In the Mood for Love

Wong Kar-Wai manipulates us in numerous ways throughout “In the Mood for Love.” The greatest trick he pulls on us is giving viewers the impression that Mr. Chow and Mrs. Chan are alone together. Because we never see them with their romantic partners, it feels to us like the connection

My children bought me a lovely Christmas present — a Criterion box set of Federico Fellini’s films. I haven’t had time to dive into the collection yet, but did begin my journey with a documentary about Fellini that is part of the collection. I was struck by the way

Kieslowski figured out late in his career that audiences respond very powerfully to seeing attractive lonely people. As he explained in a letter to his friend Hanna Krall, when beautiful people are lonely, there’s an injustice to it that makes the suffering seem even more acute. Mrs. Chan and

In an atmosphere so crowded and lacking in privacy, sexual affairs would seem impossible. But “In the Mood for Love” exists in a universe where they are common, but still require a level of discretion. Mrs. Chan works as much for her boss’s affairs as she does for her

The movie begins with text. It’s a parable, of sorts, but Wong provides no context. Has he taken this mood-setting parable from another story? It goes like this (well, at least in the English subtitles:) “It is a restless moment. She has kept her head lowered to give him