In the Mood for Love - Criterion Collection

Rating:
Summary: Chambers of Love
Review: Perhaps Wong Kar-wai's international attention has diminished viewers' perception of this sumptuous film. Like a star that outshines other nearby stars, people soon forget its intricacies and the wonder and nature of its possible existence.

"In the Mood for Love" is like that intricately woven web of vapours, energies and intensities which shape and form that delicate but volatile atmostphere of a star, or "mood" in the film. It is what rises up to the surface, although our perception of which nonetheless mutates with each subsequent viewing. To say that Wong's films do not have a plot is not entirely true and sounds to me as a repeat of the often heard soundbytes from other viewers/reviewers. The thing is, Wong makes visible what other directors would rather not show, Wong's vision is that of an alternative version of the same story. And one that is told through images, colour, light, music, movement.

So, one may say that this is a story about Mrs Chow and Mr Chan's affair - the respective spouses of Tony Leung's and Maggie Cheung's characters - it is an affair which we (as audiences) do not and cannot identify with, as these characters are virtually nameless and faceless in the entire film.

So too, the characters that we do see in the film - Mr Chow and Mrs Chan - refuses to identify with this affair. But for them, try as they might to keep reality at bay, they are, nonetheless, entangling and ensnaring themselves into a labrythine web that they themselves have spun -- by play-acting and role-swapping -- they have discovered their own yearning and desire/love for each other.

Like the four chambers of the heart - love, deceit, self-deception and desire circulate. But like a heart that has closed-in on itself, it is claustrophobic, suffocating and barely alive.

The movement and rhythm of the film is like that slow-waltz (the main theme of the film - Yumei's theme) and the ravishing cinematography - so close is that camera movement to that of Hou Hsiao-hsien's film "Flowers of Shanghai" (shot by the same DOP, Mark Lee Bing) that one is hypnotically absorbed into the fabric of the film, its colours, the texture and density of the images. Wong is building layer upon layer of memories, fictional and real, combining his own childhood memories of the 60's in Hong Kong to imagined memories that could only have come from a distant future - year 2000 of contemporary HK.

When you watch this film, please allow yourself the luxury of time, after all, Wong did take 18 months to make it. And Maggie said in a Chinese interview that without this time, she would not have been able to play Mrs Chan as she did, "when my nails are painted a certain shade of pink, and my hair and makeup is done, my hands automatically place themselves in a certain way..." I think this says much about the truth Wong translates on screen -- that it exists because of his patience with time. So, I guess it'll be nice to do him the same courtesy and make time to see this film - and let its mood absorb you for a while.


Rating:
Summary: In The Mood For Maggie Cheung?
Review: If you like Maggie Cheung in Center Stage, you'll in the mood for her again in this visually stunniing and emotionally impacting period romantic film from WKW. It was perfect to cast her alongside with Tony Leung, because they had a great deal of chemistry and were vulnerable under the direction of WKW.
It's a beautiful film about adultery and meeting a stranger next door and falling in love again without an outcome. The scene when Tony Leung was pretending to be Maggie's husband and she had to act as though she had just found out about his secret affair. It goes something like:" Are you sleeping with another woman?" And Leung would respond:" Are you crazy?! Who told you that?..." was so funny and touching to watch. The two would eventually fall in love. I still can't forget when Leung called Maggie and said," If I have an extra ticket, would you come with me?" Unfortunately, she didn't and they didn't divorce their cheating spouses. I wonder if the kid who appeared with Maggie in the old apartment building years later was the offspring of Leung and her. It's trully amazing to see two of HK's finest actors turning in a multi-layered performance without a script and the film was made on-and-off for 15 months which had driven Maggie to near insanity. Maybe that was how she gave such an intense performance. And you like fashion, Maggie worn at least 20 dresses in this movie. The soundtrack and cinematography are also impeccable!

Rating:
Summary: ***not enough stars for this one***
Review: This criterion collection of In The Mood For Love is by far the best dvd experience I've ever had. The cover may be pricey but I'm telling you that it's all worth it, especially if you're a big fan of the film. What made the dvd experience more exciting for me is the inclusion of deleted scenes, which really did answer all of my questions in the film. Not to mention, the shock value these deleted scenes deliver. This dvd definitely stands out. It does deliver the value for your money. I do encourage you to get it.

I just want to respond to a negative comment, which said that there is no plot or that the plot is very shallow, and notice that only the cinematography and the art direction is being given praise. If you're going to watch a Wong Kar-Wai film, you should know that the movie will not draw you with thick plots or plot-driven scenarios. Wong Kar-Wai delves more on character development, which is always the base where the plot will eventually follow. The magic of Wong Kar-Wai films is that it does not spoon-feed you with previously used plots. His films are more like a jigsaw puzzle where he invites his audience to give his own view or understanding of the film. The cool ambience and setting is merely an addition to the subtle but relatively wonderful plot each Wong Kar-Wai film has.





Rating:
Summary: Most boring movie i've seen in years
Review: I'm generally a fan of art-house films... But honestly, this movie was just really boring. Many of the scenes are like 10 minutes long where the camera just pans back and forth with little dialogue.