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Wong Kar-Wai Quotes

Powerful Wong Kar-Wai for Daily Growth

About Wong Kar-Wai

Wong Kar-Wai (王家衛), born on July 16, 1959, in Shanghai but raised in Hong Kong, is a celebrated contemporary Chinese film director, writer, and producer. His unique cinematic style has made him one of the most significant figures in world cinema. Kar-Wai attended St. Francis Xavier's College in Hong Kong and later studied film at London's Saint Martin's School of Art. However, his formal education was cut short due to financial difficulties. This period in London significantly influenced his artistic development, as he was exposed to the works of influential European directors such as Jean-Luc Godard, Federico Fellini, and Nicholas Roeg. Upon returning to Hong Kong, Kar-Wai worked as a production assistant, editor, and ultimately a director for television commercials. His breakthrough came with his debut film "As Tears Go By" (1988), which won the Golden Firebird award at the Krakow International Film Festival. His next films, including "Days of Being Wild" (1990) and "Chungking Express" (1994), showcased his signature style: non-linear narratives, dreamlike sequences, and a focus on mood and atmosphere over traditional plot structures. These works earned him international recognition. Perhaps his most acclaimed work is "In the Mood for Love" (2000), a romantic drama starring Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung. The film was nominated for the Palme d'Or at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival and won the Golden Lion at the 57th Venice International Film Festival. Despite his international success, Kar-Wai often faces challenges completing projects due to his meticulous approach to filmmaking and his tendency to reshoot scenes multiple times for the perfect aesthetic. Regardless, his impact on cinema is undeniable, making him a modern master of the art form.

Interpretations of Popular Quotes

"Time doesn't heal everything, I guess we aren't supposed to heal."

This quote by Wong Kar-Wai suggests that time does not guarantee healing or resolution in all situations. It implies that there may be emotional wounds or traumas for which conventional wisdom (like "time heals all wounds") is not universally applicable. Instead, we might be meant to live with these experiences as part of our ongoing journey, rather than expecting full recovery or restoration. This perspective invites us to reconsider the nature of healing and personal growth, emphasizing resilience over complete resolution.

"The past is like a dream. It can be as bright and vivid or as hazy and uncertain as you want it to be."

This quote by Wong Kar-Wai suggests that our memories of the past, much like dreams, are subjective and can vary greatly in clarity and detail depending on one's perspective and feelings towards those experiences. He encourages us to view our past as we see fit; we can choose to remember it with vividness or leave it hazy, depending on how we want to remember it and interpret its impact on our present life.

"Life is short, and love is brief, but the memory of it lasts forever."

This quote by Wong Kar-Wai highlights the fleeting nature of life and love, emphasizing their transient quality. However, it also suggests that the impact they leave on us persists indefinitely through our memories. The memory of love serves as an eternal testament to its existence, enduring long after its physical manifestation has passed. In essence, Wong Kar-Wai's quote reminds us to cherish and fully embrace our experiences, for their essence transcends the limitations of time.

"The only real elegance is in the mind; if you've got that, the rest really comes from it automatically."

Wong Kar-Wai suggests that true elegance arises not from external appearances or material possessions, but from a refined inner state of mind. When one possesses a clear, thoughtful, and sophisticated perspective on life (the "mind"), they naturally express grace and poise without conscious effort ("the rest...comes from it automatically"). This quote highlights the importance of personal growth, self-awareness, and emotional intelligence in cultivating genuine elegance.

"Maybe that's what love is. A force that drives us to jump into the fire. Or maybe it's a blessingly numb anesthetic that allows us not to feel the pain of burns and scalds."

Wong Kar-Wai's quote suggests that love can be both alluring and destructive, much like jumping into a fire. Love may compel us to take risks, pushing us out of our comfort zones, or it could serve as a shield against the pain of life's challenges, providing a numbness that allows us to endure hardships without feeling the full impact of the burns and scalds. In essence, love can be a powerful force that inspires us to face adversity while offering comfort amidst it.

It used to be when you eat, you eat with people. But instant noodles are so instant that people eat by themselves. And it's a very convenient way of eating but also a very lonely way of eating.

- Wong Kar-wai

Noodles, Very, Also, Convenient

I've always wanted to make a film about the Tong Wars, the rioting and the crime factions in San Francisco's Chinatown in the early part of the last century.

- Wong Kar-wai

Always, Francisco, San, Chinatown

The reason it takes me so long to make a film, the reason it gets so difficult, is that I'm trying to think of every film as the last one I will ever make so it can be the best it can possibly be. I don't want to have regrets or excuses or think, 'I can do better next time.'

- Wong Kar-wai

Regrets, Reason, Next, Next Time

I'm not coming from film school. I learned cinema in the cinema watching films, so you always have a curiosity. I say, 'Well, what if I make a film in this genre? What if I make this film like this?'

- Wong Kar-wai

Always, Films, Film School, What If

During shooting, you have the idea, like, of this certain dress on this actress, but it's not to fit, so you have to make all of these alterations and modifications. So in a way, I build the characters with the cast, and it's sort of custom-made, the whole process, and then you have to make all of these adjustments.

- Wong Kar-wai

Dress, Shooting, Idea, Alteration

Because we don't have a lot of light, because we have a very low budget, we have to adjust the speed of our camera to get the effect that we want. So sometimes this is the way we work, and the result of the filming becomes a kind of a style.

- Wong Kar-wai

Sometimes, Very, Our, Budget

To me, romantic means, um, you follow your heart more than your mind. Sometimes when you're shooting a film, you have to follow your heart.

- Wong Kar-wai

Mind, More, Means, Um

I came to Hong Kong when I was five, but we didn't have any relatives in Hong Kong. My mom is a big movie fan, and she watched all kinds of movies, so when I was a kid, basically, we went to watch a movie every day.

- Wong Kar-wai

Every Day, Big, Movie, Big Movie

Sometimes, we have to turn our camera to a mirror to shoot something, and people think, 'Oh, that's very stylish.' Yes it is, but at the same time, we did it because we are shooting in a very small space, and that was our only option.

- Wong Kar-wai

Mirror, Small, Very, Camera

In most kung fu films, they want to create a hero who's always fighting a bad guy. In the story of Ip Man, he's not fighting physical opponents. He's fighting the ups and downs of his life.

- Wong Kar-wai

Hero, Bad, Bad Guy, Ups

After the Revolution in '49, all the films were propaganda. They serviced the government and carried the message that the government wants to relay to the people. But I think, in the last 10 years, because the film market is opening and there's an expansion of all the cinemas in China, it's now a lot like Hollywood productions.

- Wong Kar-wai

Hollywood, Years, I Think, Relay

Chinese martial artists consider themselves to be gardeners, and it's an honor for them to take care of this garden, to better it and hand it over to the generations that follow. I think that's a very important message in a time when personal achievement seems to be the only criteria of success.

- Wong Kar-wai

Achievement, I Think, Very, Garden

When it's time to let go, I don't look back, and I start another project as soon as possible. One thing I remind myself is that I don't want to Photoshop my past.

- Wong Kar-wai

Myself, Past, Another, Photoshop

Sometimes, when you're on the streets, certain music inspires you, and then you have a vision. But, at the end of the day, it's a synthesis of visions, so you have to think, as a director, of a scene, or how to deliver a line, or how do this visually.

- Wong Kar-wai

Think, Streets, Synthesis, Visions

What makes international cinema so interesting is that each territory has its own sensibility. When you look at an Indian or French film, there's a certain flavor. And even though the language is different, if the film is successful, it has something very common and understandable.

- Wong Kar-wai

Language, Own, Very, Indian

In much the same way Ip Man embodied the struggles of the Chinese people, I wanted Gong Er to represent the changing role of women.

- Wong Kar-wai

Role, Chinese People, IP

Ip Man was an extraordinary man who lived during extraordinary times. He was born to a rich family when the country was still a monarchy and lived through various civil wars, revolutions, the Japanese invasion, and the establishment of the Republic.

- Wong Kar-wai

Country, Through, Republic, IP

I'm a big fan of martial arts films, novels and radio programs.

- Wong Kar-wai

Big, Fan, Films, Novels

Somehow, we fall in love with the films and don't want to let go, but financially and physically, we cannot afford it.

- Wong Kar-wai

Love, Films, We Cannot, Financially

This is what the difference is between Hong Kong and Chinese cinema - Chinese cinema was made for their own communities. It was for propaganda. But Hong Kong made films to entertain, and they know how to communicate with international audiences.

- Wong Kar-wai

Propaganda, Entertain, Films, International

The laboratory where we stored all our negatives went bankrupt overnight following the Asian economic crisis in 1997. So, on short notice, we had to retrieve all the materials in the middle of the night before the debtor-receiver took over the laboratory the next morning.

- Wong Kar-wai

Next, Before, Next Morning, Stored

I don't do rehearsal. Some directors prefer to do rehearsal - readings before the actual shooting - but I don't like this process because I think there are certain things that are so spontaneous, and they cannot happen twice.

- Wong Kar-wai

Some, I Think, Prefer, Readings

When you look at martial arts films, the later ones became more and more exaggerated. It's like, wow, is martial arts only a show?

- Wong Kar-wai

Like, Films, Became, Wow

I started out my career as a screenwriter and quickly discovered that adhering to a script isn't always the best way to make a film. You have to take into consideration the nuances of the characters and what the actors bring to their roles.

- Wong Kar-wai

Career, Discovered, Best Way, Adhering

I didn't know anything about martial arts. I'm a big fan, but I never practiced martial arts.

- Wong Kar-wai

Big, Anything, About, Martial Arts

1936 is a very important year: a golden time for martial arts, right before the Japanese invasion.

- Wong Kar-wai

Year, Before, Very, Martial Arts

'Ashes of Time' was my third film, and as a young director at that point, it's not very often that you have the chance to make a big martial arts film, so of course I jumped at this opportunity.

- Wong Kar-wai

Chance, Big, Very, Martial Arts

To make a film like 'The Grandmaster,' I know I'm not going to make just a standard kung-fu film; it's not going to be just tricks or like wire works. So I spent seven years on the road interviewing different schools and a lot of real grandmasters from Chinese martial arts.

- Wong Kar-wai

Standard, Interviewing, Martial Arts

In my first film, we always tried to have a script and work in a normal way, but I was constantly changing things during shooting. Because I worked as a scriptwriter for 10 years, I understood that directors always wanted to change what was originally written, to improve on it.

- Wong Kar-wai

Shooting, Directors, Understood

I don't want to be a grumpy old man or too pessimistic, because if I have a chance, I would prefer to watch a film in the cinema with an audience on a big screen instead of watching it on a cell phone. It's a very different experience, but somehow I think this form will have its own future and life.

- Wong Kar-wai

Big, I Think, Very, Pessimistic

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