In the Mood for Love

Theatrical Release Date: 2001 02 02 (USA - Limited)

UPC: 715515099417

Studio: Criterion

MPAA Rating: PG   Contains:[Adult Situations, Adult Language]

Summary: For his first film since the 1997 Hong Kong handover, auteur filmmaker Wong Kar-wai directs this moody period drama about unrequited love that, like his earlier work, swoons with romantic melancholy. Set in a Shanghaiese enclave in Hong Kong in 1962, the film centers on two young couples who rent adjacent rooms in a cramped and crowded tenement. Li-zhen (Maggie Cheung) works as a secretary in an export company while her husband's job at a Japanese multinational keeps him away on extended business trips. Across the hall, Chow (Tony Leung Chiu-wai) works as a newspaper editor and is married to a woman who is also frequently out of town. Neither respective spouse is ever shown in full, instead they are shot from the back or obscured by walls and furniture. Li-zhen and Chow soon strike up a cordial -- if tenative -- friendship. Chow begins to suspect that his wife's long absences are not entirely business related when he stops in unannounced at her office to discover that she is not there. Later, a colleague tells him that he saw his wife with another man. The icing on the cake comes when Chow notices that Li-zhen's handbag is identical to his wife's while Li-zhen discovers that Chow is wearing a tie that she gave her husband; it doesn't take long for them to realize that their spouses are sleeping together. Drawn together by shame and anger, Chow and Li-zhen reveal nothing of their discoveries to their partners. While working through their guilt by imagining how their adulterous spouses first hooked up and rehearsing interrogations, the pair slowly fall in love in spite of their determination to uphold their end of their marital vows. In the Mood for Love, which was screened in competition at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival, barely made it to the fest's final slot; Wong Kar-wai was reportedly shooting scenes in Cambodia a week prior to the festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

Category: Romance

Awards: Screen International Award – European Film Academy Best Foreign Film – French Academy of Cinema Best Foreign Language Film – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Foreign Language Film – Broadcast Film Critics Association Best Foreign Language Film – National Society of Film Critics Best Cinematography – National Society of Film Critics Best Cinematography – National Society of Film Critics Best Foreign Language Film – Los Angeles Film Critics Association Best Cinematography (Runner-up) – Los Angeles Film Critics Association Best Picture – Hong Kong Film Awards Grand Technical Prize – Cannes Film Festival Best Actor – Cannes Film Festival Grand Technical Prize – Cannes Film Festival Grand Technical Prize – Cannes Film Festival Best Foreign Film – Independent Spirit Awards Best Cinematography – New York Film Critics Circle Best Cinematography – New York Film Critics Circle Best Foreign Film – New York Film Critics Circle

Features: "In the Mood for Love," Director Wong Karwai's documentary on the making of the film
Deleted scenes, with commentary by Wong
Hua yang de nian hua (2000), a short film by Wong
Archival interview with Wong and a "cinema lesson" given by the director at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival
Toronto International Film Festival press conference from 2000, with stars Maggie Cheung Man-yuk and Tony Leung Chiu-wai
Two new interviews with critic Tony Rayns, one about the film and the other about the soundtrack, featuring musical cues
Trailers and TV spots
Plus: a Booklet featuring an essay by film critic Steve Erickson and the Liu Yi-chang story that provided thematic inspiration for the film

In the Mood for Love

Format: Blu-ray

Release Date: 10/02/2012

Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1 Vistavision

Audio: DD5.1 Dolby Digital 5.1, DHMA null

Runtime: 98 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Subtitles: English

Bob Mastrangelo

In the Mood for Love is a lushly romantic, intensely sensual film, even though the two principals rarely so much as hold hands onscreen. The leads are photographed to emphasize their movie star looks, and Tony Leung Chiu-Wai and Maggie Cheung each give the sort of performance in which a glance or gesture means more than much of the dialogue. Director Wong Kar-wai's use of color, music, and sound is simultaneously nostalgic and refreshingly original. The gorgeous photography pours color through each scene, making everything from Li-Zhen's extraordinary dresses to the drab hallways seem beautiful. One often thinks of great cinematography as being stunning scenery, but the canvas here is of alleys, stairways, cramped offices, and even more cramped apartments and is every bit as breathtaking, perhaps even more so because beauty has been found in the most unexpected of places. Wong's use of tight shots and low lighting adds to the intimate atmosphere, as well as his reliance on a slow-moving camera that takes its time to absorb all that is going on, practically moving in sync with the music. Similarly, there is the continual presence of food. In scene after scene, the characters are either eating or preparing to eat, creating the feeling for the audience that they are peeking in on the characters' quieter, more personal moments. Throughout the film, what is unsaid is almost more important than what is actually said, and there is a sense that the film is a memory of one or both of the leads, looking back with regret at lost opportunities. In the Mood for Love ultimately provides a rare look at a director who is maturing as a cinematic storyteller. ~ Bob Mastrangelo, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Michael Galasso  Composer (Music Score) 
Shigeru Umebayashi  Composer (Music Score) 
Wong Kar-Wai  Director 
Wong Kar-Wai  Producer 
Wong Kar-Wai  Screenwriter 
Chan Ye-Cheng  Executive Producer 
Tony Leung Chiu-Wai  Actor 
Maggie Cheung  Actor 
Lai Chin  Actor 
Rebecca Pan  Actor 
Siu Ping-Lam  Actor 

Country: Hong Kong