Quotes by Wong Kar-wai

About Wong Kar-wai:

Wong Kar-wai is a Hong Kong Second Wave filmmaker, internationally renowned as an auteur for his visually unique, highly stylised, emotionally resonant work, including Days of Being Wild (1990), Ashes of Time (1994), Chungking Express (1994), Fallen Angels (1995), Happy Together (1997), 2046 (2004) and The Grandmaster (2013). His film In the Mood for Love (2000), starring Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung, garnered widespread critical acclaim. Wong's films frequently feature protagonists who yearn for romance in the midst of a knowingly brief life and scenes that can often be described as sketchy, digressive, exhilarating, and containing vivid imagery.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

'Ashes of Time' was my third film, and as a young director at that point, it's not very often that you have the chance to make a big martial arts film, so of course I jumped at this opportunity.

Wong Kar-wai

In my first film, we always tried to have a script and work in a normal way, but I was constantly changing things during shooting. Because I worked as a scriptwriter for 10 years, I understood that directors always wanted to change what was originall...

Wong Kar-wai

My mother has a very big family in Shanghai, so I have, like, almost 40 cousins, so we stayed together all the time. So by the time I get to Hong Kong, I become the only child and the only one surrounded by adults, you know.

Wong Kar-wai

I never studied film formally at school, but as a kid, I spent most of my time in cinemas.

Wong Kar-wai

I think one day I can make a book about coffee shops in Hong Kong. I spent almost most of my time in coffee shops, in different coffee shops.

Wong Kar-wai

1936 is a very important year: a golden time for martial arts, right before the Japanese invasion.

Wong Kar-wai

Sometimes, when you're on the streets, certain music inspires you, and then you have a vision. But, at the end of the day, it's a synthesis of visions, so you have to think, as a director, of a scene, or how to deliver a line, or how do this visually...

Wong Kar-wai

I came to Hong Kong when I was five, but we didn't have any relatives in Hong Kong. My mom is a big movie fan, and she watched all kinds of movies, so when I was a kid, basically, we went to watch a movie every day.

Wong Kar-wai

I was born in Shanghai and moved to Hong Kong the year I was five.

Wong Kar-wai

My films are never about what Hong Kong is like, or anything approaching a realistic portrait, but what I think about Hong Kong and what I want it to be.

Wong Kar-wai

Some actors like encouragement. Some actors prefer to have pressure. And sometimes, for some actors, its better to give your comment by silence, because they are so skillful, so gifted, that they understand without talking too much.

Wong Kar-wai

I didn't know anything about martial arts. I'm a big fan, but I never practiced martial arts.

Wong Kar-wai

Each production has certain circumstances that will bring you to a certain way of making it. It is not intentional, it is not an artistic decision, the way we make films, it is the way we address to our problems.

Wong Kar-wai

I'm not very aware of styles. We never talk about styles before we start shooting, or even during shooting, because I think the film will bring you there.

Wong Kar-wai

Heritage is something martial-arts films don't often talk about.

Wong Kar-wai

I'm a big fan of martial arts films, novels and radio programs.

Wong Kar-wai

I never had a problem with genre because a genre actually is like a uniform - you put yourself into a certain uniform. But if you dress up in a police officer's uniform, it doesn't mean that you are an officer; it can mean something else.

Wong Kar-wai

I'm not coming from film school. I learned cinema in the cinema watching films, so you always have a curiosity. I say, 'Well, what if I make a film in this genre? What if I make this film like this?'

Wong Kar-wai

During shooting, you have the idea, like, of this certain dress on this actress, but it's not to fit, so you have to make all of these alterations and modifications. So in a way, I build the characters with the cast, and it's sort of custom-made, the...

Wong Kar-wai

Author Bio

  • NameWong Kar-wai
  • DescriptionHong Kong screenwriter, film producer and film director
  • AliasesKar Wai Wong
  • BornJuly 17, 1958
  • CountryPeople's Republic Of China
  • ProfessionFilm Director; Screenwriter; Film Producer
  • AwardsBronze Bauhinia Star; Hong Kong Film Award For Best Director