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John Woo

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Even though John Woo (Chinese name: 吳宇森 Wu2 Yu3sen1) is known especially for the ballet-like violence in his movies, he is also in a way a Christian filmmaker. When asked about the doves that keep appearing in his films, he said:

"I love doves. I am a Christian. Doves represent the purity of love, beauty. They're spiritual. Also the dove is a messenger between people and God. When I was in high school and I used to draw posters for the church, I would draw a picture of a dove. When I shot The Killer, these two men, the killer and the cop, they work in different ways, but their souls are pure, because they do the right thing. In the church scene, I wanted to bring them together. I wanted to use a metaphor of the heart. I came up with doves - they're white. When the men die, I cut to the dove flying-it's the soul, rescued and safe, and also pure of heart. So the dove became one of my habits: I used it in Hard-boiled, Face/Off, and in Mission: Impossible II, at the end of the movie."

Born in China, Woo became a famous director in Hong Kong. He started making films in the United States in the 1990s, most of them mediocre action movies. Face/Off was his first film made in Hollywood that critics and other movie-goers equally appreciated, while Mission: Impossible II was - again - an action flick - albeit a blockbuster.

Filmography

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