Rating: 
Summary: Simply Magic
Review: This is one of the most beautiful film ever made. It tells the story of how two people's lives became somewhat entangled after discovering that their spouses were cheating on them with each other. There is nothing new about this in movies BUT the way the story was told is what made it so memorable. It unfurled at a slow and easy pace with soundtrack that matched the mood perfectly. The secret glances and silent stares that said everything yet nothing all left viewer with a case longing for weeks and weeks.
Rating: 
Summary: Beautiful and Profoundly Sad
Review: There's more here than can be appreciated in a single viewing. I just finished my third pass and the film just blows me away.If you think it's too slow you're just skimming the surface of what's there. And if the final scene doesn't make your heart ache, you're not the kind of person I want to know!
Rating:
Summary: A delicate hand
Review: This is one of the most complete DVD packages I have ever seen ... something that couldn't have happened to a nicer film. This package is one of few that takes advantage of what the DVD medium promised when it was launched. In the same small package all DVDs come in, the producers of In the Mood for Love somehow manage to include an array of the movie's trailers and posters from around the world, interviews with the major actors and director Wong Kar-wai, a second short film produced by Mr. Wong, an alternate ending to the story that had been under consideration, and director's commentary about all of it, along with a variety of subtitle options. There is also a special booklet that has the translated short story the film was based on, an essay about the film by a well-known Hong Kong critic and a very interesting (if unevenly translated) essay about the setting for the film by a local historian. All in all, a really amazing collection of information. Of course, none of that would matter if the film it was all based on wasn't so darn good. The story is wonderfully understated, told with deft simplicity and a delicate hand. On the surface, it's a relatively simple tale about two couples in neighboring Hong Kong apartments in 1962. Through circumstantial evidence, Mr. Chow and Mrs. Chan discover that their always-on-the-road spouses are having an affair -- a discovery that comes into focus as the stay-at-home half of each couple discovers the attraction each has for the other. But the beauty of this film comes more from what is left out than what is put in. The dialogue is sparse, and the acting is elegantly austere. The faces of the unfaithful spouses aren't shown at all during the film, and the film's main conflict comes not when Mr. Chow and Mrs. Chan discover they are being cheated on but when they fail to react the way most would expect. Add to that unusual camera angles that at times pull the viewer into the scene and a haunting soundtrack guaranteed to stay in mind hours after the end of the film. The final result is a film that feels like a blend between an old classic and a modern masterwork, a recipe for great entertainment.
Rating:
Summary: Those amazing dresses!
Review: This amazing film by Wong Kar-Wai tells the tale of two neighbors living in Hong Kong in the '60's. As the story unfolds, the two come to the realization that their respective spouses are having an affair. The piece is so evocative of both mood and time, with gorgeous costumes, foggy streets, rendezvous in the rain and two achingly beautiful leads. Not too much plot to speak of, but with a mood so effective, who needs one? Second viewing: Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung turn in gorgeous performances (in every sense of the word) but Cheung particularly impressed me this time around. That could be because hers is the more outward performance, and Leung's is more internal. Both, however, were powerful. The cinematography was outstanding. Not only is this a beautiful film, but each and every camera angle is chosen with utmost care and precision. Slow motion and digitization effects are used to great effect. The care taken with the visuals of this movie is incredible. Those dresses... about 15 of them, some repeated more than once... exquisite. And I want to get noodles in a thermos.
Rating:
Summary: The Sublime Vision of Wong Kar Wai
Review: This latest film by WKW, a Hong Kong director of uncommon style and vision, is definitely not a work to appeal to the general public. But then few of WKW's films do. The pace is slow by conventional standard, without much "action" that would satisfy the attention-deficient. This, perhaps, is the fault of the person(s) who decided on the title of the film, which at a glance would seem to promise some sensual physical interactions between the stars. Thankfully this never materialize to ruin the feel of the film. The Chinese title - loosely translated "years like flowers," is much closer to the essence of the film, which is the transient nature of one's youth and, implicitly, the melancholy and regret from not taking advantage of the few chances one has in life for happiness. The plot, in brief, deals with the chance encounter of one man and one woman who fall in love with each other in the course of simultaneously discovering that their respective spouses have been carrying on an affair with each other. The pace is very deliberate, with spot on use of color, slow motion, music (Nat King Cole featured prominently) and a minimum of dialogue that contribute to the film's ethereal quality. The coda is set in Angkor Wat, and it is one of saddest and most haunting moments in film that I have ever seen and stayed with me for days after my first viewing of the film. The shooting of the film supposedly took quite a long time, well over one year and a lot of footages shot ended up on the cutting floor. The bonus disk gives a hint of the work in progress nature of WKW's directing style. Some of the outtakes were actually quite different in feel than the eventual film and it is a credit to WKW's vision that he is able to fashion a beautiful work of art from disparate materials. A film to be watched, re-watched and savored.
Rating:
Summary: so wonderful...
Review: it is a MUST SEE, the cadence, the rythm, the image, the colors, "even" the plot! :-)
please do see it!
Rating:
Summary: A well done movie.
Review: A great movie. The capture of this not-so-great atmosphere is excellent. The only down point is it was hard to get a hold of the story at the begging. In one scen it goes from them talking about their husband and wife, toplaying out what they thought happen. I got confused on who is who from that point on, and finnaly got. My advice is to not get side tracked and remeber the names and their clothing. missing a chapter or two could throw you off, but still a great movie! DVD extas: A++
Story: A-
Angles/lightness/etc...:A-
Rating:
Summary: It's all about Quality!!!
Review: In The Mood For Love is one of the most beautiful and unique films I have ever seen. Sometimes, its not about how much story you deliver, but HOW you deliver it. Sadly, this is often neglected in today's mainstream movies, where quality and meticulouss details are often substituted with non-stop "raw" and un-refined stimulation. This movie however is simply a beauty!
Rating:
Summary: A pricey DVD, but...
Review: Intellectual films are usually not Hong Kong's strong point. But whenever it produce a gem like this one, it roars! Personally I think it's a very well crafted set period film. It's got a very nostalgia quality to it. Definitely very representative of the Hong Kong in the 60's and 70's.
Rating:
Summary: Minimalist and Nostalgia
Review: In the Mood for Love is such a charm despite a very simple plot. The year was 1962. Chow Mo Wan, a newspaper editor, recently moved into a dwelling populated by Shanghai immigrants with his wife. Through casual and accidental encounters Chow exchanged pleasantry with So Lai Jun (Mrs. Chan) who later found out about her husband's affair with Chow's wife. Heartbroken and devastated of the cruel truth, Chow buried himself in his job while So indulged in nightly movie screening. They began to let down the guard for one another and spent time during the mahjong sessions of their landlords. The characters forced themselves to abide by inveterate conventions and cultural morale that forbid an affair to become fruition. ... Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung as usual deliver an impeccable performance in this 2001 Wong Kar-Wai release. Leung portraited a man who is unsatisfied about his marriage and denied his spouse's infidelity. Cheung seizes the empathy of her character who is accustomed to hush about reason for his husband's frequent absence. Maggie Cheung is elegant and charming in this movie. Not to mention the dazzling wardrobe she wears consistently over the entire movie. Her leg movements are captured in slow motion. Her arms dangling with the thermos meant for the late-night porridge order-to-go from the street vendor. The movie is shot through a minimalist scope, that is, message is conveyed through very succinct scripts and imagery full of lush colors and meticulously chosen soundtracks. The film is shot in a very stealthy manner; it is as if a pin camera being fastened on the wall of the apartment. Conversations between Leung and Cheung are shot in an eavesdropping manner. The director seeks to de-emphasize other characters in order to focus on Leung and Cheung. Their spouse, respectively, always have their back facing the camera. Their performances are conducted by voices. The gaffer has done an excellent job adjusting the hues of light which is relatively dim throughout. As a native of Hong Kong (born in mid-70s) who never witnessed the city in glory 60s, In the Move for Love has done me a favor in reminiscence. Wong Kar Wai makes sure everything is done just like when it was the 60s. Yes, even the restaurant menu to which Leung and Cheung skimmed through briefly. It was a green piece of cardboard decorated with some coconut tree clip art. Menu with such heavy Malaysian touch can still be found at local cafés that serve a fusion menu of Malaysian spices and sirloin steaks. Napkins are folded diamond-shaped like paper planes and kept at the far end of the booth. Leung and Cheung sip coffee from flimsy green chinaware cups that hold maybe three gulps. The green vinyl blinds hang unevenly at the office windows. The rotary phone. The subleased rooms where newly-wed couples rent and the kitchen with whom they share with their landlords. The white-collared wardrobe worn by housemaids. These are all the epitomes of lives in the 60s, in Hong Kong. Some find this mmovie a little slow-paced. I savor the manner in which the film is made. I savor all the details, the choice of colors and the tiptoeing scores in the film. 4.6 stars...
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