Chris Doyle, cinematographer

[imomus]

The name Chris Doyle has been cropping up a lot in my recent web radio pieces. He had a piece in the Graf show I described in my Osaka Hour, and I mentioned a show of his photos, 'First There Is A Mountain', at the Fringe Club in my Hong Kong Radio impressions. One of my first reactions to Hong Kong was 'I feel like I'm in a Wong Kar Wai movie'. Chris Doyle was the cinematographer on Wong Kar Wai's most iconic movies: 'Chung King Express', 'Fallen Angels', 'In The Mood For Love'. He's the Toulouse Lautrec of contemporary Hong Kong, its visual Dickens. Imagine my surprise, then, when the man who did more than anyone else to frame my mental picture of this city turned up in person at my show on Friday. I also met him at a party at the Fringe Club the following night, a celebration of the Australian drag movie 'Priscilla, Queen of the Desert', and kept running into him in bars around town... Here's how our first conversation went:



Momus: (Somehow recognising the smiling Australian with spilling grey perm and slightly slurry manner) Oh my god, you're Chris Doyle!

Chris: Yes! Welcome to Hong Kong, enjoyed the show! (To someone nearby) Watch out for this guy when he puts red gloves on! [Explanation: my Friday show was colour-coded. Red rubber gloves signified to the audience that the song's narrator was a murderer, or about to kill someone.]

Momus: That's amazing, my first impressions of Hong Kong were filtered through your cinematography, and now I'm meeting you! I just saw your exhibition in Osaka, and your photos upstairs. You were shooting a film in Thailand recently, weren't you?

Chris: Yes, how do you know all this?

Momus: Well, I follow your career!

Chris: How are you finding Hong Kong? It's your first time, isn't it?

Momus: Yes, and I've come from Japan, so I'm comparing it with that. I'm missing some things about Japan already. Like the bath-houses. Here they have saunas, but those are slightly different, I gather.

Chris: Yeah, you go in for a massage and after a while they ask you 'Do you want to turn over now?'

Momus: Turn over? Oh, I see! 'Turn me over, I'm done!'

Chris: What's embarrassing is when they're in the middle of it (mimes handjob) and you think they don't know who you are, and the girl says 'So, Mr Doyle, how's the new film coming along?'

Momus: Ha ha ha ha ha!

Doyle's new film, as a matter of fact, is coming along well. He's shooting it in Shanghai. Doyle really gets around. In the last couple of weeks he's done workshops in Edinburgh and Toronto. Yet he still manages to be the heart and soul of Hong Kong nightlife, the ultimate barfly, popping up everywhere. He tells me there've been attempts recently by the Australian authorities to reclaim him, cast him as part of Australia's cultural assets. He's having none of it. He's part of the Asian film industry, not the Australian one. Pointing out at nocturnal Hong Kong, he says, with slurry sentiment, 'This is my backyard. This is where I'm from.'

Comments

[imomus.livejournal.com]

You know, I've just discovered another Doyle connection with my recent adventures. I mentioned that DoraVideo, who supported me last weekend in Kyushu, made a Max/MSP remix of a clip of the shower scene from 'Psycho'. What I didn't mention was that it was the remake of 'Psycho', shot by... Chris Doyle.

Donovan?

[(Anonymous)]

Is "First There is a Mountain" a reference to the Donovan song? Are you a Donovan fan? Have you written about Donovan before somewhere that you can point me to?

[darling-effect.livejournal.com]

Is he still shooting 2046?
I must admit, I want to see that film NOW! I'd best stop before I start to sound like a petulant three year-old.

[lecalculate.livejournal.com]

2046 is already done. it was in cannes! there's a website google it.

xo your informer

[darling-effect.livejournal.com]

Did Wong Kar Wai really show the film at Cannes? I heard that he pulled the film at the last minute and they're doing reshoots now.
I'd be thrilled if the film were really done, but somehow I doubt it.

I've seen the website. The French site has some amazing still photographs! If possible, it's even more visually sumptuous than In The Mood for Love. Swoon.

[panarchist.livejournal.com]

The film (its raw draft version) was indeed shown in Cannes. However, Wong Kar Wei IS still shooting (not just re-editing!) this movie. Here is what a note dated August 2nd from the website that you are probably referring to (http://www.monkeypeaches.com/2046.html) says:

"According to Chinese media, director Wong Kar-Wai is still shooting his 2046. Since returning from Cannes, he has made some additional scenes with Maggie Cheung and Faye Wong. More scenes might be shot in Shanghai. As the result, Maggie Cheung's share will be increased from one-shot cameo in the Cannes version to a role with approximately 15 minutes scenes in the final theatrical version. 2046 will be released in China, including Hong Kong, late September."

Last I heard, this Chinese premiere has also been postponed.

[badbargain.livejournal.com]

Wow, that's wonderful! I adore his work.

[panarchist.livejournal.com]

Have you seen another recent Doyle's camera work - Last Life in the Universe? It's a quite remarkable film.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0345549/

Apparently, Doyle has made at least one movie as a director:
http://www.filmfestivalrotterdam.com/en/film/4366.html

[klasensjo.livejournal.com]

Oh I didn't see your recommendation. You should get it. It's a available on ebay... :)

i wrote a little something about it a while ago
http://www.livejournal.com/users/klasensjo/15319.html

[klasensjo.livejournal.com]

Doyle is, hands down, the best cinematographer around right now. Hero just recently premiered in the U.S. and it's breathtaking. It all made sense when I saw that Doyle was behind it all. The seasons are colorcoded in a way that is absolutely stunning. Go Seee!! Ohhhh...Mmomus you are certainly hip homing.
Apart from Kar-Wai Wong's magic movies, his own "Away with words (good title!) is also definitely worth watching. I get so excited I almost forget the fucking storm outside...
Time code.

[jake82.livejournal.com]

I just came across your journal and it's entirely radical. I wish I could be in Japan and Hong Kong meeting awesome people like Christopher Doyle! *jealousy* Okay, now I'm going to go read all of your old entries.

[carbootsale.livejournal.com]

thank you for writing about Chris Doyle, i've been a follower of Wong Kar Wai and Chris Doyle ever since i saw chungking express and it's great to read this update on him.