“The director that shakes me and moves me most is Wong Kar-wai. He is one of the guys who has been revolutionizing the way the cinema is telling stories.”- Alejandro González Iñárritu
Back in early summer 2019, the elusive Hong Kong filmmaker Wong Kar Wai, known for masterworks like “Days Of Being Wild,” “Chungking Express” and many more, said his entire filmography would be re-released in 2020 in a sumptuous 4K restoration tied to the 20th anniversary of perhaps his greatest film “In The Mood For Love.” That’s still happening, but the timetable has shifted slightly thanks to the pandemic.
READ MORE: Filmmaker Wong Kar-Wai Confirms His Entire Filmography Will Get 4K Restorations In 2020
“The World of Wong Kar Wai” a touring theatrical retrospective of all his films was meant to premiere in New York this summer. Obviously, COVID-19 upended that plan, but a new date for the retrospective has just been announced. “The World Of Wong Kari Wai” now opens December 4 in New York at Film at Lincoln Center, a national rollout will follow. Additionally, just in time for all of it, and just ahead of the New York Film Festival where “In The Mood For Love” will play in its revivals classic films section, a new trailer for the 20th anniversary 4K restoration of Wong Kar Wai’s romantic classic has been released.
READ MORE: The Essentials: The Films Of Wong Kar-Wai
We made a list of the 50 Best Romantic Films Of The 21st Century So Far three years back and you can bet “In The Mood For Love” topped that list. The film stars Maggie Cheung and Tony Chiu-Wai Leung as two neighbors who form a strong bond after they both suspect extramarital activities of their spouses. However, they agree to keep their bond platonic so as not to commit similar wrongs. It’s a swooning, gorgeous-to-look-at, and heartbreaking work of unrequited love.
WATCH: Wong Kar-Wai Talks ‘In The Mood For Love’ In 20-Minute Interview
Here’s the synopsis for the “The World of Wong Kar Wai” tour retrospective which also includes the U.S. premiere of the newly restored “Chungking Express,” a movie Tarantino adored so much he persuaded Harvey Weinstein to give him a short-lived distribution offshoot called Rolling Thunder Pictures so Quentin could re-release foreign titles to an American audience.
READ MORE: The Films Of Wong Kar-Wai: Rapture Set In Slow Motion
Films you’ll love for 10,000 years, the cinema of Wong Kar Wai is steeped in sensual colors, groundbreaking editing, and heart-wrenching drama. Janus Films is proud to present a touring retrospective that includes brand-new restorations of seven of the master’s most dazzling films, including the US premiere of Chungking Express and the world premiere of newly restored films As Tears Go By, Days of Being Wild, Fallen Angels, Happy Together, a director’s cut of The Hand, and on the occasion of its twentieth anniversary, a newly restored In the Mood for Love. The retrospective will debut December 4 at Film at Lincoln Center in New York, to be followed by a nationwide rollout.
The retrospective is being undertaken by Janus Films, but the restorations themselves were done by the Criterion Collection and L’immagine Rtrovata and this is good news for anyone hoping for a Criterion Wong Kar Wai box set in 2021, something you can probably bet on with a good amount of risk-free certainty.
NYFF SCREENINGS
IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE
Monday, September 28, 8:00PM – Queens Drive-In
47-01 111th St, Queens, NY
Monday, September 28, 8:00PM – Virtual Screening
Available through October 3 at 8:00PM
Titles included in December retrospective:
New 4K Restorations
As Tears Go By, 1988
Days of Being Wild, 1990
Chungking Express, 1994
Fallen Angels, 1995
Happy Together, 1997
In the Mood for Love, 2000
Director’s Cut
The Hand, 2004
Watch the new “In The Mood For Love” trailer below.