in the mood for love (2000)

by zEke

in the mood for love, together with days of being wild (1991) and 2046 (2004), form the informal trilogy Kar Wai Wong dedicates to love, in all its shapes and shades. It sets itself half way between the harsh realism of the first one and the puzzled surrealism of the third one. Both, the international and the original chinese title, which means “our glorious years have passed like flowers”, derive from songs used in the film by Zhou Xuan and Bryan Ferry respectively. It is impressive how four chinese symbols can say so much, and so deep. Furthermore, it was the filmmaker himself who changed the title for the international version, which lost in poetry what it gained in suggestiveness.

Chen (Maggie Cheung) and Su (Tony Leung) move into contiguous apartments in the same day. Married to spouses that spend most of their time away either on business trips or overtime shifts they slowly befriend each other. As days pass by they realize that their spouses are cheating on them with each other. Unable to understand how it started, they decide to perform what they imagine happened between their beloved ones. By means of their awkward game their relationship grows closer.

Kar Wai Wong, who shoots his movies with an idea in his head of what he aspires to, rather than a script, is able to surround in the mood for love with a poetic and colorful aura that seduces not only those viewers in the mood for being charmed. The chinese director minds every single shot, thus becoming artistic pieces of an enlightening final puzzle. He is able to deliver a no end of partial shots that complete themselves in subsequent scenes without getting in the viewer nerves. Those who after reading this paragraph are thinking “what is he talking about?”, know already what to do, skip this one.

Both, Cheung and Leung carry the whole dramatic burden of the movie. This is true to such an extend that most of the times the rest of the cast is shown out of focus, through a door or window, or despite of talking not shown at all in the scene. When together, Kar Wai Wong put different approaches into practice in order to take the most out of each shot of their interactions, shots that are delivered out of frame, shots that focus on mirror images of them both. But it is not only about how they look on screen, it is also about how when in silence they still talk, how they emanate melancholy, awkwardness and feeling as few times seen before. Cheung looks beautiful in every single dress she wears, almost one per scene, sometimes even more than one in the same scene, which states a repetition connotation. Leung, whose apartment number is 2046 (coincidence?), portrays an appealing character that will be liked despite of the sick game he suggests to play.

The music plays the role of a main character slowing down the action at times to demonstrate itself at its peak. But not only the original music by Michael Galasso are wise, Nat King Cole in Spanish sounds more bittersweet than ever before when Cheung and Leung are on screen.

Of course, not everyone will like this movie the way I do, for those worried but still interested on give it a chance let me say that just when it is about to become too long, it ends, maybe abruptly but the way it has to. It will remind you of all those feelings you once had and never let them out. Sofia Coppola, seduced by it, used the same metaphor in lost in translation (2003).

For the deadhours of those who know it is possible to love two people at the same time.

deadrate: βery good

official site | imdb

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