Response of the In The Mood for Love - Essay Example

Insert The movie In the Mood for Love, produced, written and directed by Wong Kar Wai, features Maggie Cheung as Su Li-Zhen and Tony Leung as Chow Mo-Wan. Chow is a journalist where as Su is a secretary for a shipping company who both rent apartments on the same building in the same day. This melancholic tale of love and loneliness features the two neighbors separately struggle with loneliness as their spouses are always away. The two later suspect that their often absent spouses are seeing each other and gradually develop close relations with each other themselves as they grow love for one another (In the Mood for Love, 2000).

Chow gets a job in Singapore after awhile and is forced to move. He invites his lover Su to join him but she arrives for departure late and Chow leaves without her. In the following year, however, Su goes to Hong Kong too and stops at Chow’s, calls him but remains quiet on phone. Chow later realizes that Su had been to his house when he discovers lipstick stains on his cigarette ashtray. 3 years later, Su inquires from Mrs. Suen if her apartment is available for renting since Mrs. Suen is relocating to the United States.

Later on, Chow goes to visit the Koos, his landlords, and finds that they have gone to the Philippines. He asks about the Suen family living next door and is informed that a woman and her son reside there-in. he lives without discovering that the woman in question is Su. The film ends in regret as Chow whispers his sadness of what could have been on the hole in the wall then seals it with mud (In the Mood for Love, 2000). The characters in the film change in search of better careers and also rent a hotel room where they can change their identities away from the increasingly suspicious glances of the neighbors.

They do this to share their love, overcome loneliness and the heartache of unfaithful spouses. When they separate, we see them both become nostalgic of their past together and regret their separation, dreaming of re-union someday. Hong Kong films such as In the Mood for Love are not only about martial arts but in them we see various aspects of life such as nostalgia, search of new identities, love and lifestyles in the characters featured there-in. the movie is a heart aching and eye bewitching masterwork.

Simply put, the film is not entirely about a story about two lovers but actually depicts life and reconstructs memories of life in the Hong Kong in the early 1960s. The movie that has since garnered a plethora of notable awards is a stylistic masterpiece for numerous reasons such as its sheer beauty with the camera work for instance immortalizing everything it captures, from droplets of rain to cigarette smoke alongside the superior (mood provoking) soundtracks and music. The movement of the camera is absolutely brilliant and together with the elements of surprise and humor that are effectively employed in the movie, this was clearly a back-to-greatness performance from Wong Kar Wai.

The casts are world class and in addition, the movie selects themes with universal meanings and handles them with impressive consistency and fairness. The movie does well to present both sides of issues and allows the audience to make decisions that are informed. The consistencies in the behaviors of the characters in the movie is a point of reckon.Works CitedIn the Mood for Love. Tartan Video, 2000. Film.