In the Mood For Love (2000)

So I liked my brief foray into the work of Wong Kar-wai. So I decided to head back to his magical cinematic space one more time. And wouldn't you know it, The Criterion Channel had some more of his films on deck.

I've heard about 2000's In the Mood For Love, and its beauty, and I knew I had to watch it. The film's reputation precedes it, and I wanted to see the master at work.

So on a lazy Saturday, I fired it up.

And, oh boy.

I. What Is It?

This is the story of two people in 1960s Hong Kong. They discover that their spouses are having an affair with each other, and find a real connection as they work through their traumas and insecurities.

II. An Emotional Affair

So many movies about love affairs tend to lean on steamy sex scenes. They are physical affairs. Wong Kar-wai keeps his film rated PG-13, but skimps on none of the passion, or tension, or electricity. He serves us an emotional affair. He shows that you can tell a story of vivid beauty and burning passion where the main characters rarely even actually touch. When they do, you can feel it in your gut. The first time their fingers touch, in the car, strikes like lightning. Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung are powerful together. Their characters are trapped between a longing for affection, and a deep-rooted shame. They want love, badly, but they do not want to resort to their spouses' ugly behavior.

Wong establishes the leads' emotional distance and loneliness in clever ways. For one, we never see the spouses: their heads are always tuned away, or they are simply off screen in another room. Even their dialogue sounds faint and distant. For another, the characters have a way of talking AROUND what is happening without ever saying it. There is a scene in a diner where Mrs. Chan (Cheung) and Mr. Chow (Leung) decide to go out to dinner, knowing that their spouses are away having an affair. They dance around that word, affair, but never actually say it. The scene is powerful and suggestive and it draws you in by never being obvious.

This is an affair movie about two people falling head over heels in love, not lust. And that is wonderful.

III. Stunningly Beautiful

Wong Kar-wai knows how to make a film. Chungking Express (1994) was chaotic beauty. In the Mood For Love is distilled genius. The colors pop, passionate reds and envious greens, and the shots are intimately and beautifully composed. Watching this movie is like watching a gorgeous painting come to life. Wong even cycles shots and utilizes visual parallelism to help reinforce the power of his storytelling.

And then there't that music. Michael Galasso and Shigeru Umibayashi's score is haunting, and echoes in the chambers of my heart, even now.

William Chang's costuming is exquisite. He puts Maggie Cheung in a parade of chic, stunning dresses. Chang also does Art Direction duties, and makes the world of 1960s Hong Kong come to life in vibrant fashion.

This thing is a piece of art from top to bottom. It is probably one of the prettiest, emotionally devastating films I have ever seen.

IV. Soulful Leads

I love Tony Leung. He convincingly plays a range of emotional qualities. Maggie Cheung also delivers a heartfelt performance. She is a lonely woman, but when she allows herself to feel the love and kindness of another, her face lights up like the sunshine through a cloudy day.

The movie's emotional core falls squarely on their shoulders. You can make a beautiful movie. But if the romantic leads aren't game for the arc, the movie won't work. Cheung and Leung are powerhouses. Their emotional performances defy language. You could watch this thing with the subtitles off and still understand every beat of the emotional journey. That's just incredible.

VI. Should You See It?

Yes. Absolutely, yes. This film will make you feel. It will make you ache. It will wow you with incredible visuals, and it will put an incredible weight on your heart. I know some people struggle with films that have subtitles, but you need to get over that shit: this is one of the best films I've ever seen, and you NEED to see it, too.

Miscellany

- Chang put Cheung in a different dress in each scene. There were 46 dresses utilized in this film, though not all of them made it into the final cut of the film.
- This film was shot over 15 months.
- Th original cut of the film was 130 minutes long. A week before its debut at Cannes, Wong Kar-wai was still editing the film and cut 32 minutes out.
- Wong Kar-wai does not use scripts. He prefers to let his stories come together in the moment. He wanted to shoot in China, but Chinese officials demanded to review the script. As he had no script, Wong refused. And Chinese officials, in turn, refused to allow him to film. He also wanted to film on location in Hong Kong, but the city had modernized so much that the production was incredibly limited. They ended up shooting mostly in Bangkok, where much of the 1960s architecture still existed.
- Christopher Doyle was the original DP on this film, but had to drop out as the production ran long. Mark Lee Ping Bin came on and shot the rest of the film. Both men are given an equal credit, as the final cut uses both of their work.