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: An unforgettable journey.
Review: 'In the Mood for Love' is a touching, engrossing meditation on, you guessed it, love: what it is, what creates it, what ends it, what keeps it sewn strong together. All of these aspects are collected into a clever, lovely, sometimes devastating piece of artistry directed by the fabulous Wong-Kar Wai. Those of you who love romantic comedies or grand, epic love sagas will be immensely disappointed with his latest film. It is not either. Rather, it is a gem of cinema that strives for emotional truth and absolute realism. Inside of cramped apartments and old diners, that, too, is what the main characters of 'In the Mood for Love' yearn for. The film takes place in Hong Kong during the year 1962. Chow Mo-wan (Tony Leung) and Su Li-zhen (Maggie Cheung) have just moved into neighboring apartments and have met each other rather casually. But the two progressively realize a secret about their respective spouses and a profound relationship develops almost instantly. From there, the film sets a tone that is cislunar, seeming to float in its own world situated between reality and a sense of disconnection. Kar-Wai perfectly evokes this mood with fleeting slow-motion sequences accompanied by Christopher Doyle and Mark Li Ping-bin's delicately visceral cinematography. What ensues throughout the rest of the film (both plot-wise and technically) masterfully conveys romantic yearning. The lead performances were breathtaking, namely Maggie Cheung as Su Li-zhen. From scenes of obvious hurt to moments of hidden despair, she ceaselessly astonishes. I'm surprised she did not receive the massive encomium she deserved from 2001 year-end awards groups, let alone the Oscars. But credit must also be given to Tony Leung as Chow Mo-wan, who managed to maintain a quiet, tired loneliness throughout the film. Leung also understood that it was only with Su Li-zhen that Chow Mo-wan felt truly alive with passion. Another character worth mentioning are the breath-taking sets by production designer William Chang Suk-ping. The claustrophobic atmosphere offered by Suk-ping's dated, tight hallways was as much a part of the emotion and story line as each lead. Collectively, each part of the movie-making process (screenwriting, directing, designing, acting) achieved an assured concinnity; and in the end, what was already a personal, accessible study is lifted by Kar-Wai to a universal level using epic shots of Mayan temples and mysterious landscapes. As the credits role, it becomes apparent that 'In the Mood for Love' is arguably a masterpiece worthy of the all-time lists. For me personally, the constant flashbacks of wind sifting past vinaceous curtains and artful conversations about love at its core only underscore 'Love's greatness. It is an unforgettably personal journey not to be missed.
Rating: 
Summary: Moody Film Greatness from Far East
Review: How can a simple story make for a wonderful movie experience? Watch this and you'll see. The year 2000 -- as far as Asian films were concerned -- was all about the "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon". But it's this film that deserved at least that much praise. The Hong Kong director Wong Kar-Wai shot a delicate, highly artful picture about two people whose spouses are having a love-affair and about the way the deceived partners are coping with it -- together. Cinematographed in subtly beautiful colours (helped also by stunning outfits sported by the luminous Maggie Cheung) and characteristically accompanied by lush, waltz dance music, the film creates a unique atmosphere in which you see the couple falling slowly in love. The 1960's Hong Kong is full of conventions and the love such as theirs is not destined to thrive. The lead male character, played by Tony Leung Chiu Wai (his face speaks volumes without actual words), dictates the relationship and also at the end finds himself with a key to it. Among other excellent feature of this extraordinary movie are naturalness of characters, a certain feeling of familiarity with them in a viewer despite a possible cultural gap, and also some historical glimpses putting the plot in the wider perspective of time (e.g. visit of General Charles de Gaulle to Cambodia and the country's monumental Angkor Vat having also a place in the story). The south-east Asia is really a treasure trove to discover for us westerners, all the better through such a good film. And good it really is. It won a Cesar for the best non-French movie of the year, Los Angeles and New York critics prizes, among others. For some, as the popular song says, "unrequited love's a bore", and this film can be a bore for action-seeking spectators (for them we'd recommend "Crouching Tiger" instead). By and large, though, it's a wonderfully innocent romance with sad undertones.
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.
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: Wong Kar-Wai's Masterpiece
Review: If you were to find a fault in Wong's film it would be the pace: slow, methodical, but inspite and because of that pace "In the Mood for Love" is an utterly engrossing tale; a tale of a man who suspects his wife of cheating and a women who suspects her husband of the same. As they secretly share their pains and suspiscions they fall in love, a love which, due to guilt and the society they live in, cannot blossom. "In the Mood for Love" is a period piece, taking place in 1962 Hong Kong, and it captures the period wonderfully with small details like the snippets of Shanghainese speech and Nat King Cole's melodic voice floating in an American-style diner. In this movie Wong Kar-Wai achieved brilliance on every level. Not only does he create a perfect mood with his methodical pace, dark yet beautiful camera work, but he tops it off with excellent performances by Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung and an enthralling soundtrack that ties it all together. I have been a fan of Wong Kar-wai for some time, but in all of his films I felt something was missing. Here he has captured it all. With "In the Mood for Love" Wong leaves the label "a good director" behind and becomes "a great director". The DVD is full of fascinating extras: interviews with the cast, Wong Kar-wai; descriptions of the music used in the film; trailers, posters, images. You can spend hours not even looking at everything but the movie!
Rating:
Summary: all about mood
Review: In the Mood for Love is a beautiful movie about love. And waht's perfect about it is that love in here is not sad or happy or stupid like in other movies, but above all love in here is human. Visually it is excellent (Christopher Doyle's name always means perfection in cinematography), the music is beautiful and the story is wonderful.
It is a movie about two people that were in the mood to love each other but didn't.
Rating:
Summary: Platonic Puzzle
Review: It is often a shock when we see the art of another culture. In The Mood for Love is great art. Film romance in America recalls films like Casablanca or Gone With The Wind. Bogart and Bergman cannot consummate their great love. Brett and Scarlet can consummate, but the love part is tricky for Scarlet. What I think I'm trying to say, everyone with a modest love life has fallen for that special someone that got away. For the American audience, the resulting hurt is gripping in story or film. We mourn lost love. Well, the Chinese director Wong Kat-wai's gives us a Buddhist version of lost love. It resembles mourning.
The lovers have cheating spouses in common and a common hallway to their apartments. Their relationship is maddening. It is a platonic relationship despite the fact that they are very warm, attractive people. Indeed, Maggie Cheung is sultry hot in silk slit dresses with long legs and 1962 stiletto heels. They vow not to be like their cheating spouses, but before long they are in desperate need of each other, but their previous declarations takes precedence.
The story is painted. Think Toulouse-Lautrec meets Gauguin in Hong Kong. The colors are dazzling and the scene set-ups are all about the artist's eye. What was that Charles De Gaulle scene in Cambodia at the end of the movie? What's with the Buddhist Temple as a Notre Dame Cathedral in Cambodia? I can't be sure. Perhaps it's Buddhist sophisms. This film is not for fans of American romance, so be forewarned, but it is an exotic and fine piece of art.
Rating:
Summary: Best movie of the year
Review: It's only a shame that this wasn't released several months ago in the U.S. as it was in the U.K. or else it would have been nominated for some major awards. It's actually really hard to fault anything in this movie: the acting, directing, music and cinematography are all world-class. The story centers around a woman and a man who live next to each other in a Hong Kong apartment complex in 1962. They both suspect their spouses of having an affair with each other, and begin to fall in love themselves. Being in such tight surroundings they obviously cannot show very much affection to each other in public and rely on subtle glances and very little actual physical contact: it is a testimony to the superb acting skills of the two main leads, Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung, that the relationship is believable. The director Wong Kar-Wai is also brilliant at mixing in slow-motion shots (perhaps to emphasize how slowly their relationship develops) and Spanish music, which fits the mood of the movie amazingly well. To add to the atmosphere, the movie is almost completely shot indoors except for some shots outside at night and in the rain and the haunting last scene. You really get a sense of clautrophobia after a while, not only of the living space but how confined the characters' marriages and even lives are as well. Futhermore, the movie also has a political overtone which is, like everything else here, subtle, but suffice to say its setting in 1962 is not accidental. Finally, the lack of a huge amount of dialogue means that those who don't like subtitles won't have to suffer through so many. For those of you like me who were disappointed with most of the junk nominated for Academy Awards this year, finally here's a movie that lives up to its reputation.
Rating:
Summary: Hypnotic tale of an unlived affair
Review: Mrs Chan as she is talking to her boss one day lifts up her head and says "if you give attention you can see things as well". In the Mood For Love calls for the very care she is referring to. As you pay close attention to the details it grows into a magnificent tale, the tale of an unlived affair.
Mrs Chan and Mr Chow infinitely postpone yielding to desire despite the strong magnetism pulling them together-maybe because they "do not want to be like them" or maybe because they want to be sure they are not doing this because they are angry with their spouses.
The rehearsal scenes where Kar-wai Wong plays a game of deception with viewer are ingenious. Before Mrs Chan is told by Mr Chow that "they were merely rehearsals" you are fooled into taking them for real.
With its poetic cinematography, gripping music and first rate actors In the Mood For Love is a praise to cinema, to the art of cinema...
|
