Born in Shanghai, he moved to Hong Kong with his parents at the age of five. Coming from the Mainland and speaking only Mandarin and Shanghainese, he had a difficult period of adjustment to Cantonese speaking Hong Kong, spending hours in movie theatres with his mother. After graduating from Hong Kong Polytechnic College in graphic design in 1980, he enrolled in the Production Training Course organized by Hong Kong Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB) and became a full-time television scriptwriter. In the mid-80’s, he became a scriptwriter/director at The Wing Scope Co. and In-gear Film Production Company, the production houses owned by renowned Hong Kong actor /movie producer Alan Tang Kwong-Wing. Wong’s current nostalgic artsy style took shape during his apprenticeship with Alan Tang Kwong-Wing, who invested in the first movie Wong directed, “As Tears Go By” (1988). Wong’s career took off when he directed the film “Days of Being Wild” (1990), despite losing Alan Tang millions of invested dollars. Wong subsequently graduated to feature film work. He is credited with about ten scripts between 1982 and 1987, covering an array of genres from romantic comedy to action drama, but claims to have worked to some extent or another on about fifty more without official credit. He considers Final Victory, a dark comedy/crime story for director Patrick Tam, his best script. He made his directing debut in 1988 with As Tears Go By. It was a crime melodrama of the kind then hugely popular, and with heavy borrowings from Martin Scorsese’s Mean Streets (1974), but already displayed one of his principal trademarks in its atmospheric and sometimes expressionistic color palette. It is his only box office hit to date.His next film, Days of Being Wild (1991), a drama about aimless youth set in the early 1960s, established his trademark form: elliptically plotted mood pieces, with lush visuals and music, about the burden of memory on melancholy, misfit characters. Days was a box office failure but now regularly tops Hong Kong critics’ polls of the best local films ever made. It has been described as a sort of Cantonese Rebel Without a Cause.He also established his own independent production company, called Jet Tone Films Ltd. in English. His partner in the company is Jeffrey Lau, a director and producer who tends to work closer to the populist vein of mainstream Hong Kong film.Wong went on to direct several more feature films in the 1990s produced by Jet Tone, which allowed him to work at his own pace. Among these were Chungking Express (1994), which follows the lives of two love-struck cops in Hong Kong and the mysterious women they meet and fall in love with. Originally intended to be a distraction piece for him to get his mind off of the heavily delayed Ashes of Time, it ended up being one of his most popular films, if not the most popular. Fallen Angels (1995), was originally intended to be the third act of Chungking Express, but when the tone didn’t fit with the other two parts, he cut it out and made it a standalone movie instead; it is seen as a semi-sequel to Chungking Express as is a neo-noir film about on a disillusioned killer trying to overcome the affections of his partner, a strange drifter looking for her ex-boyfriend, and a mute trying to get the world’s attention in his own ways, all set against a sordid and surreal urban nightscape.Wong’s fourth movie, Ashes of Time (1994), released between Chungking Express and Fallen Angels, applied his approach to a star-studded wuxia (martial arts swordplay) story; the desert shoot in Mainland China dragged on for over a year and resulted in one of contemporary Hong Kong cinema’s most notorious commercial disasters.His first major international recognition was at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival where he won the Best Director prize for Happy Together (1997). A film that “uses gorgeous, saturated images set to an eclectic soundtrack of tango by Argentinian maestro Astor Piazolla, Brazilian singer Caetano Veloso and Frank Zappa instrumentals to chronicle the stormy affair of a gay couple living as expatriates in Buenos Aires.” In fact, tracing back to his early career, Wong did celebrate his success without being grateful to his mentor, Alan Tang-Kwong Wing.[citation needed] Wong mentioned Tang’s name in his thank you speech at the award ceremony.Despite his background as a scriptwriter, one of Wong’s trademarks as a director is that he works largely through improvisation and experimentation involving the actors and crew rather than adhering to a fixed screenplay. This has been a frequent source of trouble for his actors, his financial backers and many other people connected with his films, including sometimes himself.The filming of In the Mood for Love (2000) had to be shifted from Beijing to Macau after the China Film Bureau demanded to see the completed script. This was all in all a minor setback in the “very complicated evolution” of the project which goes as far back as 1997. It was Wong’s intention to make two films, one of which would be titled Beijing Summer, the plot unclear at the time, but eventually taking form in Macau. Here Wong planned to call it Three Stories About Food, but saw it better to settle for only one story, A Story About Food, that centers on a writer. Together with scenes shot in Bangkok and Angkor Wat, the filming took as long as 15 months. This was an especially arduous time for lead actress Maggie Cheung whose hair and makeup reportedly took a daily five hours, and who appeared in different cheongsams in each scene. She famously compared the lengthy shoot to a cold she couldn’t get rid of. Working without deadlines, the film’s upcoming premier at Cannes nonetheless put some pressure on Wong to finish editing. Intending to name the film Secrets he was dissuaded by Cannes, and finally named it In the Mood for Love after Bryan Ferry’s cover of the song “I’m in the Mood for Love” he was listening to. Infamous for long drawn out shoots without any real regards to deadlines, it is now well known that a running joke amongst the crew of 2046 (2004), a film about capturing lost memories, was that he would finish in the year 2046.In February 2006, Screen International reported that Norah Jones would make her acting debut in Wong Kar-wai’s first full English-language film, My Blueberry Nights. The film opened the 2007 Cannes Film Festival as one of 22 films in competition. While Norah Jones presented herself well, it was generally perceived to be one of the director’s least successful works.
filmography
The Lady from Shanghai (2008) (pre-production)
Chacun son cinéma ou Ce petit coup au coeur quand la lumière s’éteint et que le film commence (2007) (story) (segment “I Travelled 9000 km To Give It To You”)
… aka Chacun son cinéma (France: short title)
… aka To Each His Cinema (International: English title)
My Blueberry Nights (2007) (screenplay) (as W.K.W.) (story) (as W.K.W.)
Eros (2004) (screenplay) (segment “The Hand”)
… aka Eros (France)
2046 (2004) (screenplay)
… aka 2046 – Der ultimative Liebesfilm (Germany)
Six Days (2002) (V)
花样年华 (2000) (written by)
… aka In the Mood for Love (France) (Hong Kong: English title) (USA)
… aka Hua yang nian hua (Hong Kong: Mandarin title)
春光乍泄 (1997)
… aka Happy Together (Hong Kong: English title) (USA)
… aka Buenos Aires Affair (International: English title)
… aka Chun guang zha xie (Hong Kong: Mandarin title)
… aka Happy
堕落天使 (1995)
… aka Fallen Angels (Hong Kong: English title) (USA)
… aka Doh lok tin si (Hong Kong: Cantonese title)
Dung che sai duk (1994)
… aka Ashes of Time (Hong Kong: English title)
… aka Dong xie xi du (Hong Kong: Mandarin title)
重庆森林 (1994)
… aka Chung King Express (Hong Kong: English title)
… aka Chungking Express (USA)
… aka Chungking Jungle (literal English title)
… aka Hong Kong Express (Europe: English title)
… aka Zong Qing sen lin (Hong Kong: Mandarin title)
Gau yat san diu hap lui (1991)
… aka Jiu yi shen diao xia lu (Hong Kong: Mandarin title)
… aka Saviour of the Soul (Hong Kong: English title)
… aka Terrible Angel
阿飞正传 (1991)
… aka Days of Being Wild (Hong Kong: English title) (USA)
… aka Ah Fei ching chuen (Hong Kong: Cantonese title)
… aka Ah Fei’s Story
… aka The True Story of Ah Fei (literal English title)
Zai zhan jiang hu (1990) (as Wong Kar Wai)
… aka Hong Kong Corruptor (USA: video title)
… aka Return Engagement (Hong Kong: English title: original subtitled version)
Wong gok ka moon (1988)
… aka As Tears Go By (International: English title)
… aka Carmen of the Streets
… aka Mongkok Carmen (literal English title)
… aka Rexie Naner
… aka Wang jiao ka men (China: Mandarin title)
Lie ying ji hua (1988)
… aka Walk on Fire
Meng gui xue tang (1988)
… aka Maang gwai hok tong (Hong Kong: Cantonese title)
… aka The Haunted Cop Shop II (Hong Kong: English title)
… aka The Haunted Cop Shop of Horrors 2
Zui hou sheng li (1987)
… aka Chui hau sing lee (Hong Kong: Cantonese title)
… aka Final Victory (Hong Kong: English title)
Jiang hu long hu men (1987) (as Wong Kar Wai)
… aka Dragon and Tiger Fight
… aka Flaming Brothers (Hong Kong: English title)
… aka Gong woo lung foo moon (Hong Kong: Cantonese title)
Meng gui cha guan (1987)
… aka The Haunted Cop Shop of Horrors
… aka The Haunted Copshop
Zui hou yi zhan (1987)
… aka Ji hau yat jin (Hong Kong: Cantonese title)
… aka The Final Test (Hong Kong: English title)
E nan (1986)
… aka Everlasting Rhapsody
… aka Goodbye My Love (Hong Kong: English title)
… aka Ok naam (Hong Kong: Cantonese title)
Shen yong shuang xiang pao xu ji (1986)
… aka Rosa
Wo yao jin gui xu (1986) (written by)
… aka Sweet Surrender
Long feng zhi duo xing (1984)
… aka Lung fung ji doh sing (Hong Kong: Cantonese title)
… aka The Intellectual Trio (Hong Kong: English title)
Yi ren zai jian (1984)
… aka Silent Romance
Kong xin da shao ye (1983)
… aka Just for Fun
Choi wan kuk (1982)
… aka Cai yun qu (China: Mandarin title)
… aka Once Upon a Rainbow
… aka Rainbow Cloud Song (literal English title)
Director:
The Lady from Shanghai (2008) (pre-production)
Chacun son cinéma ou Ce petit coup au coeur quand la lumière s’éteint et que le film commence (2007) (segment “I Travelled 9000 km To Give It To You”)
… aka Chacun son cinéma (France: short title)
… aka To Each His Cinema (International: English title)
My Blueberry Nights (2007)
Eros (2004) (segment “The Hand”)
… aka Eros (France)
2046 (2004)
… aka 2046 – Der ultimative Liebesfilm (Germany)
Six Days (2002) (V)
The Follow (2001) (as WKW)
… aka The Hire: The Follow (USA: series title)
Fa yeung nin wa (2000)
… aka In the Mood for Love (France) (Hong Kong: English title) (USA)
… aka Hua yang nian hua (Hong Kong: Mandarin title)
Hua yang de nian hua (2000)
春光乍泄 (1997)
… aka Happy Together (Hong Kong: English title) (USA)
… aka Buenos Aires Affair (International: English title)
… aka Chun guang zha xie (Hong Kong: Mandarin title)
… aka Happy
wkw/tk/1996@7’55”hk.net (1996)
堕落天使 (1995)
… aka Fallen Angels (Hong Kong: English title) (USA)
… aka Doh lok tin si (Hong Kong: Cantonese title)
Dung che sai duk (1994)
… aka Ashes of Time (Hong Kong: English title)
… aka Dong xie xi du (Hong Kong: Mandarin title)
重庆森林 (1994)
… aka Chung King Express (Hong Kong: English title)
… aka Chungking Express (USA)
… aka Chungking Jungle (literal English title)
… aka Hong Kong Express (Europe: English title)
… aka Zong Qing sen lin (Hong Kong: Mandarin title)
阿飞 正传 (1991)
… aka Days of Being Wild (Hong Kong: English title) (USA)
… aka Ah Fei ching chuen (Hong Kong: Cantonese title)
… aka Ah Fei’s Story
… aka The True Story of Ah Fei (literal English title)
Wong gok ka moon (1988)
… aka As Tears Go By (International: English title)
… aka Carmen of the Streets
… aka Mongkok Carmen (literal English title)
… aka Rexie Naner
… aka Wang jiao ka men (China: Mandarin title)
Producer:
The Lady from Shanghai (2008) (pre-production) (producer)
Miao miao (2008) (pre-production) (executive producer)
Chacun son cinéma ou Ce petit coup au coeur quand la lumière s’éteint et que le film commence (2007) (producer) (segment “I Travelled 9000 km To Give It To You”)
… aka Chacun son cinéma (France: short title)
… aka To Each His Cinema (International: English title)
My Blueberry Nights (2007) (producer)
2046 (2004) (producer)
… aka 2046 – Der ultimative Liebesfilm (Germany)
Dei gwong tit (2003) (producer)
… aka Colour of Sound (Hong Kong: English title)
… aka Di xia tie (Hong Kong: Mandarin title)
… aka Sound of Colors (Hong Kong: English title)
Tian xia wu shuang (2002) (producer)
… aka Chinese Odyssey 2002 (International: English title)
Fa yeung nin wa (2000) (producer)
… aka In the Mood for Love (France) (Hong Kong: English title) (USA)
… aka Hua yang nian hua (Hong Kong: Mandarin title)
Hua yang de nian hua (2000) (producer)
Chun gwong cha sit (1997) (executive producer)
… aka Happy Together (Hong Kong: English title) (USA)
… aka Buenos Aires Affair (International: English title)
… aka Chun guang zha xie (Hong Kong: Mandarin title)
… aka Happy
Choh chin luen hau dik yi yan sai gaai (1997) (producer)
… aka Chu chan lian hou de er ren shi jie (Hong Kong: Mandarin title)
… aka First Love: The Litter on the Breeze (Hong Kong: English title)
Duo luo tian shi (1995) (executive producer)
… aka Fallen Angels (Hong Kong: English title) (USA)
… aka Doh lok tin si (Hong Kong: Cantonese title)
Se diu ying hung ji dung sing sai jau (1993) (executive producer)
… aka Dong Cheng Xi Jiu (Hong Kong: English title)
… aka She diao ying xiong zhi dong cheng xi jiu (Hong Kong: Mandarin title)
… aka The Eagle Shooting Heroes
Jiang hu long hu men (1987) (executive producer) (as Wong Kar Wai)
… aka Dragon and Tiger Fight
… aka Flaming Brothers (Hong Kong: English title)
… aka Gong woo lung foo moon (Hong Kong: Cantonese title)