Fa yeung nin wa (2000)

User Rating:

8.1/10   

Director:

Kar Wai Wong

Writer:

Kar Wai Wong (written by)

Release Date:

26 February 2001 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Feel the heat, keep the feeling burning, let the sensation explode.

Plot:

A man and a woman move in to neighboring Hong Kong apartments and form a bond when they both suspect their spouses of extra-marital activities.

Plot Keywords:

Hong Kong | Newspaper | Apartment | Japan | What Happened To Epilogue

Awards:

Nominated for BAFTA Film Award. Another 31 wins & 23 nominations

Cast

Maggie Cheung	...	Su Li-zhen - Mrs. Chan
Tony Leung Chiu Wai	...	Chow Mo-wan
Ping Lam Siu	...	Ah Ping
Tung Cho 'Joe' Cheung	...	Man living in Mr. Koo's apartment
Rebecca Pan	...	Mrs. Suen
Kelly Lai Chen	...	Mr. Ho (as Lai Chen)
Man-Lei Chan	...	Mr. Koo
Tsi-Ang Chin	...	Amah
Roy Cheung	...	Mr. Chan (voice)
Paulyn Sun	...	Mrs. Chow (voice)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Po-chun Chow
Kam-wah Koo
Hsien Yu

Also Known As:

In the Mood for Love (France) (Hong Kong: English title) (UK) (USA)
Beijing Summer (Hong Kong: English title) (working title)
Flower Like Years (Hong Kong: English title) (working title)
Hua yang nian hua (Hong Kong: Mandarin title)

MPAA:

Rated PG for thematic elements and brief language.

Runtime:

98 min | Poland:94 min

Country:

Hong Kong | France

Language:

Cantonese | Shanghainese | French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:L | Malaysia:U | South Korea:15 | Argentina:Atp | Australia:G | Chile:TE | Finland:S | France:U | Germany:6 | Hong Kong:IIA | Ireland:PG | Netherlands:AL | Norway:A | Philippines:PG-13 | Singapore:PG | Spain:13 | Sweden:Btl | UK:PG | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Bangkok, Thailand

Company:

Block 2 Pictures

Trivia:

Filming was shifted from Beijing to Macau after Chinese authorities demanded to see the completed script. The director never uses scripts.

Goofs:

Continuity: Before Su Li-zhen bestowed her landlady with a electric rice cooker, there already was one sitting on the kitchen counter in an earlier scene.

Quotes:

Su Li-zhen Chan: Am I hopeless?
Chow Mo-wan: Not really.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in Ngo liu poh lut gau ching (2002)

Soundtrack:

Quizás, Quizás, Quizás

Nostalgic, elegiac tale of doomed romance

I think that New York Times film critic Elvis Mitchell wrote the best one line review of In the Mood for Love when he said that it is "dizzy with a romantic spirit that's been missing from the cinema forever." How true those words are! Truly romantic films are so rare these days, while films that include plenty of sex and nudity (which are often portrayed in a smutty and gratuitous manner) abound. So, given this cinematic climate, Wong Kar-wai's latest film feels like a much needed breath of fresh air. In the Mood for Love is about the doomed romance between two neighbors ("Mr. Chow," played by Tony Leung and "Mrs. Chan," played by Maggie Cheung), whose spouses are having an illicit affair, as they try "not to be like them." But after hanging out with each other on lonely nights (while their spouses are away "on business"/"taking care of a sick mother"), they fall madly in love, and must resist the temptation of going too far.

Several factors are responsible for making In the Mood for Love a new classic among "romantic melodramas," in the best sense of that term. First, the specific period of the film (i.e. 1960's Hong Kong) is faithfully recreated to an astonishing degree of detail. The clothes (including Maggie Cheung's lovely dresses), the music (e.g. Nat King Cole), and the overall atmosphere of this film evokes a nostalgia for that specific period. Second, Christopher Doyle's award-winning, breathtakingly beautiful cinematography creates an environment which not only envelopes its two main characters, but seems to ooze with romantic longing in every one of its sumptuous, meticulously composed frame. Make no mistake about it: In the Mood for Love was the most gorgeous film of 2001. (It should also be mentioned that Wong Kar-wai's usual hyper-kinetic visual style is (understandably) toned down for this film, although his pallet remain just as colorful.) Third, there is the haunting score by Michael Galasso, which is accompanied by slow motion sequences of, e.g. Chan walking in her elegant dresses, Chan and Chow "glancing" at each other as they pass one another on the stairs, and other beautiful scenes which etch themselves into one's memory. The main score--which makes its instruments sound as though they're literally crying--is heard eight times throughout various points in the film and it serves to highlight the sadness and the longing which the two main characters feel. Fourth, Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung both deliver wonderful performances (Leung won the prize for best actor at Cannes) and they manage to generate real chemistry on screen.

The above elements coalesce and work so nicely together to create a film that feels timeless, "dizzyingly romantic," and, in a word, magical. In the Mood for Love, perhaps more than any other film of 2001, reminded me why it is that I love "going to the movies." And I guess that is about the highest compliment that I can pay to a film.