Melancholy, it's hard to say. Come as you say it, and leave as you say it. When you're on guard, it's never there, but when you let your guard down, it might pop out of nowhere. For example, after watching "Evil in the East" the night before, driving to Austin the next morning, and listening to "The Forbidden Game" by Li Zhi along the way, it's hard not to be depressed.
Many people like his "Mr. Van Gogh", but I prefer "Forbidden Games". The melody of this disc is more sophisticated than "Mr. Van Gogh" and suits his voice better. When I listened to him sing live, I didn't think it was very successful. His kind of hoarse voice is suitable for a carefully arranged recording studio. Only in an absolutely quiet place, the graininess in it will be reflected, just like ISO playing. Evening dark clouds photographed at 3200 hrs.
Of course, the more melancholy is "Evil in the East and Poison in the West". Those lines, looking at them on the screen now, feel a little too much. You can clearly see the sense of fable, but they still penetrate into the bones. The memories of more than ten years ago suddenly burst out. Those words, I once remembered so firmly that I could say them with one mouth. Also, the tone is more authentic than the narration in the movie.
Of course, I was young at the time.
There are wounded people and lonely souls in "Dong Xie Xi Du". Each of them is as sharp as a needle, not letting others go, and not letting go of themselves. To this day, when I look blankly at Peach Blossom stroking a horse so tenderly, or Murong Yan stroking a tree so desperately, and my sister-in-law's pale face and bright red lips by the window, I still subconsciously feel a sense of sadness in my heart. Jump. It's just that now, I'm not going to recite the lines again.
Under Wong Kar Wai's camera, Carina Lau showed me the sexiest woman on the screen, while Brigitte Lin showed me the most poignant side of a woman. Now I know those are just the most extreme cases, and usually women are as hesitant as I am. But there is no denying that they will become more determined than men - if necessary.
This is a movie about decision, so there is no hesitation or ambiguity in it. All the unspoken words were actually deafening. All giving up is perseverance, all hatred is love, and all victory is defeat - except for Hong Qigong.
I love the English translation of the movie: ashes of time. So many extremely smart people know that they are no match for time and will become the ashes of time, but they still never compromise. Their ambition is to keep their loved ones from turning themselves into ashes.
After watching the final version of "Dong Xie Xi Du", I found that there were almost no changes, and it was even 8 minutes shorter. It's no surprise that for a movie that has reached a certain height from the beginning, although the scene is a bit chaotic, there is no way to change it. Fourteen years later, Wong Kar Wai is also getting old. Even though he can still recall the mood at that time, can he still have the passion and courage at that time to revise it?
Looking back at it today, this movie has been branded into my memory fourteen years ago by the 23-year-old me as a sign of youth without me noticing it. No matter what kind of version there is in the future, it will not change its appearance. I mean, it's in its original form.
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