Inspired by the classic 2000 'In The Mood For Love" (known in Chinese as The Golden Years or The Flowery Years) movie by director Wong Kar-wai, the simple plot of The Wasted Years is of a woman who waits for her lover in the restaurant. She intimates at a mutual attraction in Hong Kong some years ago, and tell us they had agreed to meet in New York when it became possible for them in order to continue the relationship.
The title of The Wasted Years is also inspired by the Chinese metaphor (花樣年華) meaning the fleeting time of youth, beauty and love.
I leave it to the viewer to decide if the man she loves does show up after her long wait...
I was of two minds insofar as the music sound track is concerned. I initially wanted to use a Shanghainese romantic song but, following Wong Kar-wai lead in mixing West and East when he used Nat King Cole's 'Quizas Quizas', I chose the well known La Vie En Rose by Edith Piaf...the classic French love song.
I used color grading (a sort of teal and orange) on the chosen photographs to accentuate the cinematic "feel" of the photo-film. The cameras used were the Fuji GFX50R (Fujinong 45mm 2.8) and a Fuji X-Pro2 (Zeiss 12mm 2.8). The restaurant is Tipsy Shanghai in the West Village (New York City).
