Adapting Louis Cha's (also known as Jin Yong) traditional martial art novel The Eagle Shooting Hero, Wong spent more than two years finishing his chivalry movie Ashes of Time in 1992 when it was the period of the chivalry (kung fu ) genre's return to Hong Kong theaters. It earned the award for best cinematography at 1994 Venice Film Festival.

His Chungking Express, which took only two months to be finished right after Ashes of Time, won him international recognition.

His Fallen Angels, firstly screened at Toronto International Film Festival in 1995 became the focus of the festival for its style free from vulgarity.

In 1997 Wong became the first Chinese director to win the best director prize at the annual Cannes Film festival for Happy Together, a tale of the strained relationship between two Chinese gay lovers living in Buenos Aires.

In 2000 his film In the Mood for Love earned him wider international plaudits, nominated for a Golden Palm at Cannes and has earned some 2.7 million dollars at the US box office.

Wong Karwai returned to Cannes in 2004 in the Official Selection with the previously mentioned award-winning 2046, the follow-up to In the Mood for Love. It was hailed by reviewers as a "sublime exploration of inner time."

"Making a film is your first dream while also the last dream. Every time you make a film you must be enthusiastic in doing the job and you should try your best to make it a perfect one as if it is your last one," says Wong.

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