Wong Kar-wai clearly sees the world differently through his trademark sunglasses, if the colorful, sensual, visual style of In the Mood for Love and 2046 are anything to go by.
My Blueberry Nights, the Hong Kong director's first English-language feature and ninth film, is as good as it looks.
Singer Norah Jones heads the cast as Elizabeth, a lovelorn straggler jilted by her New York boyfriend. She takes refuge at a diner owned by Jeremy (Jude Law).
Hong Kong film director Wong Kar-wai.
It appears she likes his blueberry pies and their pastry-fueled friendship grows. Elizabeth then sets off on a journey from New York, through Memphis, to Nevada.
She has encounters with several lonely souls, including an estranged couple - the alcoholic policeman (David Strathairn) and his wife (Rachel Weisz)- and a gambler, Natalie Portman, who talks a better game than she plays.
The cast is American and British and the background scenes are of the United States, but the neon-lit settings, bars and lonely highways seem familiar. Fans of Wong's work, however, will note that the movie has a more open feel.
"I think the story could have happened in any country, to any person. The film location is not important, it is the story that counts. I was curious to see how a different language and filming method would influence me," Wong said during an interview with China Daily.
He said the project was conceived overnight and came from a segment of
In the Mood for Love, featuring Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung.
The scene was cut from the final print and last year, when another of Wong's projects (Woman from Shanghai, starring Nicole Kidman) was postponed, he decided to make a short film in the interlude.
The plot of Blueberry Nights came to him and he turned it into a road film, partly because it would cost too much to shoot entirely in New York. Therefore Jones, the Grammy-winning singer, was sent on a romantic but melancholy journey.
"Wherever she travels, her heart is still in New York," is how Wong explained the character. "She needs to get some distance to find out whether she wants to go back."
The journey, Wong said, is one of self-discovery. He quotes the story of Christopher Doyle, the Australian cinematographer, as an example.
"When he was a little boy, he always wondered what the world would be like on the sea. Therefore, he worked as a sailor. When he returned years later he said he felt like a guest and thought he could belong anywhere," Wong said.
"So what I hope the audience will get after seeing this film is an idea of their real self."
The experience of working with an English-speaking ensemble, was more fun than challenging, Wong said.
"The culture difference is obvious but I don't think it is a problem. Human feelings are universal, more than that, when we had different opinions, I invited everyone to contribute their ideas."
The much talked about kiss scene is evidence of this. It is closing time in the diner and Jones, the last customer, is slumped on the counter, her eyes shut.
Law sees some cream on her lips. He thinks about whether he should clean it, by hand, or with his lips.
In the discarded segment of In the Mood for Love, Tony Leung touches Maggie Cheung's face with his finger, before planting his lips.
Wong was well aware what an Asian guy would do but sought advice on what a Westerner would do. The guys voted for a straightforward kiss, while the women wanted a hand first. Finally, it was agreed Jude Law's character would gaze at Jones first, before stealing a kiss.
When shooting the scene, William Chang, Wong's long-time collaborator and a production designer this time around, constantly fussed over Jones, rearranging her hair and re-spotting the cream on her lips.
The scene, which runs for less than one minute, was taken at different film speeds and from a multitude of angles: a wide shot, his point of view; hers, through windows, with objects in the foreground. Wong and his cinematographer Darius Khondji, who replaced Doyle on this project, devised it for 15 set-ups.
"I've never worked with anyone who puts so much emphasis on a single moment," Law told the New York Times. "It's extraordinary how he'll take a moment and replay it and slice it up."
Wong developed the script with crime novelist Lawrence Block. Still, Wong recycled his ideas, often at the last minute. To his surprise, Law and Jones were excited with his method, which Law described as "a living story that's still being decided".
Wong said it was a myth that he never works with a completed script.
"I started as a scriptwriter so I knew very well what the story was. I only improvise details. This time Block and I wrote the story first to respect the actors' habits."
Wong, who has pushed stars like Cheung and Leung to the edge because of his habit for re-shooting, wrapped up My Blueberry Nights in a surprisingly brisk eight weeks. He doesn't always take forever to wrap up a film.
"This is another myth. Not all films need to be shot over a long period. This time we took the simplest equipment and finished it in a short time. Also Jones was doing her album, so in the two months when she could work, we had to finish the filming."
The movie will premiere on the Chinese mainland around Christmas. Wong said the fact that the filming was done in the United States does not mean he has "gone Hollywood".
"The production team is from Hong Kong," he said, "so this is still a Hong Kong film."
(China Daily November 27, 2007)
