Wong Kar Wai | 2004 | In Mandarin with English subtitles | 56 minutes | R (for strong sexual content and language) | DCP
“Like In the Mood for Love, The Hand is set in the hazy Hong Kong of the 1960s, but its characters couldn’t be more different from the earlier film’s restrained, haunted lovers. Originally conceived for the omnibus film Eros, the film—presented in this retrospective for the first time in its extended cut—tells the tale of Zhang (Chang Chen), a shy tailor’s assistant enraptured by a mysterious client, Miss Hua (Gong Li). A hypnotic tale of obsession, repression, and class divisions, The Hand finds Wong Kar Wai continuing to transition from the frenetic, energized style of his earlier films into a register that is lush with romantic grandeur.” -Janus Films
“Though it was Wong’s first English-language film, My Blueberry Nights is in many ways an extension of his previous work: it began as a short film, originally meant to be part of the In the Mood for Love timeline, and is marked by the director’s typically romantic sensibility and dynamic manipulation of color (regular collaborator William Chang serves again as production designer and editor). Pop star Norah Jones makes her film debut as a heartbroken New Yorker who takes to the road after meeting a café owner (Jude Law), and along the way encounters others as lovesick and lonely as herself, including a down-on-her-luck gambler (Natalie Portman), a troubled cop (David Strathairn), and his estranged wife (Rachel Weisz). A free-flowing romance spanning New York, Memphis, and Las Vegas, My Blueberry Nights explores, with Wong’s charged affection, the suffering of heartbreak and the restorative vitality of the American landscape.” -Film at Lincoln Center
