Before David Fincher took on the filmmaker’s role in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’s spinoff, it was Wong Kar-wai who made Quentin Tarantino feel an artistic kinship, and he spoke about the same in a conversation with the LA Times.
I think he is one of the most inspiring filmmakers to come out in the last couple of years. When I saw ‘Chungking Express’ I felt we were going down the same road. I felt that touch of kinship or camaraderie, whatever an artist feels when he recognizes another artist’s song.
Tarantino has never been shy to talk about the filmmakers he deeply admires. The Oscar-winning screenwriter and director has not only praised his equals, but also contributed to introducing their movies to Western audiences, like he did for Kar-wai.
While talking to The Church of Tarantino podcast about The Adventures of Cliff Booth, he honored David Fincher by saying, “I think me and David Fincher are the two best directors.”
So, let’s look at where Tarantino’s bold admiration for these two contemporaries comes from, and how he has contributed to lifting indie cinema and foreign creatives like Wong Kar-wai.
Why Quentin Tarantino Thinks David Fincher and Wong Kar-wai Match His League
When Quentin Tarantino praises another filmmaker, it’s worth paying attention. His admiration for David Fincher likely comes from how he shapes cinema into a cold, haunting, and hypnotic experience. Se7en, starring Brad Pitt, is a great example of the same, along with movies like Fight Club, Zodiac, and The Social Network, which all became timeless cult classics.
But Tarantino’s connection with Wong Kar-wai seems to carry a different energy. The two of them work oceans apart, but still share the same fascination for pop culture, and have built a landscape of unconventional portrayal of everyday characters.
Wong Kai-war Movies Rotten Tomatoes (critic score | audience score) As Tears Go By (1988)85% | 67% Days of Being Wild (1990)91% | 88% Ashes of Time (1994)79% | 76% Chungking Express (1994)89% | 93% Fallen Angels (1995)95% | 87% Happy Together (1997) 84% | 91% In the Mood For Love (2000)92% | 94% 2046 (2004)87% | 85% My Blueberry Nights (2007) 45% | 61%The Grandmaster (2013) 78% | 59%
When Kar-wai’s Chungking Express was released, critics were quick to draw parallels between his and Tarantino’s style. The vibrancy of the movie and the jump cuts, as well as the raw energy, were all too Tarantino-ish.
Quentin Tarantino Used Rolling Thunder to Champion Wong Kar-wai and Indie Cinema
A still from Chungking Express | Credits: Jet Tone Production Co., Ltd.
Quentin Tarantino’s admiration for Wong Kar-wai is not limited to words! In 1995, he launched Rolling Thunder Pictures, a specialty label under Miramax Films that would distribute cult, indie, and foreign films that were overlooked in the U.S (via The Quentin Tarantino Archives).
Kar-wai’s Chungking Express also gained an American audience under this banner, and Tarantino catapulted the Hong Kong director’s work to international recognition by attaching his own name and credibility to the project.
Rolling Thunder went on to release a string of brilliant films like Sonatine, Switchblade Sisters, Detroit 9000, and Mighty Peking Man. Through the label, Tarantino didn’t just endorse Kar-wai but also changed the American indie landscape!
So, what do you think about Tarantino’s way of honoring cinema and his contemporaries? Let us know in the comments below.
Chungking Express is available to stream on Kanopy and HBO Max (USA).
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