Well, if you should be talking or thinking about a certain kind of golden glow, neo noir, the work of Wong Kar-Wai could well be a good place to start, in particular In The Mood For Love and 2046 (which is heading more towards Blade Runner-esque futuristic neo noir if memory serves correctly)… and I expect that subconsciously they’ve quietly seeped into my consciousness from the years back when I first saw them and tumbled out a touch in my own Afterhours work.

In a way, they could be seen as a forerunner to the sharp suited early 1960s styling of the likes of Mad Men, while the Far Eastern setting adds a certain stylistic interest and dissonance as this isn’t how such a place and time is normally depicted.

The worlds and atmospheres that are created in these films are a thing to behold – although part of moving celluloid tales, it can feel as though you’re watching single, elegant, still images that have been paused and created with infinite care; filmic paintings that draw you in and entrance.

They’re the kind of filmic beauty that the detail of hi-definition viewing was invented for… though a look-see and a browse tells me that In The Mood For Love is only available on a Criterion Region A/US player only release… ah well, looks like it’s some more technical jiggery pokery to convince machines on this side of the pond to play nicely with such a disc.

Peruse the films here. Annoy yourself by looking at versions you can’t probably play on this side of the pond at Criterion here. Lose yourself in this world and its visions here.