In 2023, Wong Kar-wai released the TV series “Blossoms” in China. The show was a whopping 30 episodes of around 50 minutes each — totaling to about 25 hours of television. This was good news for Wong fans, but there’s still no U.S. distribution for “Blossoms,” and I’m wondering who would be willing to handle such an ambitious project — MUBI?
Last year, “Blossoms” cinematographer Peter Pau told a Chinese outlet that they were working on an international version of the series that will “have better color grading and correction.” No update since then.
When it was announced, six years ago, “Blossoms” was supposed to be Wong’s next film, but it then morphed into a TV series. It received positive reviews in China and, after a slow start, became this immense cultural success in the country. Some of the filming locations in Shanghai have even become touristic attractions for the Chinese people.
With that said, it’s been 11 years since Wong’s last feature, the Wuxai action epic “The Grandmaster,” starring Ziyi Zhang. Much like 2007’s “Blueberry Nights,” it only garnered decent reviews upon release. Now, a Chinese outlet is reporting that we might have to wait a little longer for Wong’s next film since he’s working on yet another Chinese TV series.
Has Wong given up on cinema? What happened to the sequel “Chungking Express 2036”? A few years ago, that project had been approved by the China Film Administration for further development and production. Here’s the synopsis that was released:
In Chongqing in 2036, young Xiaoqian and May are unwilling to be matched with their genetically-assigned partner and are determined to find their own "destiny".
Regardless, Wong hasn’t totally quit cinema, it was recently announced that he’s releasing an extended edition of “In the Mood for Love,” featuring almost 10 minutes of new footage. The Chinese release is set for February 14, 2025.
Will this new version of “In the Mood For Love” include the mythic deleted scenes featuring Tony Leung and Maggie Chung’s characters getting it on? I sure hope not. The whole point of the original was the romantic yearning, and that Leung and Cheung didn’t dare touch each other.
Wong is the immensely influential filmmaker behind such classics as “Chungking Express,” “Days of Being Wild,” “Happy Together,” and “Ashes of Time,” “Fallen Angels.”