In the Mood For Love [2 Discs] [Criterion Collection]

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

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

DVD FEATURES:

• Number of Discs: 2
• Screen: Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV
• Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1 (Vistavision)
• Audio: PCM Stereo
• Subtitle: Eng
• Features:
  • Disc One:
  • New digital transfer, enhanced for 16x9 televisions
  • Dolby Digital 5.0 soundtrack
  • Deleted scenes with director's commentary
  • The music of "In the Mood for Love," presented in an interactive essay
  • "Hua Yang De Nian Hua," a short film by Wong Kar-Wai
  • Optimal image quality: RSDL Dual-layer edition
  • Disc Two:
  • "In the Mood for Love," Wong-Kar-Wai's documentary of the making of the film
  • Interviews with Wong Kar-Wai
  • Toronto International Film Festival press conference with stars Maggie Cheung Man-yuk and Tony Leung Chiu-Wai
  • Essay by film scholar Gina Marchetti illuminating the movie's unique setting
  • Trailers, TV spots, electronic press kit & promotional concepts photo gallery
  • Biographies of key cast & crew
  • Optimal image quality: RSDL Dual-layer edition
  • Plus: A 48-page booklet featuring "Intersection," a short story that influenced the film; an essay by film critic Li Cheuk-to; director's statement

AWARDS

• British Academy of Film and Television Arts

•     Nominated Best Foreign Language Film - 2000

• Broadcast Film Critics Association

•     Nominated Best Foreign Language Film - 2001

• Cannes Film Festival

•     Won Best Actor - 2000 (Tony Leung Chiu-Wai)
•     Won Grand Technical Prize - 2000 (William Chang, Mark Lee, Christopher Doyle)

• European Film Academy

•     Won Screen International Award - 2000 (Wong Kar-Wai)

• French Academy of Cinema

•     Won Best Foreign Film - 2000

• Hong Kong Film Awards

•     Nominated Best Picture - 2000

• Independent Spirit Awards

•     Nominated Best Foreign Film - 2000 (Wong Kar-Wai)

• Los Angeles Film Critics Association

•     Won Best Cinematography (Runner-up) - 2001 (Mark Lee)
•     Won Best Foreign Language Film - 2001

• National Society of Film Critics

•     Won Best Cinematography - 2001 (Mark Lee, Christopher Doyle)
•     Won Best Foreign Language Film - 2001

• New York Film Critics Circle

•     Won Best Cinematography - 2001 (Mark Lee, Christopher Doyle)
•     Won Best Foreign Film - 2001

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Cast:

  
       Tony Leung Chiu - Wai - Chow Mo-wan
       Maggie Cheung - Su Li-zhen
       Lai Chin - Mister Ho
       Rebecca Pan - Mrs. Suen
       Siu Ping - Lam - Ah-Ping

• Director:

  Wong Kar-Wai

• Screenwriter:

  Wong Kar-Wai

• Cinematographer:

  Christopher Doyle, Mark Lee

• Composer (Music Score):

  Michael Galasso, Shigeru Umebayashi

• Editor:

  William Chang

• Production Designer:

  William Chang

• Art Director:

  Man Lim-chung

REVIEW:

• 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