What do the makeup ads you’re used to seeing look like? Perhaps there’s some fresh-faced 19-year-old explaining how a certain foundation keeps her looking young, against a fresh, white background, as some vibrant, focus group-approved music plays? Well, get ready for something completely different. Wong Kar-Wai, the Hong Kong filmmaker known for such slow, stylish spectacles as Chungking Express and In the Mood for Love, was enlisted to make a commercial for cosmetics company Shu Uemera’s Christmas collection — and what he gave them was something slow, glittery, and graceful, featuring a lovely pair of false eyelashes.
Wong says that the 47-second clip is inspired by the Charles Bukowski poem “Burning in water, drowning in flames.” In an interview with the French site Puretrend, he explains, “This poem by Charles Bukowski is a paradox. My film explores this contradiction of passion. I thought that the contrast of red and blue, which reflects the opposition between the hot and cold, was ideal.” That makes sense — but we could swear we see hints of Marilyn Minter-style glamour and damage in there, too. Read More »
