Do we like them?

Do we like Wong Kar-wai?

Our score: 5 out of 10. No harmful words of his own turned up, but an unresolved row over credit and conduct, and little real good found, leave him in the middle.

Wong Kar-wai is the Hong Kong director behind Chungking Express, and the 1995 Sight and Sound interview shows a filmmaker obsessed with time and memory. His line that you can show change by showing things that don't change sums up the whole moody, longing style.

The mess started in 2025 with his TV series Blossoms Shanghai. Screenwriter Cheng Junnian, who writes as Gu Er, alleged that Wong and lead writer Qin Wen exploited him, giving him writing work without credit and only a small production-editor mention. Caixin reported he began posting about his contribution in 2023 and escalated in September 2025.

Then came the tapes. Cheng released secretly recorded audio in batches, and Malay Mail reported that one clip allegedly has Wong making sexual comments about an actress's body while Qin Wen laughed. The production team accused Cheng of “malicious editing and distortion”, and as of late November 2025 Wong had stayed silent. The recordings are unverified, so treat them as alleged.

It isn't the first time his sets have come up. Song Hye-kyo said in an interview that Wong asked her interpreter to hold her passport until filming of The Grandmaster wrapped, because he thought she might leave. That's her account, there was no response from Wong in the report, and it's an old-school director-as-tyrant story rather than a court matter.

On the harm check, we found no campaigning, conspiracy talk or harmful words from him about LGBTQ+ people, women, migrants or the planet. The only thing near it is the alleged remarks on those leaked tapes, which are unproven and denied by his production team. Nothing found there on who he keeps working with that would raise a flag.

The new project is early days. World of Reel reports Northern Story as a period drama about a real female entrepreneur, with no cast, episode count or shoot date confirmed. It also notes the Blossoms row still hangs over him.