Though the COVID-19 pandemic has affected nearly every country on the planet, the virus first took hold in China, resulting in the entire country shutting down weeks before the rest of the world followed suit. This means that the Chinese film industry has been experiencing a stoppage for months. But now, it appears that some productions are expected to get up and running this summer, with filmmaker Wong Kar-wai leading the way.
According to Variety, Wong Kar-wai is expected to begin production on his next film, “Blossoms,” in China sometime in July. But that doesn’t mean you can expect a new film from the acclaimed director anytime soon. The report says that the production company behind the film has rented studio space for 11 months, beginning in May and running all the way through March 2021. Then again, the filmmaker has never been called the speediest artist around.
“Blossoms” is the first film from Wong Kar-wai since 2013’s “The Grandmaster.” Since 1988, the filmmaker has only released 10 feature films. Though the wait between features might be long, most of the time, each of the films is well worth the delay. And with what Wong has said about “Blossoms,” there’s a lot of cinephiles expecting the latest feature to be one of his best yet.
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“Blossoms” is based on the 2012 novel of the same name and tells the story of a businessman looking to improve his status and his love life in ‘90s Shanghai. The filmmaker has gone on the record multiple times talking about how personal the feature will be for him, as it allows him to revisit a part of China where he spent his formative years. Also, for film fans, “Blossoms” has the added benefit of being named as part of the film series that includes “In The Mood For Love” and “2046.”
There’s no word on how the feature production schedule of “Blossoms” will affect the TV version of the story that Wong Kar-wai is also involved in. That was said to be released before the feature, but with the COVID-19 pandemic, perhaps things have changed.