Film review, In the mood of love

Like the English name of this film, it’s about the ‘mood’, about the ambiguous tint of love. Without any sophisticated plot and or conflict, director Wong Kar-wai limn a simple story with a subtle emotion in his way, and it’s good enough to be called as ‘classic’. ‘I always wanted to make a film about this period, because it's very special in the history of Hong Kong, because it is right after 1949 and a lot of people from China are living in Hong Kong and they still have their dreams about their lives back in China. So like the Chinese communities in the film, there are people from Shanghai and they have their own languages and they don't have contact with the local Cantonese. And they have their own movies and music and rituals. That is a very special period and I'm from that background. And I want to make a film like this, and I want to recreate that mood.’

The story is about the love story between two neighbors after they find out their spouses are having an affair with each other. Lizhen Su, one of the most beautiful and elegant characters in the history of Chinese cinema, never has the courage to express her true feeling and pursue of happiness. She lives in solitude, endures the infidelity of her husband without even an ask. What’s worse, she falls in love with the neighbor Mr. Zhou, who just wants to take his revenge from her. Her love is implicit, subtle and scrupulous, she is the subordinator, she gets nothing but disappoint at the end. “ Everything from the music, to the glorious cinematography, to the sublime performances echoes the longing and inner emotion felt by the two protagonists.” [1]

Note

[1] http://www.lovehkfilm.com/reviews/in_the_mood_for_love.htm ( 21/04/13)