Tony Leung Reflects on ‘Silent Friend,’ Wong Kar-wai and Why His Films Must Be Seen in Cinemas at Shanghai Masterclass

By Jenny S. Li

Jenny S. Li

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Tony Leung Chiu-wai told a full house at the Shanghai International Film Festival that his restrained performance style demands the full cinematic experience to be felt, speaking at a masterclass following a screening of his film “Silent Friend.”

“Sometimes it might just be something on my fingers, you must watch very carefully, and it must be in cinema,” Leung said.

The actor, serving as jury president of the festival’s Golden Goblet Awards competition, spoke at length about his collaboration with Hungarian writer-director Ildikó Enyedi on “Silent Friend,” which traces a relationship across three generations of scholars and a more than 200-year-old ginkgo tree. Leung admitted the script did not immediately draw him in.

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