A review of the 2000 film “In The Mood For Love”

This immensely stylish work by Hong Hong director Kar-wai Wong is like a Chinese version of “Brief Encounter” in that it shows a man and woman – both married – struggling with whether they should be unfaithful to their spouses, although the twist this time is that their partners are apparently already having an affair with each other. As the couple in question, handsome Tony Chiu-Wai Leung and beautiful Maggie Cheung give understated but emotional performances.

Although made shortly after Hong Kong was returned to China, the story is set in the 1960s as the political uncertainties overlap with the romantic ones.

The locations are in and around one of the crowded tenement blocks so typical of the territory, but director of photography Christopher Doyle provides a mixture of languid and close-up shots that create an absorbing set of images and Cheung’s character wears such gorgeous dresses that you wonder if she really is a secretary or a model. The music of Nat King Cole, while an odd choice for a Chinese movie, simply underlines the dreamlike quality of the production.

In the 2022 “Sight & Sound” poll of the top 100 films of all time, “In The Mood For Love” – while relatively little known to western viewers – comes in at No 5.


 




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