In the Mood for Love

Name: In the Mood for Love
Genre: Drama, Romance
Released: February 2, 2001
Duration: 98 min
Rating: 85
Cast: Maggie Cheung, Tony Leung Chiu Wai

2001

METASCORE

Universal acclaim based on 28 Critics

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 146 Ratings

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7.6

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7.6	Your Score
7.6	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 146 Ratings

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IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE

Movie Details & Credits

USA Films | Release Date: February 2, 2001

Starring: Maggie Cheung, Tony Leung Chiu Wai

Summary: Chow 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 toChow 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 understand how the affair happened, begins finding excuses to spend time with Mrs. Chan. (USA Films)… Expand

Director: Kar Wai Wong

Genre(s): Drama, Romance

Rating: PG

Runtime: 98 min

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Awards & Rankings

12	#12 Best Movie of 2001
52	#52 Most Discussed Movie of 2001
75	#75 Most Shared Movie of 2001

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Metascore

Positive:

Mixed:

Negative:

Critic Reviews

100

New York Post - Jonathan Foreman

Rapturously elegant and deeply sexy in a deliciously restrained way. One of the most romantic movies I have ever seen, right up there with "Brief Encounter"and "Casablanca."

100

Slant Magazine - Ed Gonzalez

In the Mood For Love is ravishing beyond mortal words. Read full review

Film.com - Peter Brunette

It's a masterpiece, a sublime tone poem that shows what cinema is capable of when it tries to do more than just tell a story. Read full review

Mr. Showbiz - Michael Atkinson

Her (Cheung) gorgeously sad face and slow, lithe frame are the movie's hammer and chisel. One shot of her walking away from a rented room down a hallway is, all by itself, twice the movie of anything else currently in theaters.

Entertainment Weekly - Lisa Schwarzbaum

Although In the Mood for Love isn't in the mood for action, it dazzles with everything but. Read full review

Austin Chronicle - Marjorie Baumgarten

A stylistic tour de force, one that wordlessly emotes and wears its emotions on its literal silk sleeves. Read full review

USA Today - Mike Clark

A stylistically fastidious, exasperatingly affected package that will put most people in the mood for slumber. Read full review

SEE ALL 28 REVIEWS

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User Reviews

John

Dec 28, 2005

An absolutely spectacular movie, one of the very best films of the 2000s... (I wish I could say the same for 2046, which was so unexpectedly awful I still can't believe (apart from the visual style and casting) was the same director)... Still, In the Mood for Love is one of the most An absolutely spectacular movie, one of the very best films of the 2000s... (I wish I could say the same for 2046, which was so unexpectedly awful I still can't believe (apart from the visual style and casting) was the same director)... Still, In the Mood for Love is one of the most hauntingly romantic movies I have ever seen. It's a genuine masterpiece and can be appreciated by anyone... without ADD.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful

May 27, 2007

there is no director like wong kar wai who in every movie explores the stale and done state of love. but somehow he makes this theme more beautiful every movie and this movie is the pinecale of films about love. there is no sure way to describe this movie to someone because of the seemingly there is no director like wong kar wai who in every movie explores the stale and done state of love. but somehow he makes this theme more beautiful every movie and this movie is the pinecale of films about love. there is no sure way to describe this movie to someone because of the seemingly thin plot and its experience. somehow one has to create their own definition to be engaged with it. the details that every shot contains begs multiple viewings and the cinematic response to the repeated settings and music is something of an awe experience. hands down one of the best movies of the new mellenium.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful

JMH

May 7, 2012

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 neverWong 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.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

AdamB.

Sep 30, 2008

This movie looks really nice. If you like movies that look nice. You should try looking at the screen when this movie is playing. Some cool smoky shots with some nifty fifties dresses. It is basically Lost in Translation's Dad. Sofia Coppola owes quite a bit of debt to the Wong Kar Wai.

0 of 1 users found this helpful

ahmedaiman9999

Nov 11, 2018

Thank god I postponed watching this movie until I am in the right..... mood! ♥♥♥♥

I always wandered how a WKW film would be, if it was less focused on atmosphere, and more concerned about its narrative. And In the Mood for Love is definitely this movie. The plot of this movie is moreThank god I postponed watching this movie until I am in the right..... mood! ♥♥♥♥

I always wandered how a WKW film would be, if it was less focused on atmosphere, and more concerned about its narrative. And In the Mood for Love is definitely this movie. The plot of this movie is more cohesive than of the other Wong Kar-wai films.

The rest of his films don't have a conventional plot, but rather disjointed beautiful and hypnotic sequences that allow emotions to flow through them. This is not the case here. In the Mood for Love still doesn't have a linear narrative in the traditional way, I mean it's still a WKW film, but the movie has a more contained narrative to say the least.

Unfortunately, the movie didn't hit me emotionally as much as it should. Don't get me wrong, I was moved by the movie even more than every WKW I've watched so far, with the exception of Chungking Express. The issues I had with Days of Being Wild and Fallen Angels are what kept me from being fully emotionally engaged, but as for In the Mood for Love, it's the over-control upon the movie's story that deprived me from being entirely connected emotionally. It may sounds strange, but that's what I felt, and in all probability that's what many people also feel if they have been already familiar with Wong Kar-wai style.

I don't want to seem as if I'm just creating problems, or make some flaws up out of no where, but I felt that some emotions and feelings passed quickly without hitting me hard.

On the other hand, having control on the narrative aspect of the movie, Wong Kar-wai's poetic visual style became more mature. You can easily identify his trademarks, which the movie is full of them; playing with the time, using elliptical editing, and repeating songs, but they are utilized in a more beneficial and purposeful way, hence more delicate and exquisite way.

Even the beauty of the cinematography is different from those of Wong Kar-wai's other works. Here the beauty comes from the sumptuous colour palette more than anything else. In the Mood for Love is unquestionably one of the best movies in cinematic history in terms of using colours. The colours here set the mood, and keep enriching it throughout the film's fleeting runtime.

However, the characters of this movie along with the performances are the real pleasure I got from. All the subtlety of the characters are brought out by a magnificent cast. Tony Leung Chiu-Wai is quite possibly one of the most talented actors ever. His performance is simply ingenious. Maggie Cheung is equally terrific, if equally, perhaps marginally inferior in comparison Leung, but it's her character that astonished me. Unlike Days of Being Wild's Su Li-Zhen, this character her is jaw-droppingly multi-layered. And the way the brilliant script delves into her is just mind-blowing. Every time Leung's character, Chow, shares the screen with her unravels a new layer in her character, while showcases the talents of the two lead, especially Leung's unique gift.

The masterful combination of the ingenious symbolism of Wong Kar-wai, and the movie's sprawling and elaborate narrative is what makes In the Mood for Love stands out, either from Wong Kar-wai's oeuvre, or from the Romance genre. In the Mood for Love is undoubtedly worthy of being hailed as Wong Kar-wai's masterpiece, but Chungking Express is still my favorite among WKW's cinematic gems.

(8.5/10)… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Fikret

Jan 7, 2006

I guess my challange is to try to understand why there are so many people who fell in love with this movie. No plot, meaningless scenes (Cambodia scenes), slow, and a stupid ending. I can't resist but ask the questions: is it the romantic music that made people love this movie? or do I guess my challange is to try to understand why there are so many people who fell in love with this movie. No plot, meaningless scenes (Cambodia scenes), slow, and a stupid ending. I can't resist but ask the questions: is it the romantic music that made people love this movie? or do they just think that they're supposed to love this movie like we were told to find the "Mona Lisa smile" amazing?… Expand

1 of 4 users found this helpful

steamlord

Nov 7, 2015

in the mood for bore, nothing happens in this movie, the director uses slow motion in a scene buyind noodles, is pointless, is an exercise in empty style, emptiness is the theme here, i think people think this movie is art because they don't understand what true cinema is, is about emotions,in the mood for bore, nothing happens in this movie, the director uses slow motion in a scene buyind noodles, is pointless, is an exercise in empty style, emptiness is the theme here, i think people think this movie is art because they don't understand what true cinema is, is about emotions, technique, story, acting, music, this movie fails in all categories, half of the movie is spent showing the protagonist ass in different dresses, shots of a clock in a wall (why?) nothing means anything in this movie, is just stylish for the sake of being stylish but with no context, its repetitive, boring ant should appeal only for people that think they know art but clearly don't have a clue, like the director of this movie, it sucks hard… Expand

0 of 4 users found this helpful04

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