Wong Kar Wai

With films such as As Tears Go By, Days of Being Wild, Chungking Express, and Ashes of Time, Wong Kar-Wai has been at the forefront of Hong Kong cinema. On the surface, Wong follows the rules, presenting the usual fare of car chases, explosions, and sex, but in reality his films are much deeper. His characters live and die on the fringe of acceptance and existence, in a nebulous gray area between good and almost evil. Wong has managed to invent an art that refuses the affluence of the West: by sticking his guns (and knives, fists and chains), this film director has created a bridge between Hong Kong and the rest of the world.