Arts and Culture

Chinese movie review : "In The Mood For Love"

Director: Wong Kar Wai
Cast: Tony Leung Chi Wai, Maggie Cheung
Year: 2000
Running time: 90 minutes
Language: Cantonese/Shanghainese
Country: Hong Kong
Certificate: PG

Synopsis

Hong Kong, 1962. Two couples move into apartments next to each other. Before long Leung's character befriends Cheung's character and the two later suspect their spouses of extra-marital affairs with each other. Their friendship develops when they try to work out how their respective spouses' affairs started without suspecting where it might lead them.

Review

The storyline is hardly original but with Wong's effective and subtle direction, it is absorbing. The audience feels for the two spouses; one a hardworking man and the other a suffering working wife, keeping up appearances for the sake of the neighbours. The two characters' mutual attraction to each other is obvious. Wong uses evocative camera shots to tell of their frustration in the situation they found themselves, their frustration with their respective spouses and with their developing attraction to each other. They soon develop a reliance on one another. The audience does not see Leung and Cheung's spouses, only their backs and hear their voices, which help to intensify the story and our feelings for Leung and Cheung. Wong uses suggestive facial expression (or lack of it) with subtle and restrained dialogues to hint that the pair may or may not start to have an affair together, despite their resolve not to follow their spouses' example. Ever to Wong's credit the audience is left with the question 'did they or didn't they?' such is the delicacy with which he tells the story and his cinematography mastery.

Verdict

A masterpiece, whichever way you look at it. Each scene is skilfully constructed and the mood is suggestive and atmospheric. You have to appreciate it for its subtlety and for Leung's and Cheung's on scene chemistry.

5 out of 5

Wendy Wong

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