In the Mood for Love

Being an ardent fan of Tony Leung Chiu Wai, I could not forgo this movie that brought him to the height of his career, a Best Actor Award at the Cannes Film Festival. The movie is directed by Wong Kar Wai, the director who is renowned for being fussy and at times difficult to understand. Even Tony Leung admitted in an interview that he did not get the script before the filming started. So the whole movie evolved as Wong Kar Wai went to work. Even as the movie was edited with background music, subtitles were being done at the last minute just in time for the Cannes Film Festival. Despite all this, the movie turned out to be one of the best works of Wong Kar Wai.

With Wong's trademark evident in every scene, the movie is a sentimental painting of a couple in love and of lost opportunities. The beautiful Mrs. Chan (Maggie Cheung) rented Mrs. Suen's room with her husband. At the same time, the Chow couple moved into the Koo family's rented room next door. Mrs. Chan and Mr Chow (Tony Leung) only exchanged glances and pleasant greetings but a relationship started soon after they discovered that their respective partners were having an affair. Mrs. Chan and Mr. Chow at first only wanted to trace how the relationship began until they unknowingly fell in love with each other too. Ridden with guilt, Mrs. Chan refused to commit herself to the relationship as she did not want to be like her husband and Mr. Chow's wife. Heart-broken, Mr. Chan left for Singapore with a painful secret in his heart.

Christopher Doyle, a talented cinematographer, painted every scene in this movie with emotions. Most of the sentimental effect in the movie was created by great cinematography and the music added much nostalgia. Every time the music played sensuously, a poetic moment is expected, such as Mrs. Chan's elegant back, her colorful qi po, the gentle swaying movement of her figure, the delicate rain drops, etc. Every detail was treated with such care that at times it distracted the viewer from the story. Even the chain of smoke coming off a cigarette was filmed with such romantic intention in mind. At times, I could not help but feel like watching Maggie Cheung in a fashion parade while Tony Leung in a romantic commercial for cigarette. This was what bothered me most about the movie. Well, I know the setting for the movie was during the period when people smoked freely without knowing the disastrous consequences of smoking. However, portraying smoking as something classy and romantic was just plain wrong. There was hardly a scene in the movie where you did not see Tony not surrounded by cigarette smoke. Even in the music clip, there was just his face and smoke. I seriously hoped that the filmmaker did not convey such image in movie. If the ending was extended, like twenty years later, we would have seen Mrs. Chan visiting Mr. Chow, who was dying of lung cancer, in a hospital somewhere. So should the title be changed to "In the mood for a cigarette"?

Probably the only thing Wong Kar Wai really wanted to show in this movie was the lack of space in Hong Kong. The rooms were tiny. The staircase was narrow. The noodle shop was stuffy. Even Maggie Cheung's dresses were so tight, especially the strangling collar. The music brought out the nostalgic feeling but small details in the movie like Mr. Chow and Mrs. Chan's interest in writing martial art stories reminded the viewer of a particular period in the past. If this is Wong Kar Wai's way of showing tribute to a period in the past, he has successfully conveyed it with a very pessimistic and gloomy view.

Maggie Cheung proved herself to be an experienced actress as she graced the screen with her elegance. She fit right into the role as Mrs. Chan. Tony Leung still looks charming even though his hairline seems to be retreating. His acting exuded confidence and charm. Yet at times, I felt that it was over-polished. The rest of the cast turned in fine performance but they very much blended into the background as the movie focused mainly on the relationship between Mrs. Chan and Mr. Chow.

The DVD contains deleted scenes and alternates endings. I must say that this was one of the movies that had great edition. It was not a satisfactory ending but still, better than other endings that Wong Kar Wai had in mind. He was clever to leave out the distasteful sex scene between Mrs. Chan and Mr. Chow. It would have destroyed the effect of the movie as every scene in the movie is charged with sensuality and unspoken feelings.

What I don't understand about the movie is how this has become a tragedy. Mr. Wong Kar Wai might want to be cruel to the audience but there was really nothing in here that could part Mrs. Chan and Mr. Chow. It seemed like everyone around Mrs. Chan was having an affair. First of all, it was her boss who carried on the affair outside the marriage as openly as he likes. Then, her husband went out with the woman who lived right next door to her. There was no social constraint, no real contempt for adultery. The only thing that really broke off the relationship was Mrs. Chan who could not overcome the only obstacle that was herself. By doing so, she brought suffering upon herself and also, the poor Mr. Chow. It might be hard to contemplate but who would go and commit adultery when they have a beautiful and graceful wife as Maggie Cheung or a suave and charming man as Tony Leung. The movie carries such pessimistic views. There is no positive message about fighting for love, or overcoming obstacles for love or even that love conquers all. It's about people who would not dare to take a chance and live the rest of their lives in regret and pain as a consequence. It's about opportunities that once lost would be lost forever. What was more difficult to understand was the fact that Mr. Chow could leave his wife but Mrs. Chan could not bring herself to leave her husband, a man who did not respect her by having an affair right in front of her eyes. What was Mrs. Chan so afraid of? There was no family who could really condemn her for breaking off with a man who did not love her to start a new life with another man who lived the rest of his life heart-broken because he could not have her. So bravo, Mr. Wong Kar Wai, you made a terrific movie out of such a crappy plot.