3. Days of Being Wild
The film that gave birth to the legend that would become Wong Kar-Wai. Days of Being Wild was the great auteur's coming out party as the film shot him to international recognition, and despite being made in the early 90's, the film feels strangely contemporary, perhaps because it so clearly laid the groundwork for ideas Kar-Wai would explore in his later work. The first part in the informal trilogy that would later include In the Mood for Love and 2046, Days of Being Wild is a poetic hymn exploring love and rejection in a fragmented and innovative fashion. The film signalled a change in Hong Kong cinema as it became less genre infused and much more art-house in aesthetic and Kar-Wai was at the front of the movement. As all Kar-Wai films are, this is beautifully shot and is also his first collaboration with cinematographer Christopher Doyle who would go on to work with the great director several times over. Wong's style is unmistakable and watching the film gives you a rapturous sense of excitement, though it is a sad tale of disconnected sole and unrequited love - themes nobody covers quite so brilliantly as this director. With Leslie Cheung embodying James Dean and Maggie Cheung offering effortless beauty, Days of Being Wild is a moody affair that you experience rather than watch.