SummaryChow Mo-wan rents a room in a Hong Kong apartment building. It's sheer coincidence that he moves in the same day that Su Li-zhen moves in next door. They never have a real conversation until Mr. Chow realizes that their respective spouses are having an affair. This discovery shocks both of them. Mr. Chow, feeling hurt and wishing to un...
SummaryChow Mo-wan rents a room in a Hong Kong apartment building. It's sheer coincidence that he moves in the same day that Su Li-zhen moves in next door. They never have a real conversation until Mr. Chow realizes that their respective spouses are having an affair. This discovery shocks both of them. Mr. Chow, feeling hurt and wishing to un...
A bitter-sweet romance. It's quiet, understated, but ultimately powerful. Beautiful photography and visuals. Brilliant acting. Caveats: not fast paced, and you've got to pay close attention at first to figure out the characters (it does cohere after a bit). I want to watch more from this director.
Wong denies us the satisfaction of resolution, but in sharing his mastery of cinema, and his gift for conveying mood, desire and vivid emotions, he's more than generous.
Wong Kar-Wai's 2000 In the Mood for Love may be the best film, thus far, of the 21st Century. In just over 90 minutes, it conveys, through a voyeur-like cameras eye and spot-on, often silent, acting from Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung, an intensity of locked-up longing that's perhaps never been so captured on screen. The leads' spouses are having an affair, which brings them together unwittingly, though they too live in neighboring apartments. Initially joined by mutual heartbreak, they become joined by shared desire for one another that, in 1960s Hong Kong, is verboten. The leads are never joined through plain expression, but rather in often tense, mannered, scenes where they share a space (e.g., a cab) and communicate through just a glance or movement. And, in these scenes, the camera latches on to their subtle gestures with a yearning of its own that brings slight, soft acting full circle, giving it clear meaning. The leads encounter one another, repeatedly, in somewhat scripted, yet somehow not contrived, terms. An encounter might involve bumping in to a neighbor running a common daily (or nightly) errand. Indeed, an encounter of this sort becomes a centerpiece of the film, and the subject of perhaps the most entrancing visual sequences put to film in recent decades. In the Mood for Love is about quiet but telling action that, when enveloped by the camera, becomes loud. Wongs rich visuals tug the viewer into a muted world wrought with emotion. A feat many directors aspire toward. A feat Wong executes to perfection.
Don't justify the affair. The background music is a great accompaniment to a movie, but playing the same song over and over again breaks the immersion. However, the mood of the movie and Hong Kong at the time is perfect.
Despite the gorgeous cinematography, the good acting performances and the interesting story, In the Mood for Love is cliché, predictable and even boring at times. While it's definitely not a bad movie, it's still not as good as I thought it would be.
The movie is very slow moving and I assumed the pace would increase but, sadly, I was wrong. Nothing much really happens. The music gets very irritating. I think anyone could have played the roles of the main characters. The only praise I have is that it is quite artistic. I am somewhat perplexed as to why so many people adore this film.
Je viens de regarder ce film et j'ai l'impression de sortir du coma. J'ai pas tout regardé à vitesse nominale mais j'ai tenu une demi-heure ainsi, ce que je considère comme un magnifique exploit. Je pensais alors que ça faisait au moins deux heures et quelque que je regardais l'air ahuri ce cinéma d'auteur du festival de Cannes et que le générique de fin libérateur allait me délivrer.
Libera me domine ! mais non, le temps du cinéma d'auteur qu'il soit chinois, javanais, français ou indo-pakistanais s'écoule infiniment plus lentement et chaque minute contemplée de ce film abrutissant, des tas de neurones meurent en masse. Car la connerie tue.
Ne pas s'étonner alors si les peigne-culs des festivals suivis par la presse intello-bobo en mettent partout après, se gargarisant, pontifiant et idolâtrant à tout va les archi-méga-grosses merdes de ce genre.
Peu importe les comédiens dans ce cinéma de l'abrutissement, aucun ou aucune ne serait en mesure de sauver une telle affliction : pensez donc, dans le Hongkong des années 60, deux cocus qui habitent dans des cagibis se tournent autour et tentent de se renifler discrètement le fion sans jamais y parvenir.
Une heure trois quarts de ça. Tu le crois ça ? non mais putain ça troue le cul !