Rating: 
Summary: Love with a conscience
Review: This is an excellent film about betrayal and the love that emerges from it. Mr. Chow and his wife move into a room beside Mrs. Chan and her husband. Soon Mr. Chow and Mrs. Chan discover that their spouses are having an affair. Mutual commiseration developes into a guarded love veiled in trepidation. Not since L'Avventura have I seen a movie so beautifully shot, and Maggie Cheung gives a performance that rivals Maria Falconetti's in the Passion of Joan of Arc.In the packaging there is a comment from the director that they did have troubles with the censors. In a couple of places in the film the information seems incomplete so it would seem that some scenes may have been omitted or shortened. Someone who has more background on the film would know for certain. All in all though a film that you will enjoy viewing after viewing.
Rating: 
Summary: wet streets and a waltz
Review: Wong Kar-Wai allows us to understand an old story in a new way. The characters make their way through this film bound by conventions that will not allow fruition of an affair. These characters are aware of their situation but powerless to change. We are taken to another era with the use of beautiful colors, a good soundtrack and an excellent wardrobe. Wandering through the wet streets of 1962 Hong Kong, sweeping camera work follows our characters amongst casual and accidental encounters. The movie conveys nostalgia, care and fondness to each scene. Slow motion images of Maggie Cheung walking across the screen, accompanied by a waltz, reminds us of cinema's charm. It is good to see an emerging director with Wong Kar-Wai's presence. Maggie Cheung, suspicious of her husbands fidelity, is consoled in her discreet interactions with her neighbor Tony Leung, who gives a quality performance as a man trapped in a unsatisfying relationship. For both characters the possibilities of a different life permeates their thoughts and meetings. With Wong Kar-Wai's approach to writing and filming, a portrayal of longing and romance is brought to show a more universal glimpse at life. I recommend this to anyone seeking to view the fine cinema and the quality film making going on today.
Rating:
Summary: Simply beautiful.....
Review: "In the Mood for Love" is simply one of the most beautiful films of the last several years. I cannot praise this film enough - the plot is at once simple and complex, the characters are both real and heartfelt, and the images are powerful and elegant. There really are so many positive things to say about this film, I'll try and hit the highlights for you. The acting is superb - both Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung give impeccable performances filled with subtle emotion. They radiate a quietly powerful intensity that is so lacking is a great number of film stars today. The story moves in ways both expected and surprising. The pacing is wonderful as the story unfold slowly before you. They're none of the lighting fast cuts and manic pacing of most films. It's a slower film for a patient audience willing to wait for their just rewards. The overall design of the film with the use of color and wardrobe stunned me with it's rich simplicity. The same can be said of the photography - rich with nuance (the way the shots are framed is remarkable) and feeling. With "In the Mood for Love" Wong Kar-Wai has become one of the most skilled directors of our time with this film, proving that "Happy Together" (another brilliant film) wasn't a fluke. The Criterion Collection edition of the film is a two disc set that has an astonishing number of extras. After watching the film once, I watched the extras - then immediately watched the film again with a fresh eye to see how the entire thing was put together. I was truly impressed.
Rating:
Summary: in response
Review: I recommend the Criterion Edition of In The Mood For Love with no reservations. I'd like to respond to a previous reviewer who criticizes the former work of Wong Kar-wai by suggesting the director imposes "westernized" forms on Chinese productions. Consider first that John Woo, of Hong Kong, ushered in an orchestral action vision through the Better Tomorrow films, The Killer, and Hard Boiled, which continue to influence "western" culture. And remember that films don't begin and end in "western" forms. Wong Kar-wai, like many intelligent film-makers, makes use of multiple influences, including Woo, Godard, probably Pekinpah and others. It's presumptuous and, I think, reductive, to imply an artist engages too much with something like "westernized" forms -- I'm not sure this has any meaning to begin with. Luckily, most challenging and worthwhile film-makers are inspired by, know of, and pay homage to a variety of films and directors, "western" and otherwise. Wong Kar-wai is certainly no exception. He's a young film-maker with impressive potential -- and a fine resume already.
If you're only now coming around to Wong Kar-wai, I recommend not just In The Mood For Love, but Fallen Angels, Chungking Express, and Ashes of Time, among others. And, of course, by all means try to get the Criterion Editions, if and when they're available. Thanks.
Rating:
Summary: sublime film making
Review: A love story, set in Hong Kong in the 60's. This is a slow moving film, but it is never boring. It is like an antidote to violent MTV jump cuts, the scenes are drawn out and atmospheric. The soundtrack is paired down, so that there are plenty of times in the film when silence combined with subtly understated body language and visually beautiful sets create timeless moments. The director uses strange angles to film the main two characters, never settling for formulaic camera work, always looking for novelty, without detracting from the main storyline.
The soundtrack uses a violin and string refrain, which is played repeatedly. This works very well, it tends to absent time from the proceedings by condensing the whole film into one archetypal moment. All this may make the film sound pretentious (or maybe just my review), but it is anything but. It is about two people coming together and the depth of feeling that is shared between them.
Hong Kong is presented as an old and decrepit city, that has not lost it's beauty. There are similarities to the film 'The Straight Story' by David Lynch, in that the director is able to transmute the ordinary into the transcendent. The final scene in Angkor Wat (Cambodia) with strings playing underneath the view of the incredible architecture and sense of place, is as perfect cinema as you are ever likely to see.
Rating:
Summary: In the Mood for Love
Review: one of the prettiest movies ive seen in a long time
Rating:
Summary: a glorious film
Review: first, i'd just like to thank the wonderful people at the criterion collection for releasing important cinema like this on dvd. i have a vhs copy, and i have a ripped copy from hong kong, but neither of them come close to the quality of this transfer. if you haven't seen this film, do so immediately! it captured me.
Rating:
Summary: in love with the idea of "in the mood for love"
Review: The film was absolutely mesmerizing. The music, re-creation of 1960's HK, Ms. Cheung's costumes to that incredible closing scene with Mr. Leung's character in Angkor Wat left me breathless. It's a very well-crafted film. But almost too composed.
There is no sense of spontaneity as with Wong Kar Wai's earlier films, Chungking Express, Fallen Angels and Happy Together most notably. Perhaps it speaks of more restrictive times. It felt like we were watching Wong Kar Wai's childhood memories through rose-colored filters. This film is very richly textured and tighter compositionally than his earlier works. The pace is slow and I kept waiting for something to "happen". As with all his works it left me yearning for more. This film deserves more than one viewing.
Rating:
Summary: Chamber music
Review: Wong Kar-wai's "In the Mood for Love" is like a tone
poem, subtle yet affecting, about love and longing and the
barriers to true connection. The plot is gossamer-thin, but
the film is held together by beautiful performances from Tony
Leung and the sumptuous Maggie Cheung. The production design,
from Ms. Cheung's dresses to the rich cinematography, is simply divine.
Rating:
Summary: Criterion at its very best
Review: I had never seen "In the Mood for Love" and to be quite honest, was never a fan of Wong Kar Wai..I always found him to be a bit pretentious; as if he were trying to force Westernized techniques and cinematic fads into a Chinese mold...I never understood what the big deal about "Chungking Express" was...except for a totally awesome cover of the Cranberries "Dreams" in Cantonese by Faye Wong... Well, with that said, I loved "In the Mood for Love." Dreamy and sensual filled with rich fabrics and colors and music, it is truly a feast for the eyes ears and senses. The story is heartbreaking, of two people who you just KNOW will never be together...this is well-established by the restricted mannerisms they adapt and the concern of image and reputation. I don't even think they were fighting their feelings, but instead, they gently rode them out until it got to the point where it was just skirting a bit too close to the edge. You probably have heard lots on the beauty of the film, which is why you are here reading customer reviews, right? Or you must be a die-hard Criterion junkie. But folks, this 2-disk set is THE most impressive package I have ever seen from Criterion. Why? Because on the second disk, you see Wong Kar Wai filming and you see the rehearsals and tons of deleted scenes that never made it onto the final cut. And these are especially significant because they show us what a different film this could have been. I am not sure if "In the Mood for Love" was a happy accident (which you may conclude after watching all the supplemental material), but I can say that the scenes that didnt make it shed a whole new light on the scenes that did. You see Maggie and Tony reading the same lines in different settings, switching their lines, you see Tony's utter ease with Wong's method and you see Maggie's obvious discomfort (watch the Toronto Press Conference to hear a very guarded and careful statement by Maggie and then hear Wong Kar Wai say in the documentary that he and Maggie didn't hit it off from the get go for some hoots). Pages of background by a noted historian puts the full story into the context of time and allows us to see why WKW set his story set pieces in particular years. Posters, conceptual art, trailers, its all there...and in French too! And check out the Russian one-sheet under promo materials to see a look that is totally different from those of America and Asia and Europe... And the beautifully illustrated booklet with a short story that was a source for the film is another added bonus... Folks..this is without a doubt one of the most beautiful packages ever. This movie didn't make me a fan of WKW, but you definitely walk away with fresh perspectives and a great education! Don't miss out! And watch out for my review of "Rashomon" coming soon!
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