IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE
2000

February 15, 2001

Camera 1

-->Written and Directed by Kar-wai Wong [Chungking Express]
-->Mr. Chow.....Tony Leung Chiu Wai [Lashou Shentan (Hard Boiled), Chungking Express]
-->Mrs. Chan.....Maggie Cheung [goddess, Supercop, Irma Vep, Chinese Box]

Awards: Cannes Best Actor Tony Leung Chiu Wai.

Nominations: British Academy Award Best Foreign Film, Cannes Golden Palm Kar-wai Wong, Cesar Award Best Foreign Film, Independent Spirit Awards Best Foreign Film.

Next door neighbors discover that their spouses are having an affair.

I have an incredible weakness for Maggie Cheung. If there is a woman alive who could wear the high-collared, sleeveless, form-fitting dresses better than she does in this film, please forward her name to me immediately. This film takes place over a couple of years in the early 60s in Asia. The quiet realization that their respective spouses are not who they thought they are is heartbreaking. Director Wong Kar Wai plays musical interludes that move the story on from stage to stage. Nat King Cole is featured singing lounge songs in different languages. The photography is spectacular with rainy stairwells, smoky workspaces, a smile, a longing glance, red curtains. He likes to use slow motion and shots into reflections. The spouses are never seen, and barely heard. We must decide what they are like in our imagination. When long-suffering longing is continually stiffled because of honor or respect, the audience finds it hard to watch. When it seems like a simple kiss could be the magic a character's life has been waiting for. There were some sections where I wasn't sure what the director was trying to say, and the final 20 minutes seemed like it was done too quickly. But the performances by the two attractive leads (this is basically a two person cast) highlights the exoticness of Cheung and the old fashion smoky handsomeness of Leung. I thoroughly enjoyed it. More of a feeling than a story.