A tale of two cultures - Comparing the work of Zhang Yimou vs. Wong Kar-Wai
While only a border separates the physical worlds of Zhang Yimou and Wong Kar-Wai, the cinematic worlds of these directors are as unalike as the countries from which they hail. Largely informed by the political and cultural climates of their respective countries of origin, Yimou's and Kar-Wai's films take on vastly different personalities which in many ways reflect the circumstances of their creation. Yimou's The Road Home (1999) and Kar-Wai's In the Mood for Love (2000) demonstrate this, suggesting through style and narrative the distinct political and cultural landscapes of China and Hong Kong.
Time, in its relationship to the films' central romantic narratives, represents a significant difference in perspectives between the two filmmakers. The Road Home begins in the present, a bleak black and white world where a father and husband has died, then flashes back to a past full of life and color and a love that lasts "forever," and finally culminates back in the present with a remembrance of and tribute to this everlasting love. Tradition becomes the link between past and present, and at the same time recalls a break in tradition (the mother's love-based marriage). The permanence of the mother's love and the importance of tradition demon-strate the inextricability of past and present and their role in shaping the future. The teacher's mantra for his students-which he recites in a school hall with a prominently featured portrait of Mao Zedong-includes the phrase "know the present, know the past," a lesson for future genera-tions from a Communist regime who looks to history for precedence. In contrast, Kar-Wai's In the Mood for Love is rooted firmly in the here and now (of the time period in which it takes place), and it suggests a present and future that often have no time for dwelling in the past. The love story it tells is fleeting and impermanent (similar in a way to Hong Kong's indepen-dence), and any attempts the characters make to revisit their relationship after its end fail, forcing them to move on with their lives. Kar-Wai presents time in a manner that is linear and progres-sive, rather than cyclical and intertwined as Yimou does. Kar-Wai's world is one of transience and modernity while Yimou's is one of longevity and tradition, much as Hong Kong and China are.
With the Chinese government censoring films, Yimou often had to tiptoe carefully around sensitive issues in order to prevent his films from being banned, resulting in somewhat veiled social commentary. Kar-Wai, on the other hand, operated with considerably more freedom in capitalist Hong Kong. At first glance, The Road Home casts communism in a favora-ble light-to name a few examples: Mao Zedong and later the flag of the PRC are displayed prominently and proudly in the schoolhouse, the color red possesses positive connotations throughout (e.g. the vest and the cloth for the schoolhouse), the government provided teacher is both loved and well respected, and the collective labor of happy hard workers features promi-nently (in building the school house, providing food for the workers, and even carrying the fa-ther's body home). Yet at a second glance, moments of rebellion surface-the mother's marriage, both out of class and for love; the teacher's unauthorized return to the village for which he earned political castigation; and the mother's insistence on an impractical and long since aban-doned tradition to name a few. Homages to "Western" capitalist cinema can also be found lurk-ing beneath the surface, perhaps as Yimou's way of commenting on the growing influence of capitalism in China's market economy. A poster for Titanic (the biggest commercial success for a film at the time and which had been released just two years previously) on the wall of the mother's house at the beginning of the film suggests this tie to Hollywood, which is fur-ther emphasized in the structure of the narrative-both Titanic and The Road Home posses an extended flashback about undying love bookended by the present, where this love is remembered. Potentially less overt to Chinese audiences (or government officials with limited knowledge of American film) are the striking similarities to The Wizard of Oz. Black and white scenes frame a middle section in vibrant color, a yellow dirt road mirrors a yellow brick one, a red vest and hair clip mimic a pair of ruby slippers, and finding the way home constitutes a core theme in both films. In this way, Yimou hints at a China that is caught between tradition and modernity.
Kar-Wai's world lacks this kind of identity crisis; it instead embraces capitalism as a part of the day to day. Consumer culture features prominently in the lives of the protagonists-it is the products Mr. Chan purchases on his business trips (handbags and ties) that first clue Mrs. Chan and Mr. Chow in to their spouses' affair. The novelty of the rice-cooker and the Mrs. Chan's fondness for fast food demonstrate a growing propensity for speed and convenience. Kar-Wai also gives particular emphasis to the kind of individualism that accompanies capitalism-the characters are often secluded even when surrounded by people or crammed into close quarters. Even in the framing of his shots, Kar-Wai crowds his characters into tight and cluttered spaces, this frequent fragmentation suggesting the isolation of the individual within a teeming and possibly overwhelming mass market society-quite the opposite of the collectivism Yimou appears to emphasize.
While these two directors demonstrate vastly contrasting political and social landscapes, they each retain references to a common culture, one perhaps most evident in the importance of food. For both Yimou and Kar-Wai, food acts as a catalyst for relationships, surfacing in both love and friendship. In both films, food becomes the gathering point-the dumplings and other meals that bring the mother and teacher together in The Road Home, the noodle shack that becomes meeting place for Mrs. Chan and Mr. Chow, the offers for dinner from her landlady that Mrs. Chan first refuses than accepts, Mrs. Chan's boss's frequent meal meetings with his wife and his mistress, etc. So while films of China and Hong Kong may be vastly different in terms of style and narrative, at least one element of their shared past remains.
1,034 words / 3 pages
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