Originally posted on Meteor Media.
Film contributor Charlie Vogelsang takes a look at another classic movie, In the Mood for Love, on its 20th anniversary.
It’s been 20 years since Kar-Wai Wong’s In the Mood for Love came out. Since its release, it’s been proclaimed as one of the greatest films of the twenty-first century and tells the story of a man and woman whose spouses are having an affair. However, ironically the man and the woman slowly start to develop feelings for each other but can never pursue their feelings.
The film stars Tony Chiu-Wai Leung and Maggie Cheung, who portray Chow Mo-wan and Su Li-zhen. The inspiration and original idea for the film came from a Japanese story in which the characters pass each other in a stairwell. The film is ranked by Les Cahiers du Cinéma as one of the ten best pictures of 2000, and is the second best film according to the BBC’s 100 Greatest Films of the 21st Century.
The film blurs the lines between reality and fiction
Kar-Wai Wong rarely writes an entire script and this led to complications during the filming process. The film was shifted from Beijing to Macau after Chinese authorities demanded to see the completed story. Kar-Wai Wong improvised with the actors to craft the narrative and mood of the film.
The movie he originally conceptualised was a more obvious romance film, with physical contact and more witty dialogue between the two lead characters. The actors, and the director decided on the more subtle and sombre film that is now so universally praised.
The original Chinese title is Faa Yeung Nin Wa, which means the age of blossoms. This metaphor relates to Maggie Cheung’s character as her youth, love and beauty are fleeting. She is a beautiful woman who is losing her precious years and wasting them on a man who decides to hurt and betray her.
It’s a film you have to watch at least once in your life
Despite being married and having friends, both of the lead characters are lonely. Their marriages aren’t happy and successful, and therefore they bond with each other over their feeling of isolation. Due to both of these characters being lonely, they are also feel sexually repressed as they aren’t receiving physical contact from their spouses, and therefore yearn for it from each other.
Both characters know that they can never act on their feelings and therefore the repression builds even more. They are caught between reality and their dreams. The reality is that society deems their relationship as inappropriate and they shouldn’t even be friends, but they dream and long for each other nonetheless. The film blurs the lines between reality and fiction, as some moments seem dreamlike and it’s hard to decipher what is real.
In the Mood for Love is visually stunning. It is a stylish and beautiful film. The sets, costumes and aesthetic are breathtaking. The lead actors are phenomenal, and the film is simply incredible. There’s a reason why it’s on so many lists - as it deserves to be. It’s a film that you have to watch at least once in your life because it will change your entire view of the world.