CineTributes: Yu Lik Wai
Few cinematic collaborations today - I'd even argue to date - have proved as rich as that between the brilliant director Jia Zhang Ke and the equally brilliant cinematographer Yu Lik Wai. Hailing from Hong Kong and also a director himself, Yu is rightly regarded among cinephiles as one of the modern day's most accomplished DPs. His vividly realistic yet vibrant, even painterly compositions are expressive and consistently magnificent.
Though today's original montage features only clips from Yu and Jia's films together, Yu has also worked with several others among China's finest filmmakers: Ann Hui, Lou Ye and Zhang Yang among them. This year saw him return to working with Jia, after not doing so on Ash Is Purest White in 2018, with Swimming Out Till the Sea Turns Blue, which screened in February at the Berlin International Film Festival. It's always a pleasure to see his work on the big screen - as big a screen as possible, preferably - so I'm naturally looking forward to a time when those big screens can reopen and welcome fare from across the globe back inside. Until then, please enjoy the video!
Films featured
Platform, 2000
Unknown Pleasures, 2002
The World, 2004
Still Life, 2006
24 City, 2008
A Touch of Sin, 2013
Mountains May Depart, 2015