In the Mood for Love

Wong Kar-wai is the master of making loneliness and desperation seem beautiful and aesthetically desirable – In the Mood for Love allows you to rediscover the colour red and all the passion and love and yearning that comes with it. Two lonely neighbours in a Hong Kong apartment (Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung) are united in a shared experience; their spouses are away working and never spending time with them and, what’s more, it soon transpires that our protagonists are both being cheated on. As is typical for Wong Kar-wai, two characters can fall in love in the most unusual of ways. Small moments, the two neighbours passing closely on the stairs, are slowed down and savoured by Christopher Doyle’s iconic cinematography, as In the Mood for Love begins to evoke lots of small, familiar sensations: rain pattering against a window, cigarette smoke caught in the light, everything is so close you can almost touch it. That will only feel more tactile with the film being on a rare 35mm print! ‘Mood’ is the word indeed, an atmosphere which never resolves itself but draws you into its strangely melancholic yet desirable embrace; there’s no other film like it and there’s no better way to experience In the Mood for Love than on the big screen.

Daniel Kallin

With films such as ‘Chunkung Express’, ‘Fallen Angels’ and ‘Happy Together’, Wong Kar-Wai built himself a reputation as perhaps the finest Asian film director of his generation but it was 2001’s ‘In The Mood For Love’ that really catapulted him into the stratosphere.

A tale of unconsummated love between two neighbours in 1960s Hong Kong, the plot is more about what doesn’t happen than what does. Chow Mo-wan (Leung) and Su Li-zhen Chan (Cheung) are both married but upon realising that their partners are cheating on them, they begin to spend more time with each other and slowly feelings begin to develop between them. What is remarkable is just how compelling it remains without them giving in to their urges. The scenes between them are wonderfully understated with the suave Chow and delicate Su conducting a fascinating dance of restraint and longing around each other. Comic relief comes from chatty landlady Mrs. Suen (Pan) and the inept Ah Ping (Ping-Lam). Nevertheless, it is still decidedly minimalist compared to his previous work, whilst still retaining all of his usual magic.

The visuals are nothing short of breathtaking and perfectly suited to the themes explored in the piece. Teaming up with regulars Christopher Doyle (cinematographer) and William Chang (production/consume design), Kar-Wai creates an ingenious world of innovative direction, sublime sets, alluring colours and unparalleled cinematography. This is truly a visual treat. The soundtrack too is particularly apt with the inspiringly haunting use of Nat King Cole.
To sum up, this is an incredibly intimate picture with superb acting and extraordinary visuals but most of all, it is Kar-Wai’s cinematic masterpiece. I urge you to come along and see it in all its glory on the big screen. It is simply a pleasure to watch.

James Kopka