MUBI, the global distributor and curated film streaming service, has announced that it will be releasing seven films from the acclaimed filmmaker Wong Kar Wai in Malaysia, including five new and exquisite restorations. MUBI presents the collection starting 12th December 2021 on its streaming platform.
Renowned as one of the greatest filmmakers of our time, Wong Kar Wai spent five years restoring the collection, which covers some of his most celebrated work across the past several decades, including: “2046” (2004), “Chungking Express” (1994), “Fallen Angels” (1995), “Happy Together” (1997), and “In the Mood for Love” (2000). The restoration was led by L’Immagine Ritrovata and completed in Bologna and Hong Kong under the supervision of Wong Kar Wai, and in collaboration with Criterion. The season also includes “Ashes of Time Redux” (2008) and “The Hand” (2004).
The release of the new collection comes twenty years after the premiere of the multi award-winning “In the Mood for Love”, a film that received widespread acclaim worldwide following its debut at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival and saw Tony Leung Chiu-wai become the first Hong Kong actor to be awarded the Best Actor Prize, and Christopher Doyle, Mark Lee Ping-bing and William Chang Suk Ping receive the Grand Prize of the Superior Technical Commission.
The full collection of seven films will be available to stream on MUBI in Malaysia. The full line-up and dates are as follows.
“In the Mood for Love” (2000) – 12th December
Set during the 1960s in Hong Kong, the film stars Tony Leung Chiu-wai and Maggie Cheung Man Yuk in career-defining roles as new neighbours Mr. Chow and Mrs. Chan. While at first their encounters are reserved and polite, they soon realise that their respective absent spouses are having an affair with one another.
“Chungking Express” (1994) — 19th December
One of the definitive works of 1990s cinema, “Chungking Express” is a snapshot of four interlocking lives briefly connecting under the artificial lights and maze-like passages of Chungking Mansions, a commercial complex in Hong Kong. Starring Brigitte Lin, Tony Leung Chiu-wai and singer turned actress Faye Wong, this sweet yet melancholy look at loneliness, heartache and the pursuit of connection in an increasingly alienating world solidified Wong Kar Wai’s international auteur status.
“Fallen Angels” (1995) — 26th December
Originally conceived as part of Wong Kar Wai’s “Chungking Express”, “Fallen Angels” is its nocturnal relative, a dark romantic-thriller set against the nighttime cityscape of Hong Kong. The film charts the interconnecting fates of several mysterious characters in the dazzling neon metropolis, including a detached hitman hoping to leave his shady line of work behind, his elusive assistant who is secretly in love with him and a mute entrepreneur with an unusual business scheme.
“Happy Together” (1997) — 2nd January
Premiering at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival, “Happy Together” won Wong Kar Wai the festival’s Best Director distinction, awarded for the first time in history to a Hong Kong recipient. A queer love story set in Argentina, it stars Hong Kong acting royalty Tony Leung Chiu-wai and Leslie Cheung as an on-and-off again couple whose volatile and passionate relationship begins to spiral out of control. This heartbreaking depiction of love, obsession and isolation is one of Wong Kar Wai’s most devastating works.
“2046” (2004) — 9th January
“2046”, Wong Kar Wai’s bewitching and enigmatic sequel to his 2000 masterpiece “In the Mood for Love”, premiered in competition at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival. Starring Tony Leung Chiu-wai as a writer caught between the past, present and future, as well as an all-star cast including Zhang Ziyi, Gong Li and Faye Wong, 2046 is a romantic and melancholy exploration of the relationship between love, time and memory shot with the Hong Kong auteur’s characteristically lush visuals.
“The Hand” (2004) — 16th January
“The Hand” is an extended version of Wong Kar Wai’s contribution to Eros, a three-part film anthology also including works by Michelangelo Antonioni and Steven Soderbergh. Set during the 1960s in Hong Kong, the film stars Chang Chen as a tailor’s assistant who is sent to take the measurements of a famous courtesan played by Gong Li. An intimate first encounter leads to him lovingly making her beautiful garments over many years as he grows in success and she increasingly falls on hard times.
