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IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE
Review by Michael Jacobson
Stars:
Maggie Cheung, Tony Leung
Director: Wong Kar-Wai
Audio: Dolby Digital 5.0, Dolby
Stereo
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.78:1
Studio: Criterion
Features: See Review
Length: 98 Minutes
Release Date: March 5, 2002
“I
didn’t think it would hurt so much.”
In
the Mood for Love is about two lonely characters who are, but don’t do anything
about it. It’s a visually
sumptuous and sad tale about choice and consequence…we’ll never know what
might have happened if these people had chosen love over honor, and honor has
its own price.
It
stars two living legends of Asian cinema. Mrs.
Chan (Cheung, who you may recognize from Jackie Chan’s Police Story movies)
and Mr. Chow (Leung) are thrown together in multiple ways.
Both happen to let apartments next door to each other, and both soon
discover that their respective spouses are having an affair.
These
spouses are never seen…they never exist in the picture more than as off camera
voices or as backs of heads. Their
story might have been just another conventional illicit romance, but
writer/director Wong Kar-Wai chooses to focus on the love story without
consummation. Mrs. Chan and Mr.
Chow develop a mutual attraction in their detached states, and would seem to
have every reason in the world to take comfort in one another.
But they choose not to do what their mates have done.
The
story unfolds as much in imagery as it does with dialogue.
Moments of expressed emotion when the characters don’t even face one
another, for example, or better still, Kar-Wai’s constant use of frames within
frames. Notice how windows, doors,
and other simple images constantly keep his characters trapped in smaller and
smaller spaces. When they venture outdoors at one point, we see them through
the bars of a gate. There are many
different types of prisons, and a great deal of them are of our own making.
The
feelings run deep, and seem to quietly increase in intensity because there is no
release from them. Hands that brush
together in the back of the cab as both characters stare ahead sadly allows
emotions to simmer but never come to a boil.
They place themselves in temptation’s way over and over again…Mr.
Chow even invites Mrs. Chan to help with a serial he’s writing…but personal
choices can eradicate the perfect settings.
Even when Mrs. Chan ends up trapped in Mr. Chow’s room for a few hours
because his apartment owners come home early, they never do what they most want
to do.
My
favorite scene involves a different kind of emotional release.
We see Mrs. Chan confronting her husband about his mistress.
He denies at first, then consents. She
hits him weakly. The camera changes
position, and we see that it is NOT her husband, but Mr. Chow, who is helping
her to rehearse her ultimate confrontation.
He encourages her to let her feelings out more when they play the
scenario out again…very ironic.
Both
Ms. Cheung and Mr. Leung do wonders with simply written characters.
They are experienced actors capable of channeling undercurrents of
feeling while maintaining a more stoic outlook…both Mrs. Chan and Mr. Chow are
capable of playing cool, but without losing the fire in their eyes.
The
real star of the picture has to be its look, however. Crafted by Kar-Wai and photographed by Christopher Doyle and
Mark Li Ping-Bin, the film is a visual banquet of colors that express the
emotions the characters will not, and geometry that conveys their helpless
states as a result. This is a
beautiful movie to behold.
Kar-Wai
has been one of Asia’s most influential filmmakers for the last decade.
In the Mood for Love proves both his courage to defy convention,
an eye for detail, an ear for dialogue, and most importantly, a heart that feels
for people who live in a sadness of their own creation.
Video
****
I’ve
already mentioned the film’s incredible visual style, and Criterion captures
it perfectly with a beautiful anamorphic transfer. The movie is a cornucopia of colors, from the interior
designs to the gorgeous dresses Maggie Cheung wears throughout, and this is a
presentation that captures every subtle nuance with detail and integrity.
Even strongly contrasting schemes don’t bleed or distort against one
another. Images range from crisp
and strong to softer and more subtle, depending on the mood and situation.
This is the kind of movie you can watch just for the visual pleasure, and
the kind of DVD you’ll grab to show off how good DVD can be.
Audio
***1/2
You
have a choice of original stereo or re-mixed 5.0 audio (no subwoofer
signal)…the latter is definitely the better choice. The stirring musical score gives an otherwise
dialogue-oriented picture a superb amount of dynamic range, while the rear stage
opens up several times for ambient sounds like crowd noises or weather effects.
Everything is cleanly presented with no noises or distortions…a good
solid effort all the way.
Features
****
The
extras are spread out across two disc. Disc
One features four deleted scenes, three of which have optional commentary by
Kar-Wai, one of the director’s short films paying homage to the classic
imagery from Chinese cinema through the years, and an interactive essay on the
music, complete with cues from the film.
On
Disc Two, you’ll find a 50 minute making-of documentary, featuring interviews
with Kar-Wai, Cheung and Leung, and including a number of scenes that were not
included in the movie (a memorable cooking sequence, and an amusing rock and
roll dance number a la Pulp Fiction are the highlights).
There are also two interviews with Kar-Wai in English, a 45 minute press
conference from the Toronto International Film Festival with stars Cheung and
Leung, an essay by film scholar Gina Marchetti on Hong Kong in the 1960s,
domestic and international trailers and TV spots, electronic press kit and
promotional concepts, a photo gallery, and talent files of cast and crew with
photos.
There
is also a 48 page booklet containing the short story “Intersection” in its
entirety, which was the inspiration for the film.
Summary: