Quotes

It takes less effort to stream a film at home these days. However, streaming should not fundamentally affect how a film is made, as long as the pleasure of watching films doesn't change. And we as filmmakers continue to serve that purpose. (2021)

Filmmaking is an organic process from start to finish, so there should be many surprises along the way. You never know what film you really have until it is delivered.

When I was young, the idea of "world cinema" didn't exist. We would watch any films that we could find in the cinemas. Today, some of those films have become accessible again on streaming platforms. In a way, it doesn't matter as much where they exist as long as people have access to them. (2021)

My ideas about writing changed as soon as I started directing. As a writer, I wanted my scripts to be perfect and fully formed. As a director, I know there are always factors beyond my control. Many things in any film cannot be planned concretely in advance. The best you can do is visualize what you want, and then respond to what's there once you go on set. Nowadays I start from a fairly loose script and tend to write the dialogue on the day of shooting.

The color is so vivid because everything from memory is vivid - it's beautiful because it's very close to your mind.

I like Latin American literature a lot and I've always thought Latin American, and Italian people are very close to Chinese, especially the women - jealousies, passion, family values, it's very close.

We all need stories. What happens in our daily lives changes our stories.

Action is the first word you must learn. And the second is patience. As a filmmaker you must wait for many things. You have to wait for money, the weather, the cast, the release. So you need to have good patience. The process is so long and most of the time it's frustrating. To be a filmmaker, you must first take action, then have the persistence to pursue it.

I don't have to make big films, I can make small films that I can be happy with. I can find my own audience.

Every set up, every shot, represents a choice: what you want to see, and what you don't want to see.

On working with Tony Leung Chiu-wai: I feel like there is a lot of things between me and Tony that is beyond words. We don't need meetings, talks, whatever, because a lot of things are understood.

It is always good to work with a very regular group of people because we know how high we can fly and what are the parameters, and it becomes very enjoyable.

In the late 1980s, when MTV was first shown in Hong Kong, we were all really impressed with the energy and the fragmented structure. It seemed like we should go in this direction.