This January, Sag Harbor Cinema’s virtual cinema will fête Director Wong Kar Wai through World of Kar Wai, a retrospect that includes seven brand-new 4K restorations. Movie-goers can enjoy some of the Hong Kong-based filmmaker’s greatest films, including Mood for Love, As Tears Go By, Days of Being Wild, Chungking Express, Fallen Angels, The Hand, and Happy Together.
“Although he has only ten feature films to date in a career that has spanned more than 30 years, Wong Kar Wai has more than solidified his position as one of the true masters of contemporary cinema. Over that time, he has created a distinctive artistic style, one that favors enigmatic narratives often based around ideas involving romantic yearning expressed through impossibly charismatic actors and gorgeously hazy visuals. He is one of the truly original voices working in cinema today,” Peter Sobczynski of RogerEbert.com said about the director.
In the Mood for Love is available to screen starting Friday, January 8. As Tears Go By and Days of Being Wild will be available Friday, January 15. Chunking Express and Fallen Angels can be seen starting Friday, January 22. Finally, The Hand and Happy Together will debut on Friday, January 29. The films will be featured in Sag Harbor Cinema’s virtual cinema through the end of February.
Kar Wai’s films have left a mark on many notable Hollywood filmmakers – including Sofia Coppola, Barry Jenkins, Quentin Tarantino, and The Wachowskis. The filmmaker’s inspiration can be seen in nearly all of Tarantino’s films. When Jenkins won an Oscar for Moonlight, he referenced Chungking Express in his speech, explaining, “Stylistically it was made in a way that was different from any film I’d seen before … I like how much freedom there is in how [Wong Kar Wai] juxtaposes images.” Coppola mentioned Wong’s In the Mood for Love during her Oscar acceptance speech for Lost in Translation.
The retrospective was made possible courtesy of Janus Films and the Criterion Collection, in close collaboration with Wong Kar Wai. Tickets are $12 per film or $70 for the entire series.
For more information, visit www.sagharborcinema.org.