Aye, I was going to get to him eventually. He's probably my favorite Asian director too, although I have to admit that thematically he's not covered much territory in the 10 films he's made; they mostly deal with troubled romantic relationships. Which doesn't really bother me because I love the melancholic feel of his films. He's the author of one of the best g
ay films of all time,
Happy together, a story about the troubled relationship between two guys from Hong Kong set in Argentina.
He's made some wonderful films, apart from
Happy together, my favorites would be
In the mood for love, Fallen angels and Days of being wild, but
My blueberry nights showed a definite decline in his creativity. Not only is the plot an amalgamation of stories from his previous films (especially
Chung-king express), but transported into America it loses a great deal of the exotic charm that made his films so special. The dialogs simply don't work, the performances leave something to be desired (Norah is cute and all, but her acting is below par) and it all just feels corny and melodramatic (in a bad way). Here's hoping he recovers soon...