In the Mood for Love- 5 Stars

Theatrical Release Poster

In the Mood for Love has been the first film I have properly enjoyed for a long time. I always say that to properly appreciate a film you must a) be in the right mood for it b) give it your full concentration. Sometimes a) can be a little difficult because it is difficult to exactly pinpoint your own mood and even then you may not pick a film that precisely resembles it. But when a) and b) come together with a great film that is when you can truly enjoy cinema and maybe that is why I so enjoyed In the Mood for Love because (incoming awful pun) I was in precisely the right mood for it.

Anyway, enough of my musings as onto the actual review. What is In the Mood for Love about? Well, it's set in 1960s Hong Kong and details the relationship between Mr Chow (Tony Leung) and Mrs Chan (Maggie Cheung). As you may have guessed from their names- they are both married to different people, i.e. their relationship is an affair. But their partners are actually having an affair with each other anyway (Mrs Chow is having an affair with Mr Chan)- that makes their own affair okay right? Well that is actually the fine point the film is based on. Are Chow and Su (Mrs Chow's first name) actually having an affair in the first place and if so- is it wrong? Put very simplistically the film explores love, loneliness, passion, death and human relationships. Now that may sound pretentious but it's not really- it's simply a love story about two very lonely people but in that there is a sort of tragic quality that elevates it above the arena of good, oscar-bait film making to a level of artistic endeavor that few films achieve.

Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung as Zu and Chow

What do I not like about this film? Very little in fact. Perhaps I felt it dragged on slightly towards the end with there being multiple points at which I thought the film could have ended but didn't. That said, the director, Wong Kar-Wai (who was also the screenwriter), does manage to pull it off and make the ending feel satisfactory despite the numerous cut off points where I, as a viewer, felt that the film probably could have ended. I can't really detail fully what I mean without spoilers so I won't try, suffice to say if you watch the film you probably will know what I mean. Other than that I really have no other complaints. At first I thought the way Chow and Zu acted out how their spouses got together to have their affair was a little cliched but the tenderness of the acting (Leung and Cheung have fantastic chemistry) and the combination of the enchanting score with the beautiful cinematography won me over.

Maggie Cheung as Zu (note the
wonderful mix of colours)

In technical terms the film is a masterpiece, largely thanks to the genius of the cinematographers Wong collaborated with- firstly Christopher Doyle and then Mark Lee Ping Bin. The slow motion walks of Cheung and Leung as they leave their apartment to eat alone at the rice bar outside put to the beautifully haunting 'Yumeji's theme' is so striking that it really puts all the CGI-advanced shots of blockbuster cinema to shame. The long, lingering shots of Chan and Zu's form as they slowly walk, alone or together, gives us a feel of their loneliness. I cannot really put into words how hauntingly beautiful the cinematography of this film is. However, the cinematography is used in other interesting ways. For example, when Chow and Zu are sitting in a restaurant and Chow asks Zu where she got her handbag the camera at first cuts in between the two. When Zu then asks Chow a question we feel the palpable tension in the air as we feel she may ask him something...sexual- I don't really know how to describe it. Perhaps ask him if he has any feelings for her- again it is difficult to describe. But anyway, as she asks him this there is some quick dialogue- 'Chow?' 'Yes' 'Can I ask you a question?' 'What?' As this quick dialogue goes on the camera quickly flits back and forward between the two increasing our anticipation as an audience. However, when she simply asks him where he got his tie the camera goes back to cutting between the two (a basic A camera, B camera). What this does is again emphasise their loneliness (the cuts of the shot only showing one of them at a time) but also the desire for some kind of relationship between the two (when the camera flicks back and forwards between them without cutting showing them together) as well as the increase in tension and anticipation which I mentioned before.

Tony Leung as Chow

I would say the film's most complex theme and that which separates it from the pack is it's idea of the fleetingness of human relationships. The themes of loneliness and love have been explored in any number of films but this idea of the restraint between the couple which eventually leads to nothing really happening is the most tragic aspect of the film. I'm not sure if Zu and Chow would really be happy together- they seem drawn to each other more because of their joint loneliness and the infidelity of their spouses than shared interest- but that they do love each other and yet decide not to act upon those feelings and therefore remain lonely for the rest of their lives is the real tragedy of it. Their relationship is just a blink in their own lives yet one that they will always regret and can never come back to as shown by the subtitles that say 'the era is over.' The idea that actually this person who you have such intense deep feelings for is really just a small section of your life really struck me as something quite original in film making. Of course, it is a well done cliche to have the protagonists part never to see each other again at the ending of the film but to insinuate that they have forgotten each other and the relationship may not have worked in the first place is a more realistic but bitter approach. Of course, one could refute this claim by saying that Chow's act at the end of burying his secret in the stone of Angkor Wat shows he has not forgotten Zu. But to that I say that yes, although he still remembers her, he is trying to bury her deep down and forget about her. Therefore, my original statement still stands- she was just a brief moment in his life. This is reinforced by the fact that they could probably track each other down if they wanted- there's nothing to stop them other than this sense that they don't want to. Their loneliness has changed and their relationship cannot go back to the way it was- Zu has even had a child. It's tragic but a very real picture of life.

I realise that I really have not explained myself well in this review. That is because the film itself is so evocative in its emotion that it would take a great writer to really put these feelings into words. I sadly lack that skill but hopefully, if you have seen the film, you will know what I mean and if you haven't, you will be inspired by my enthusiasm to go and watch it anyway.

Ratings: Entertainment: 9 Technical: 5 Intelligence: 5= 19/20 *****











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