We begin the wind down of “In the Mood for Love” — Mr. Chow’s face at the door — with two lines of text: That era has passed. Nothing that belonged to it exists anymore.

But then we get a quick glimpse inside that apartment and see that Wong is toying with us again. His statement is not true. She’s there. And she has a son she calls out to — something from that era lingers. A child. But not her marriage.

Before we can even process this, the movie jumps to Cambodia, 1966. First, we see documentary footage featuring Prince Sihanouk greeting Charles de Gaulle, President of France. It does two things at once — it gives us a reason for Mr. Chow to be in Cambodia, to be covering an official state act, a visit from the former colonial power of the region.

But it also places Southeast Asia in that pocket … after the start of Mao’s Cultural Revolution, but before Pol Pot, emboldened by Nixon’s bombing of Cambodia, seizes control of Cambodia and embarks on one of the most terrifying genocides in human history.

Soon, an era will pass in Cambodia. Nothing will remain.

We cut from 200,000 people lining the streets to greet de Gaulle to a monk sitting at Angkor Wat. And then we see a small hole in the massive, holy structure. A finger traces its contours. Mr. Chow stares into it. Then he gently leans in and whispers into the hole.

He talks for a long time — about a minute total. A bald, young monk watches from the heights of the temple. He walks off. We see some gorgeous shots of Angkor Wat from numerous angles. Then the camera returns to the hole — and we see that Mr. Chow had covered it with some dirt, preserving his secret in one of the world’s most sacred grounds.

Wong then just lets his camera drift for another minute across Angkor Wat, to observe this place outside of history and the destructive acts of man. In the grand scheme of things, Mr. Chow and Mrs. Chan’s story is something small. But it seems right to preserve it — to sanctify it — in this space.