A Stolen Kiss

A SAMPLE OF HOW A FOREIGN FILMMAKER CAN MIGRATE TO HOLLYWOOD WITHOUT SACRIFICING THEIR SOUL

John Rodolfo Franzoni
EEdition: Marco Aurélio Lucchetti

Whenever a European, Latin American, or Asian director – as is the case with Wong Kar-Wai from Hong Kong – decides to venture into American territory, it's common to expect a barrage of protests from critics who, out of sheer ill will or because they're used to making this kind of attack, end up relegating small gems to an insignificant ghetto, to the point of even preventing the public from discovering these gems.

Wong Kar-Wai.

There are several samples.

Jack Nicholson, in a scene from Ironweed.

Hector Babenco, an Argentinian filmmaker who became a naturalized Brazilian citizen, was surprised by an undeservedly cold reception when he brought together Jack Nicholson and Meryl Streep in the fatalistic film. Ironweed (idem, 1987) and did not expect the monumental failure of his memorable Playing in the Fields of the Lord (At Play in the Fields of the Lord, 1991).
Walter Salles did not fare well at all in his experience with horror. Black Water (Dark Water, The film, 2005), starring the ever-competent Jennifer Connelly, was a flop.

Actress Jennifer Connelly receiving instructions from director Walter Salles during the filming of a scene. Black Water.

The French director Louis Malle, in turn, presented a rather uneven filmography, in which celebrated works such as Pretty Girl (Pretty Baby, 1978), with Brooke Shields playing a nymphet, and Atlantic City (idem, 1980) alternated with negative reviews from notable figures. The Bay of Hate (Alamo Bay, 1985) and Uncle Vanya in New York (Vanya on 42nd Street, 1994).

In Pretty Girl, whose action takes place in 1917, during the last months of legal prostitution in Storyville, the red-light district of New Orleans., Louisiana, Brooke Shields plays Violet, the daughter of a prostitute who works in an elegant brothel.

Original (American) poster of Uncle Vanya in New York.

French poster of Paris, Texas.

German director Wim Wenders, after conducting Paris, Texas (idem, 1984), a masterpiece about the marginalized in America, saw his English-language works isolated without the slightest ceremony. With that, The Million Dollar Hotel (The Million Dollar Hotel, 2000), Fear and Obsession (Land of Plenty, 2004) and Lone Star (Don't Come Knocking, 2005), films that are at least interesting, are waiting for a rescue after unsuccessful releases.

Original (American) poster of The Million Dollar Hotel.

Well, it's with Wenders' best film, the aforementioned one. Paris, Texas, that A Stolen Kiss, Wong Kar-Way's captivating transition to Hollywood evokes certain memories. But this by no means implies plagiarism. The observation here is simply that the film directed by the Asian filmmaker evokes the seductive images of the German director's film. These seductive images stem from environments capable of offering – simultaneously – comfort and oppression..
UStolen KissIt also immediately brings to mind the seductive glances that Harry Dean Stanton and Nastassja Kinski captured in Paris, Texas, award-winning film Palme d'Or node Festival of Cannes from 1984.

Harry Dean Stanton, in a scene from Paris, Texas.

In the photo above, produced from a frame of Paris, Texas, the actress Nastassja Kinski.

In the same way as Wenders, Kar-Wai demonstrates that foreign perspective on such American things, in a veil of sensitivity and poetry that seemed definitively buried in the romantic cinema of the 2000s, except occasionally by a Sofia Coppola, with her... Encounters and Misunderstandings (Lost in Translation, 2003) or by Kar-Wai himself, with his renowned Love on the Surface (Fa Yeung Nin Wah, 2000), which, according to the newspaper New York Post, it is “"elegant and profound" sexy in a deliciously forbidden way”.

A scene from Love on the Surface.

In a film that aims to address the melancholy of lost love and the realization that there is no other way out than to occupy body and mind with the thankless and costly task of moving on, the viewer is generally treated as a complete imbecile, and miraculous and artificial solutions are presented without restraint to avoid any more thorough discussion of the situation. However, the producers cannot be blamed for using such a device, since the audience, especially the female audience who exclusively consume this type of film, demands total detachment in romantic movies. Thus, no formula can be challenged. And the ending can only be that calculated nonsense that is ultimately offered. A little reasoning and rejection of pre-established ideas are resources treated with suspicion and not even considered. To use them? Unthinkable. And it is in this desert of romances, which captivate with the simplicity of their verisimilitude, that A Stolen Kiss It presents itself as a highly welcome mirage. It's a film that, without embellishment, embraces that optimism in relationships, relying on a contagious passion from the director and lead actors in endorsing the narrative..
A Stolen Kiss It stars singer Norah Jones (born Geetali Norah Jones Shankar), whose musical debut occurred in 2002 with the release of the album Come Away with Me, which has sold around twenty-seven million copies worldwide..
(Open a parenthesis).
Mixing Jazz, Country alternative, Blues e Folk, Come Away with Me Norah Jones received five awards. Grammy, including Record of the Year, Album of the Year, Best Vocal Album of Pop and Breakthrough Artist. With this, Norah became the first artist of South Asian descent (her father, the Indian-Bengali sitar player and composer Ravi Shankar, became famous in the second half of the 1960s, collaborating with music stars such as the English band The Beatles) to win so many awards at this ceremony.

Album cover Come Away with Me.

Close the parenthesis.
In A Stolen Kiss, In the film, Norah Jones plays Elizabeth, a heartbroken young woman who initially frequents a New York coffee shop owned by Jeremy (Jude Law), a young man with a similarly unresolved romantic history, but who has a serene and somewhat inspiring perspective on the situation. Elizabeth and Jeremy then begin to share impressions and stories about affection. And from this confrontation, anchored in respect, the film draws its driving force.

Jude Law and Norah Jones, in a scene from A Stolen Kiss.

The dialogues between Elizabeth and Jeremy are brilliant. Some are even unforgettable. For example, on one occasion, the boy philosophizes about Elizabeth's disillusionment, recalling that, as a child, his mother always warned him to stay in one place if he got lost during his walks in the park. “"And did it work?"”, "Why?" Elizabeth asks. “"More or less. Sometimes she would get lost while looking for me!"”, "Jeremy replies".
The realization that we are all naive in believing that there is inviolable security in relationships, and that the emergence of a new self begins at the exact moment when this illusion is shattered, seems to be the dominant theme in Kar-Wai's work..
Then, the narrative shifts to two settings, in which Elizabeth, assuming the role of observer, finds in her fragile heart an opportunity to rediscover herself, even though she doesn't realize or imagine it and uses her decision to buy a car as a reason for her isolation, translated into a work routine (that occupies her day and night) as a waitress..

As soon as she leaves Jeremy and New York, Elizabeth heads to Memphis, Arizona, where she encounters police officer Arnie Copeland, played by David Strathairn, the excellent actor from... Good night and good luck. (Good night, and good luck., 2005).
Arnie was abandoned by his beautiful wife, Sue Lynne..
Open another parenthesis.
Rachel Weisz, who plays Sue Lynne Copeland, is exemplary in her portrayal of a worn-out woman.

Rachel Weisz and Norah Jones, in a scene from A Stolen Kiss.

Close that parenthesis..
Well, ever since his wife left him, Arnie has succumbed to a drinking problem..
Elizabeth maintains a bond with Arnie. But this relationship doesn't interfere with or prevent the outcome that ultimately unfolds. The director extracts a mixture of fury and passion, the kind that keeps the viewer attentive and captivated, partly due to the actors involved..
Elizabeth's next destination: the casinos of Nevada, where Leslie (Natalie Portman), a sensual poker player, becomes her friend, despite their differences.

Natalie Portman, playing the player Leslie, in A Stolen Kiss.

This is the least inspired segment of the film. And its optimism may sound like an unforgivable concession to Hollywood happy endings. But, by then, Kar-Wai has already won the viewer's affection, to the point that there is no room for complaint about his direction. Furthermore, wouldn't it be appropriate to praise a human being who decides not to change his decision to trust people, even when surrounded by those who encourage him to do the opposite? A Stolen Kiss delivers this record without presenting itself as a defense of naiveté or giving the impression that the audience was manipulated..
Here is a film to be admired for its rare cacophony. It's impossible to leave it without the delightful memory of the songs carefully chosen to punctuate Elizabeth's journey. The music here integrates with the scenes with undeniable precision, blending the brilliant voices of Cat Power (she has a small role in the film) and Cassandra Wilson with the exquisite chords of composers like Ry Cooder and the Argentinian Gustavo Santaolalla.

Singer-songwriter Cat Power (stage name of Charlyn Marie Marshall, also known as Chan Marshall), in a scene from A Stolen Kiss.

Speaking of singers, Norah Jones proves she has the charisma and talent for a second career: acting. At no point does Norah, considered one of the revelations of American music in the first decade of the 21st century, appear unprepared reciting dialogue. She embodies all the fears and decisions of her character, Elizabeth. And she does so with extreme delicacy, masterfully portraying her gradual transformation.

Norah Jones, the great revelation of A Stolen Kiss.

Without a doubt, A Stolen Kiss It's a masterpiece. However, there will be those who say it's a European (or Asian, if you prefer) film for Americans to see, highlighting how much superior Kar-Wai's previous works are. If an Eastern filmmaker understands that silent omission is the most correct register to insert into the films he makes in his country of origin, nothing is more natural than that, when producing a film in the West, his characters do not hesitate to verbalize and exaggerate. This mimicry is the great fascination in Kar-Wai's cinema, and nothing would be more unfair than A Stolen Kiss not being in a very high position in his filmography.

Another scene from A Stolen Kiss, featuring Jude Law and Norah Jones.

In conclusion: prepare yourselves for the kiss that crowns the story. According to critic Luiz Carlos Merten, in an article published in the newspaper... The State of São Paulo, that “"The kiss will go down in history."”. And I should add that it will take them a while to match that level of subtlety!

The photo above shows Jeremy stealing a kiss from Elizabeth.

A Stolen Kiss (My Blueberry Nights, United States, 2007, 95')
Direction: Wong Kar-Wai
Rscript: Wong Kar-Wai & Lawrence Block, based on a story by Wong Kar-Wai
Photography: Darius Khondji
Assembly: William Chang Suk Ping
Music: Ry Cooder
Cast: Norah Jones (Elizabeth), Jude Law (Jeremy), David Stratairn (Arnie Copeland), Rachel Weisz (Sue Lynne Copeland), Natalie Portman (Leslie), Cat Power (Katya), John Malloy, Frankie Faison, Demetrius Butler, Adriane Lenox, Chad Davis, Katya Blumenberg, Michael Hartnett, Michael May, Benjamin Kanes
Observation: Wong Kar-Wai wanted to film the sequels to A Stolen Kiss In order, that is, from first to last. However, when he discovered that Rachel Weisz, who had been chosen to play Sue Lynne, was pregnant, he agreed to film the Memphis scenes last, to give the actress time to give birth and recover before starting work.