In the Mood for Love

I’ve written previously about how “In the Mood for Love” seduces the audience first, building a romantic atmosphere, while director Wong Kar-Wai’s dual protagonists are having their hearts broken. The process of making this film was difficult. A financial crisis hit Asian economies while “In the Mood for

The last section set up a new route for Mrs. Chan and Mr. Chow to come together, and we are greeted with the familiar musical theme once more and the famous slow motion photography. Except this time, we are not witnessing shots of people descending for noodles and making glances

Wong seduces his audience into feeling the love story well before it begins. He has said that “In the Mood for Love” isn’t really a love story, it’s a story about gossip and the social structure of Hong Kong in the early 60s. What he accomplishes in the

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