the black angel's death song

Natalie Portman and Norah Jones in Wong Kar-wai's latest film, My Blueberry Nights (2007).

When I first heard that Wong Kar-wai was making a film with Jude Law and Natalie Portman—yeah, Norah Jones is in it, too, but I didn’t really care about that—sometime in the weeks preceding Cannes 2007, I can’t say that I wasn’t intrigued. Both actors are known for their marvelous screen presence, so I knew that Wong wouldn’t let me down. At the very least their project would be an artfully luscious, if a tad perplexing movie like 2046 (2004). Now, having just finished watching My Blueberry Nights I can say that, despite the lukewarm reception it has gotten from most critics, it certainly lived up to most of my expectations. Not only that, but the film is even more beautiful than I could have imagined.

The best way to enter My Blueberry Nights is to, as I did, expect to be won over by the little pleasures, such as the way Wong perfectly frames every shot and holds it just long enough to savor it before going on to the next lovely image. Once you adjust your mindset to consider that those details that make the film such a delight to watch are the main attraction, you’ll be able to enjoy the whole package, which in addition to an endless array of striking compositions coupled with brilliant sound design, also includes a lovely and moody narrative about heartbreak and longing.

Elizabeth, Norah Jones’s character, walks into the film as a young woman looking for her lover in New York. She calls a diner, where the owner, a guy named Jeremy (Jude Law), tells her he hasn’t seen him. Eventually she makes it to the diner, again looking for the unseen man, but this time she finds herself babbling on and on about this and that to Jeremy. Their relationship soon turns into a series of late-night conversations over blueberry pie and ice cream

Soon thereafter, Elizabeth is in Memphis working in a diner during the day and a bar by night; she sends Jeremy postcards telling him she’s saving up to buy a car. He tries to write back, but apparently can’t find the name or address of the place where she works. Meanwhile, Elizabeth meets a guy named Arnie (David Strathaim), an alcoholic cop that has tried quitting many times and carries the white chips to prove it. His wife, Sue Lynne (Rachel Weisz), has left him, but he’s not willing to accept that. Strathaim plays Arnie with such affection and sympathy that his is the film’s most memorable and heartbreaking performance.

Elizabeth decides to continue her Kerouac trip across America, her next stop being a casino near Las Vegas, where she meets a poker player named Leslie (Natalie Portman with a hideous dyed blonde hairdo). Still saving up to buy her car, Elizabeth decides to give the $2,200 she’s saved up so far to Leslie so she can keep playing. If she wins, she’ll give Elizabeth a third of the profits. If she loses, Elizabeth gets Leslie’s convertible.

After making her way across thousands of miles, Elizabeth returns to New York, where Jeremy still keeps a blueberry pie just in case she walks in one day. She does, they talk for a while, and they share the most beautifully cinematic kiss since Anna Karina and Jean-Paul Belmondo stuck their heads out of their respective convertibles for a peck in Pierrot le fou (1965).

Sure, My Blueberry Nights may not have the thematic weight of Wong’s best work, but I doubt a more gorgeous film will come around this year.