In the Mood for Love: A visually striking tale of love and longing.

In the Mood for Love, a visual masterpiece by auteur Wong Kar-wai is a heart wrenching tale of love and longing. The film starring Tony Leung and Maggie Chong is set in the Hong Kong of the 60s. Wong Kar-wai has deftly supplemented a simple story with vivid visuals, warm lighting, melancholic music and a striking color palette. Mrs. Chan, a beautiful secretary has moved as a tenant into the house of Mrs. Suen. Mr. Chow, a newspaper journalist has moved next door, coincidentally on the very same day. But this is not the only coincidence that happens to them. A series of coincidences leads them to the truth that their spouses are cheating on them with each other. The camera, otherwise still, intensifies the dramatic revelation with quick pans. Wong Kar-wai has made a clever use of camera movements to elevate the experience of the film. The film slows down in pace as their lives come to a halt.

The big revelation is followed by the flourishing friendship of Mrs. Chan (Maggie Chong) and Mr. Chow (Tony Leung) as they try to fill the void of the absence of their partners with each other’s companionship. In an attempt to understand how the love affair of their partners was started, they unknowingly start developing feelings for each other. They find solace in each other’s company. Wong Kar-wai has ingeniously used the space surrounding them. The houses in which they live with their respective partners are cramped and confined and so are their hearts. Contrary to this, Mr. Chow and Mrs. Chan are much real and open when they are together in Room 2046 of a hotel where she helps him write stories of martial arts. It is fascinating how even though they share no physical intimacy, they are emotionally so intimate. Their pure unalloyed love is beautifully depicted with use of exquisite visuals and beautiful saturated colors. The hotel room and the lobby is immersed in the romantic shades of red. Ample shades of green are used to signify the envy residing inside them.

The warm overhead lighting accentuating the facial features of Mrs. Chan and the enchanting mise-en-scene of Mr. Chow smoking a cigarette with the smoke lingering in the air makes the film an absolute piece of art. The lighting in the film is minimal and is extremely fundamental in setting the mood of love.

Another element of the film that makes it a masterpiece is the recurring Yumeji’s theme soundtrack composed by Shigeru Umbeyashi which shows their burgeoning relationship. Every time the track plays, the film slides into slow motion as they pass by each other slowly falling in love. As the film progresses, the theme haunts us hinting towards an unsettling truth that their love might remain unrequited. Every time they are together, the time freezes. They refuse to let go of each other internally but fail to act on it externally.

The film gives a constant sense of being guilty for watching the personal lives of Mrs. Chan and Mr. Chow. The camera hides and glides behind different surfaces and objects. Their lives are being watched by the landlady Mrs. Suen, the society and perhaps us. At one point towards the latter half of the film, Mr. Chow faces the camera and gives a brief glance expressing how he knows that they are being watched.

The film makes an unusual use of mirrors which are often hazy. We never really see the faces of their unfaithful spouses. We either see them as distorted reflections in the blurry mirrors, or hear their voices. Wong Kar-wai wisely chooses not to contaminate the purity of love by shifting the attention to their unfaithful partners. Mr. Chow was never ashamed of loving Mrs. Chan and he never blamed himself for the unfaithfulness of his wife. He realizes that feelings can just creep in unknowingly and they are beyond control. But it was their decision whether to act on their feelings or not.

Towards the end, the narrative takes a non-linear form as we struggle to understand the reality of their lives after one year. Unable to bear the burden of the secret of his life, Mr. Chow whispers the truth of his life into the hole of a ruined wall in Angkor Wat and fills it up with mud, burying it forever. Now the days have passed and the years have vanished and all that remains is heart wrenching pain and the blurry memory of love which can never be forgotten.

Written By:

Muskan Sharma

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