Ashes of Time Redux

Wong Kar-wai's re-edit of his 1994 Chinese period drama centers around Ou-yang Feng (Leslie Cheung), who lives on the edge of a desert eking out a livelihood by acting as a middleman. He matches his clients with the right type of services, be it a bodyguard or assassin! A wide array of characters sift across his timescape each fleeting as the desert sand. They all seem to project a sense of loss causing them to seek the past and regret the future.  Kar-wai in his usual meandering style, tries to stich the disparate storylines together. It his failure to do so cleanly that makes the film endearing and magical.

Rating: * * +

Flowers of Shanghai

The film opens at a dinner table with drunken men playing drinking games and waited upon by stunning women. There is a still impassive face in that crowd. A face that over powers every scene. Coming across a Hsiao-hsien Hou flick featuring Tony Leung, I was predictably drawn to it. The flowers in the movie are obviously not him but the courtesans who live in the expansive brothels of Shanghai in the 1880s. The women scheme to buy their freedom and love using "feelings" as a currency. A well shot period drama.

Rating: * *

Days of Being Wild

This is the second time I am watching the movie and it yet again left me with the feeling of floating in space. Wong Kar Wai is sublime. This was his first movie with Chris Doyle and you can see the beginnings of ITMFL. The movie follows various characters trying to find meaning, purpose and direction to life who are left feeling disconsolate and lost in a world of missed opportunities. The pace is gentle but has a certain panache to it.

Maggie Cheung is ethereal and vulnerable. I think this is the film she looks the most beautiful in. It is interesting to note that she plays a character with the same name in ITMFL and Tony Leung shows up at the end looking very much like our friend Mr Chow.

Rating: * * *