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E D I T O R I A L
Monday, February 26: In the Mood for Change
Wong Kar Wai's In the Mood for Love has steadily been spreading across the United States in the art theaters of selected cities. It has yet to reach my humble North Texas abode, but I am eager to check it out when (or if) it does. I have already seen the film twice on the disappointing Mei Ah DVD, but I have been waiting to see it on the big screen to see if my opinion will change. Sometimes it takes several viewings to fully appreciate what a filmmaker is trying to accomplish. In the case of Wong Kar Wai, I have seen just two other films of his. Chungking Express immediately drew me in; the sense of isolation and loneliness among mobs of people rang true. Fallen Angels still tends to repel me -- its as if whatever positive energy the characters in Chungking Express possessed has been replaced with a pessimistic outlook -- yet the filmmaking commands interest. As a director, Wong Kar Wai's films have the power to suck you in, even when you want to run in the opposite direction.
In that sense, his films remind me of the American directors Spike Lee and Oliver Stone. Both have made sensationally bad movies (School Daze, the overpraised Do the Right Thing, and Jungle Fever for Lee; Talk Radio, The Doors, U Turn, and Any Given Sunday for Stone)) as well as spectacular if flawed ones (Malcolm X and the overlooked He Got Game for Lee; Platoon, Wall Street, and JFK for Stone) but the movies are eminently watchable. By that I mean the pacing is urgent and the direction unique. You actually feel like you're watching an artist express himself -- whether the outcome is good or bad, to your taste or not -- as opposed to a company releasing a film designed from the ground up as a money making vehicle. Too many films today fall into this latter category.
Now, I understand that films have to make money. Films are products and must be marketed and sold. In the supermarket of world film production, though, it's a good thing that some are not made for the mass market, but are targeted for a tiny niche. There's no reason why a film like In the Mood for Love, as an example, cannot make its producers a tidy little profit. And also no reason why filmgoers cannot experiment and risk going to a movie that they may not like. Maybe that's the bottom line.
By the way, repeat visitors may have noticed a few changes to the site. It's still a work in progress, and only a handful of reviews have been converted to the new format, but I hope to complete the transition over the next couple of weeks. Your patience is appreciated.
Any comments you'd like to make on the new site design, navigation, and so forth, are welcome.
Current Editorial | Current Index
Previous Editorials
Bronchitis on the Brain (2/12/01)
Hong Kong Sequel Blues (2/5/01)
Better or Best? (1/29/01)
To Dub or Not to Dub (1/22/01)
Scenes From a Fractured Skull (1/15/01)
Year-End Round-Up (1/7/01)
Briefly noted (12/31/00)
Wuxia Fantasies and the Black-and-White Western (12/24/00)
Raiders of the lost heart (12/17/00)
The movie week in review (12/10/00)
Redesigning A Better Tomorrow (12/3/00)
The fantasy begins again (11/26/00)
A return and a shortened work week, hurrah! (11/20/00)
That blasted job! (11/12/00)
Hollywood, Jet, Jackie, Fred, and Gene (11/6/00)
Did you want blood with that? (10/30/00)
Do you like cold pizza? (10/24/00)
Preparing for the Legend (10/16/00)
The pauper must pay (10/10/00)
A visit to Five Star Laser (10/05/00)
A brief vacation (9/25/00)
The editor's plea (8/20/00)
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