Wong Kar-Wai

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The Style and Substance of Wong Kar-Wai

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By Ben Elliott

March 22nd, 2024

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Bold color schemes. Non-linear editing. A pop song studded soundtrack.

When a director goes all in on pushing stylistic choices to the forefront of their movies, it’s easy for the substance (i.e. the story) to become an afterthought. That’s what makes Wong Kar-wai so special: He’s one of the rare auteurs who can spin his style into substance.

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Wong's movies are often bittersweet romances that depict the hazy highs of love alongside the bracing lows of its loss. In the Mood for Love follows two jilted spouses who are haunted by the specter of a relationship that almost was, while 2046, its loose sequel, shows how the fallout of that missed opportunity continues to impact people far into the future.

Chungking Express, which plays at The Triplex Monday night as a Boondocks Film Society special event, is an anthology film that features two stories: one where a fleeting love takes hold as two people are thrown together under mysterious circumstances, the other a tale of how a relationship can blossom when two people aren’t even in the same physical space.

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All of these movies carry Wong’s trademark visual style — a result of his collaboration with cinematographer Christopher O’Doyle — and a writing and directing style that allows his characters to embrace moments of silence. This is where Wong works his magic: the richness of his composition fills in the gaps where we might typically expect dialogue to express a character’s thoughts and feelings.

Wong’s style could be seen as bells and whistles in the hands of a lesser director. But he uses this lens to create an atmosphere that envelopes the audience. His style brings emotion to the forefront, using heightened aesthetics to express feelings words can’t. His movies might feel slight on story, but they’re heavy on substance.

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