awkward moment, looking at each other, the slight tingle to speak their hearts, the calm surroundings, table fan whirring. Suddenly the door burst open and a bloody Jacky stumbles in. Triad reality looms in an almost cruel way to the viewer.

(JSA nutshell) An area which connects North and South in the Korean Demilitarised Zone, a village called Panmunjeom, is known as the Joint Security Area. A terrible murder occurs in the North camp, apparently done by a kidnapped South soldier as he tries to save himself. Or is it? An investigation into this whodunit is called by the UN, and in comes a beautiful Korean-Swiss major. A rare female lead in a war movie – Lee Young-Ae confronts an alien landscape, missing evidence (incl. a whole person), and political stability theories, as she is forced to answer questions about her actions and beliefs with each new evidence. The film that made PCW big, it is also a demonstration of his filmmaking style – well-paced storytelling, tension-building sequences, brutal killings, and an unforgettable landscape for the film background. It also helps that the brilliant cast eventually became stars in their own right: LYA (who doesn’t know ‘Cheung Kam 长今’?), Lee Byung-Heon (seen most recently in the vicious “A Bittersweet Life (2004)”, and Song Kang-Ho (star of the next PCW flick, and also the unforgettable “Memories of Murder (2002)”)
Key scene: the nerve-wrecking recount of what really happen. Again, reality reveals itself in utmost cruelty.

ATGB vs JSA keywords: debuts, distinguished styles, returning cast, themes: friendship, headstrong, necessary violence, landscape, reality.