Honestly, film critics as a collective organism have a really short list of filmmakers as reference points when talking about to-date releases. In some cases, like Justin Chon’s Ms. Purple, I get it; step printing is definitely a Wong Kar-wai move, meaning it’s a technique that basically only Wong Kar-wai uses successfully and without looking like a college-level hack.
But I don’t really see much else of Wong in Ms. Purple, which is much more openly sentimental than anything in the range of In the Mood for Love or Chungking Express. That’s a good thing, though! It means Ms. Purple feels closer to Chon’s own thing and not a dime store knockoff of one of the best films from one of the world’s best filmmakers.
You can read my full thoughts on Chon’s work over at Paste Magazine.
A Constant Visual Feast 