« Going to the movies is a joy! »

During his master class, Hong Kong filmmaker Tsui Hark answered some thought-provoking questions!

CINEMA

I've been a film buff since I was a kid. Japanese films, especially those by Akira Kurosawa, inspired me. When I graduated from high school, I found everything so boring! A friend asked me what I liked to do in life, and I replied, “Go to the movies.” That’s when he suggested I make movies.

RIDICULE

Comedy is a difficult genre. To succeed, you have to be highly optimistic about our world and show things that make us happy. In any case, whether you’re there to see a comedy or not, going to the movies is a joy! The heavier the subject matter, the more I’m able to find a funny side. Take Covid, for example: we trust the government and the hospitals; we think we’re protected, and so on. Then suddenly, a tiny virus comes along, and it all falls apart. Our relationships are disrupted, and we feel abandoned. There’s a slightly desperate element to it all that becomes ridiculous, and that ridiculousness amuses me.

STRESS 

Films from Hong Kong are probably the most creative ones to share with an audience. They’re made for stressed-out people from Hong Kong ! That’s why my films contain so much tension. All Hong Kong filmmakers always feel like that movie will be their last ; maybe that’s also why their works are so energetic. This generates a lot of humor and quirkiness, which is what sets us apart.

SOMETIMES…

 … I find myself thinking that I’d like to remake certain films. I miss certain actors, especially my wife, who recently passed away and to whom I owe all of this. She was very important to me, but I know that  she is with us today in spirit, and happy to see us all here together.

OVERLOAD

There’s something new going on with our phones and the Internet. We’re bombarded with tons of different information that has nothing to do with the world we live in. So we’re almost never satisfied. It’s really hard for the younger generations because they’re being shown an end-goal that’s almost impossible. I get the feeling that they’re giving up a little; everything seems harder for them to achieve.

LOVE = TWO WORDS 

In France it’s “amour,” in England it’s “love”: a single word. But in Chinese, it’s two words. The first means to make someone happy. The second is more like possession: claiming someone or something you love as your own. As a result, you always feel somewhat frustrated. You want the person you have these feelings for to be happy, and at the same time, you want to control them. Love is, first and foremost, about energy–it’s what gives us our strength.

SOON

We need to live in the moment, but also to think ahead to the next five years. I have this idea of creating a dream world that would start in a city like Hong Kong or Beijing, and I want to imagine what it might look like in the future: what could it become? Thinking about that inspires me, and that’s what matters most to me: inspiration from life.

SERIOUS? JOYOUS!

Each period in our society inspires stories. Humor is essential to them, even more so today when we’re surrounded by viruses, wars, bad news, and so on. I’ll conclude with this message: cinema is a serious matter. It allows us to confront the world we live in, but making movies must remain a joyful experience. Creativity must be an experience of joy–especially war movies!

Reported by Fanny Bellocq