In this episode of CineAmerican Dream, we’ll be discussing Wong Kar-wai’s 2007 film My Blueberry Nights. Wong is an award-winning director from Hong Kong with a reputation for his distinctive filming and visual styles. My Blueberry Nights is Wong’s first project set in the United States and filmed in English. Dreamy, saturated, and set to jazz, the film pulls its audience into the world of its main character Elizabeth, whose recent relationship troubles prompt her to start a friendship with a local café owner (her love interest) and to eventually take a cross-country road trip to sort through her feelings. The film is marketed as a love story, but as we’ll get into in the episode, it’s also largely about Elizabeth’s personal journey as she travels across America, making pit stops to work odd jobs and meeting new people along the way. Reviewers have criticized the dreamy America that Wong has crafted – where life is perpetually glazed over with saturated colors and moody jazz music – but are those critiques truly justified? We’ll talk a bit about the plot, discuss the film’s mixed reception, and give our take on the film’s “authenticity” in its portrayal of real-world America. Our podcast has minimal spoilers, so we invite listeners to tune in even if you haven’t seen My Blueberry Nights yet.
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Music credits:
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♪ Bread (Prod. by Lukrembo)
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Additional sources referenced in this episode:
Brooks, Xan. “My Blueberry Nights.” The Guardian, 16 May 2007, https://www.theguardian.com/film/2007/may/16/cannes2007.cannesfilmfestival1. Accessed 12 Apr. 2023.
Jones, Norah. “Norah Jones on My Blueberry Nights: The RT Interview.” Rotten Tomatoes, 21 Feb. 2008, https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/article/norah-jones-on-my-blueberry-nights-the-rt-interview/. Accessed 12 Apr. 2023.
My Blueberry Nights. Directed by Wong Kar-Wai, Lions Gate Films, 2007.
“My Blueberry Nights Reviews.” Rotten Tomatoes, https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/my_blueberry_nights/reviews. Accessed 13 Apr. 2023.
Provencher, Ken. “Transnational Wong.” A Companion to Wong Kar-wai, edited by Martha P. Nochimson, Wiley Blackwell, 2016, pp. 41-63.
Scott, A. O. “‘My Blueberry Nights’ at Cannes: In the mood for something sweet.” The New York Times, 17 May 2007, https://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/17/arts/17iht-wong.1.5751632.html?searchResultPosition=2. Accessed 12 Apr. 2023.
Still of Elizabeth and Leslie from the film My Blueberry Nights. “My Blueberry Nights.” ACMI, https://www.acmi.net.au/whats-on/love-neon-cinema-wong-kar-wai/my-blueberry-nights/. Accessed 14 Apr. 2023.
Wong, Kar-wai. “Because of Norah Jones: My Blueberry Nights: Exclusive Interview with Wong Kar-wai.” Wong Kar-wai: Interviews, edited by Silver Wai-ming Lee, Micky Lee, University Press of Mississippi, 2017, pp. 115-128.
Wong, Kar-wai. “The American Way.” Wong Kar-wai: Interviews, edited by Silver Wai-ming Lee, Micky Lee, University Press of Mississippi, 2017, pp. 128-133.
