ABSTRACT
This chapter considers past constructions of Asia as the Orient in contradistinction to its European/Western Occident, and whether present day texts still operate under this regime. The concept of Orientalism to cinema, there is a growing body of work centred on the place of the Asian/American in Hollywood. The chapter presents a case study of three related films by Hong Kong director Wong Kar Wai, Days of Being Wild, In the Mood for Love and 2046, often cited as a trilogy despite a lack of coherency in time frames and in characters, illustrates how Wong is able to create and maintain a recognisable aesthetic pallet that draws extensively on Orientalised imagery. Wong Kar Wai cut his teeth on filmmaking during a short stint at Hong Kong's Cinema City film company, where the collaborative production-line method of writing and creating ten-minute reels quickly brought him up to speed with the craft of filmmaking.
