A new set of seven Blu-rays from the Criterion Collection, “World of Wong Kar Wai,” couldn’t be more aptly named. For few filmmakers have achieved greater success generating a unique cosmos on screen. From their narrative structures and settings—largely but not exclusively Hong Kong—to their character arcs and soundtracks, these pictures bear the stamp of one of the late 20th- and early 21st-century’s most distinctive auteurs.
A touring retrospective of six pioneering Wong films—all newly restored in 4K and included in this set—occurred last year. Unfortunately, the pandemic made the enterprise virtual and kept cineastes from seeing these pictures in theaters, where they are best appreciated. Yet Criterion’s box, which includes a seventh film (also a 4K restoration) along with an assortment of bonus features, is more than just ancillary. With their layers of meaning, opaque narrative signals (Mr. Wong is famed for the evolution of his scripts during shooting) and overwhelming ambiguity, these movies benefit from the repeated viewings home video encourages.
Mr. Wong’s debut feature, “As Tears Go By” (1988), serves as an ideal starting place, if only because his mature style is not yet fully formed. The film is set in a glamourless gangster underworld, where Wah (Andy Lau), a midlevel enforcer, tries to rein in his intemperate cohort Fly (Jacky Cheung) while simultaneously courting good-girl Ngor (Maggie Cheung in her first of several fruitful associations with the filmmaker). Quick cuts, jangly ’80 synth music and an impressive pool-hall tracking shot distinguish the picture, but the familiar tropes of Hong Kong cinema, including predictable fight sequences and a moralizing conclusion, subtract from its appeal.
