I'm going to recommend this film along with ITMFL and 2046, but I wondering what the best order of viewing is. I'm certain that ITMFL should be seen before 2046, but I thinking DOBW, should be seen after 2046--rather than the seeing DOBW first, followed by ITMFL and then 2046.
One of the main reasons is that the ending in DOBW will be totally confusing without seeing ITMFL and 2046. It might work better as a prequel. Any thoughts?
I watched them in this order: In the Mood for Love, 2046, and finally Days of Being Wild (only because I did not know that the DOBW existed). Really I don't think that anything about DOBW's ending would be confusing without seeing ITMFL first. In fact, I think that I would have preferred to watch them in the order in which they were made. Not only do you "meet" the characters prior to their repurposing in 2046, but you also get a good sense of the evolution of the filmmaking (which, in my opinion, peaks in the middle with ITMFL).
shareI also watched them in this order (ITMFL, 2046 and DOBW), but just accidentally. I would however recommend watching 2046 before ITMFL - possibly in the order: DOBW, 2046 and ITMFL, because if you've seen ITMFL, you already know, in 2046, that none of those ladies are his former lover. And it might bring more mystery to the movie if you didn't know it. As to DOBW first - I believe it would help if you knew Mimi's story from DOBW, and you knew what "bird without wings" she's talking about. Not just for information, but also in order to better empathize with the character. Not to mention the similitude she finds between her former lover and Tony Leung's character, which could connect with the parallel between Leslie Cheung's and Tony Leung's characters from DOBW. Also, seen in the end, ITMFL would serve as a beautiful requiem both for Chow Mo-wan's lost love, and for his lost steady & warm personality (replaced in 2046 by the depressed playboy character). ...Even though his change of character from DOBW to ITMFL to 2046, with the appearance and disappearance of a wife in between, might still be disorienting. But then, I wish we could experience the three movies in various orders, each time for the first time, as I think that the order does affect the experience in strange ways. Unfortunately, we can only see them once for the first time, so we'd only know them in one order, whichever that was...
As to the ending of DOBW - well I had seen it after ITMFL and 2046, and hell if it helped . Especially since you expect him to have become a gigolo in 2046 after the loss of his love, and you expect him to have been sober in his early life, since he was so sober in ITMFL. But I understood that DOBW was supposed to be the first part of another trilogy, which never got to be made, and the ending was supposed to connect to the following movie, which doesn't exist, so it might be that that ending does not have a proper explanation and logic within the existing trilogy. Regardless however, I still love listening to that song as I dress up and prepare to leave the house .
And I also love ITMFL best, with DOBW a very very close second, and 2046 at the bottom of my WKW list. It just seemed too crowded with colors and shapes, too much like a carnival, and, compared to ITMFL's exquisite discretion, almost vulgar. But it might need a rewatch.
I'm not sure, however, that I'd call his change of style from DOBW (and the other early movies too - very influenced by the new wave; except for ASHES OF TIME, of course) to ITMFL (very ...dunno how to call it, impressionistic?) to 2046 (expressionistic?) an evolution - it could simply be a change, a desire to attempt new tricks. Which is a great thing. ...Of course, everywhere, even in ASHES OF TIME, the theme remains pretty much the same: Various Ways to Be Unhappy in Love .
(and I haven't watched yet MY BLUEBERRY NIGHTS, it looks quite unappealing; has anybody seen it, and liked it too?)
Words, Mr. Sullivan, are precious things. And they are not to be tempered with!
If you haven't already, I would caution against watching My Blueberry Nights. It is as weak in every aspect as ITMFL is strong. I'll give WKW the benefit of the doubt and write it off as an "experiment"--let's just hope that he doesn't repeat it.
share...To continue this timeless dialogue , thanks for the caution, I have still not watched the movie. Apart from the many negative comments I read about it, I really think that Wong's little wonderful quirks just don't fit in a Western environment. He has always been a little "westernized", which is fine and interesting as long as he's staying Asian, but which can only look redundant if he's using it in a Western world... It'd be like Leone making a 100% American Western movie. Wong's unique atmosphere is due in a large extent to the cross-cultural elements, which would be lost in an American movie. At least that's what I think about it - but then every new opinion I get about Blueberry Nights seems to confirm it... I know I will end up watching the movie, eventually, but at least I won't go out of my way to look for it.
Words, Mr. Sullivan, are precious things. And they are not to be tempered with!
I'll be concise ...
I'd never heard of WKW before watching MBN and yet, after watching the DVD once and, very significantly, his interview in the special features, I decided I had to watch more of his films. I hope that speaks for itself.
Oh, one last thing, if I may ... perhaps you could watch MBN with an open mind, free of any preconceived expectations (as I believe all films should be enjoyed) and I am quite certain you'll find it a good cinematic experience.
I watched his films in that particular order: Days of Being Wild 10/10 -- Chungking Express 10/10 -- Fallen Angels 7/10 -- In the Mood for Love 9/10 -- 2046 9/10 -- Happy Together 10/10 -- Ashes of Time 7/10. Will see AoT Redux soon.
She gave me her cherry
She's my virgin suicide
That I did. And some of the experience was wonderful indeed - been looking for Jeremy's diner ever since. Some of the episodes were less lovable than the other ones, but the structure story was absolutely sweet and cozy and you'd only want to wrap yourself in it and fall asleep by the fireplace.
there's a highway that is curling up like smoke above her shoulder
Wong Kar-Wai's theme is alienation.
And you make no mention of "Fallen Angels" (in which the hitman gets his instructions on who to "hit" via a FAX machine, never having met the person who sends him the FAXes). That same person cleans up Leon Lai's apartment when he isn't there (and in one instance lies on his bed and masterbates).
Nor mention "Chung King Express" (during the beginning credits of which a person runs by the camera -- and is chased by Takeshi -- with a brown paper bag over her head).
If you want to follow the stories chronologically, DOBW begins in 1960, while the latest scene in 2046 takes place in ends in 1972. I say the latest, not final, because 2046 has a discontinuous narrative. DOBW & ITMFL (unless I'm forgetting any flashback scenes) are linear. I first saw them 'backwards' and they're amazing either way (especially 2046), but I'd follow the story from 1960 to 1972 by viewing in this order:
Days of Being Wild
In the Mood for Love
2046
I think one would be less confused by Chow's flashbacks in 2046 and by the story itself by hewing to that order. Hope that helps!
"That is why I'm with you... because you say, 'I' for me".
I don't know. I watched 2046 first, then ITMFL, then DOBW.
2046 still can sand on its own even when you don't know all the details of his life (and what happened in ITMFL). In fact it made me all the more curious when Bai Ling asked, "Was he always like this?" to watch ITMFL.
DOBW pretty much only told Lulu's back story.
I also watched them 'backward', with 2046 first followed by ITMFL then DOBW. I don't think it makes much difference, they're such fantastic narratives, that can be interchanged and rewatched that it shouldn't matter all that much.
I find it hard to assert one as better than the other, because to me its one continuous narrative. Each film deals with a different aspect of love: passionate fleeting youth; affairs and adultery; and unrequited love and pining, and with those things different philosophical and sociological questions are asked.
Truly one of my favourite trilogies of film.
Wong Kar-Wai's theme in all his film is alienation.
In "In the Mood for Love," Tony and Maggie avoid connecting. In "2046" Tony refuses to connect with Zhang Ziyi -- who is herself alienated.
In "Fallen Angels," the person who instructs Leon Lie who to "hit" has never met him. But she cleans his apartment when he isn't there.
Same theme in "Chungking Express".
Same theme in "Days of Being wild".
Etc.