WKW Week

Been on a non-stop Wong Kar Wai binge this week, with Eros screening at Kendall and the big Retrospective at Brattle Cinema. Watched As Tears Go By 旺角卡門 on Sun, Eros 愛神 on Mon, then Fallen Angels 墮落天使 + Chungking Express 重慶森林 today.

The Hand, WKW's bit in the Eros trio of shorts was as gorgeous and lush as expected. As a spinoff of 2046, his signature 60's style and Chris Doyle's unmistakable palette is as consistent as the longer film. More physical and psychological clautrophobia, more covert desires, more unconsummated relationships. As always, the opulent cheongsams alone make paying to see the film on big screen worthwhile; on the curvaceous Gong Li those dresses can easily put many so-called couture designers to shame.

WKW's prolly going down in film history as the genius who makes even masturbation look divine. Before watching Fallen Angels and The Hand, I didn't realise how shockingly good WKW is at portraying explicit masturbation, without making it tacky. In The Hand, wanking a partner has never looked so poetically excruciating on screen: Gong Li's feathery touch sent tingles down MY spine, and Chang Chen's face looked like he was a mute being castrated. You can literally see the sweat droplets forming on his forehead - the man deserves an award just for those 30 seconds.

I wonder if WKW has worked unfulfilledness out of his system yet. Out of all his flicks, only Chungking Express and Happy Together have happy endings. Alienated urbanites deserve happiness too.