Love, Loss, and Smoke: Wong Kar-wai's 'In the Mood for Love'
by remi mourany
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Set in 1960s Hong Kong and released in 2000, ‘In the Mood for Love’ is a visually stunning film, with each frame resembling a work of art. The movie is characterized by its beautiful lighting, shadows, symmetry, vibrant colors, and dance-like movements. It tells the story of Mr. Chow and Mrs. Chan, neighbors who move into adjacent apartments with their spouses. As they uncover their partners' affair, they are enveloped in an atmosphere of betrayal, nostalgia, love, loss, gossip, time, and missed chances. This leads them to form a peculiar friendship that sorrowfully evolves into a deep, yet unfulfilled, intimacy.
Within frames, people inhabit their own perceptions of reality, often leading to misguided fantasies that ultimately leave characters traumatized as these illusions inevitably shatter. From the film's outset, as Mrs. Chan converses with her landlady, Mrs. Suen, through an open window, viewers are positioned as voyeurs, peering into the characters' lives through various frames. Wong Kar-wai expressed this intent, stating, "We wanted... the audience to become one of the neighbors. They always observe these two people."
This theme of voyeurism and intrusion underscores the film's exploration of infidelity, visually constructing an atmosphere where couples seem to hide secrets. The deliberate use of frames such as windows, mirrors, doorways, and hallways encapsulates the characters within their illusions, while the audience clandestinely observes from outside these confines, privy to their interactions.
Love and loss are recurring themes in the film, accentuated by various cinematic techniques. One such technique involves placing a blurred object in the foreground and positioning the camera at eye level, creating a sense of voyeurism akin to the audience spying on the characters' fantasies. Mr. Chow and Mrs. Chan construct their own fantasies out of a curiosity to understand how their spouses could betray them, hoping that this understanding might provide solace. Interestingly, the majority of screen time is devoted to Mr. Chow and Mrs. Chan, with their spouses relegated to faint voices in the background, reinforcing the idea that they live in their own bubble of fantasy.
Supporting characters' rare appearances further underscore this detachment from reality. For example, Ms. Suen remarks on Mrs. Chan's elegant attire, puzzled by her elaborate dress for a simple outing. Another character suggests to Mr. Chow that he is just an ordinary person without secrets, contrasting with Mr. Chow's clandestine activities. These instances shift focus away from the main characters, emphasizing their departure from reality.
In one scene, Mrs. Chan, impersonating Mrs. Chow, attempts to seduce her own husband, played by Mr. Chow, blurring the lines between reality and fantasy. As their relationship deepens, audiences question its platonic nature, unsure of the boundary between role-playing and genuine emotion. This ambiguity underscores the complex interplay of love and loss throughout the film.
The film's title might lead viewers to expect a traditional love story, but Wong Kar-wai's production offers a different narrative focus. Despite the captivating aesthetics—featuring a youthful cast, swirling cigarette smoke, and the evocative backdrop of Hong Kong's narrow alleyways and cramped buildings—romantic love isn't prominently portrayed. Mr. Chow and Mrs. Chan's relationship lacks the typical displays of affection; they seldom touch or exchange gifts, and their rendezvous resemble more like brief meetings between errands than romantic outings.
Kar-wai himself emphasizes that he isn't interested in depicting a conventional tale of infidelity. He intentionally keeps the main characters' spouses in the background, avoiding a clear judgment of their actions. Instead, the film revolves around themes of loss and explores how societal norms and circumstances compel the couple to conceal their relationship until it inevitably unravels.
"In the Mood for Love" masterfully portrays the human tendency to be drawn into their own dilemmas, as Mr. Chow and Mrs. Chan inadvertently find themselves entangled in the very issue they sought to avoid: infidelity. Despite their initial vow not to emulate their spouses' behavior, they soon realize that emotions can develop unexpectedly. However, when their love for each other becomes undeniable, they both lack the courage to act on it—Mrs. Chan remains committed to her husband, while Mr. Chow is weary of the ensuing gossip.
In a poignant scene, the couple reluctantly part ways, blurring the lines between their role-play and genuine emotions. Filmed skillfully through bars and shadows, they find themselves trapped by societal expectations and their own moral compass. A faint light from a rustic lamp symbolizes the slim hope they have of being together. This moment echoes the foreshadowing in the prologue, where Mrs. Chan's restlessness is palpable as she yearns for Mr. Chow to draw closer. Despite a fleeting touch of his hand, she ultimately retreats into the shadows, momentarily glancing toward the hopeful light before resigning herself to the darkness.
Years later, supposedly having moved on, Mr. Chow and Mrs. Chan return to their former apartment complex. While the scene is noticeably brighter—lacking the shadows and rain that characterized their separation—it still carries a sense of confinement. The emphasis on pastel colors and a cheerful atmosphere of flowers reflects how time has softened their intense emotions. However, they find themselves still imprisoned, not by societal expectations as before, but by the passage of time itself.
Their relationship, once vibrant and alive, now exists only in memory. It's something they can see but not touch, a bittersweet reminder of what once was. The inundated nostalgia that permeated every scene is now laid bare, evoking an overwhelming sense of missed opportunity and loss. Despite the passage of time, they remain trapped by the bars of their own history, unable to fully escape the lingering echoes of their past.
Mr. Chow and Mrs. Chan's backstory as Shanghainese immigrants fleeing to British Hong Kong mirrors Wong Kar-wai's own childhood experience, infusing the film with a profound sense of loss and love. The narrative is steeped in nostalgia and romance for a bygone era characterized by typewriters, cigarettes, cheongsams, landline calls, gossiping neighbors, and a bustling economy depicted through Western-inspired architecture. This nostalgic lens contributes to the film's visual allure, as memories often seem more idyllic than present reality.
'In the Mood for Love' is presented as a stretched-out memory of a forbidden intimacy, where time appears fluid and events unfold in a nonlinear fashion. Despite the recurring image of a clock, the passage of time remains elusive, with the relationship's duration unclear to the audience. Many scenes are slowed down, mirroring the gradual playback of memories in our minds.
In this portrayal, time in Hong Kong stands still. The characters traverse the same staircases, walk through familiar alleyways, and frequent the same locales, reinforcing the stagnant nature of their surroundings. Mrs. Chan's cheongsams, though numerous, reappear throughout the film, symbolizing the enduring essence of their connection. Likewise, the recurring music underscores the constancy of their encounters.
This routine serves to highlight the evolving dynamics between Mr. Chow and Mrs. Chan amidst a backdrop of unchanging circumstances. While the world around them remains static, their relationship undergoes subtle transformations, emphasizing the enduring power of love and longing amidst the passage of time.
While Wong Kar-wai's portrayal of loss, both in terms of the characters' relationship and the cultural backdrop of the time, is undeniably emotionally impactful, I personally found 'In the Mood for Love' to be dull and unengaging. Despite its acclaim as one of the greatest films ever made, I struggled to connect with it. The slow pacing, repetitive scenes, and lack of significant events made the relatively short runtime feel tedious.
Although the film is visually stunning, with every frame meticulously crafted, I often found myself getting lost in the aesthetics rather than the plot. While the storyline is unique in its exploration of infidelity, it lacks the depth and substance necessary to hold my attention for the entirety of the film.
The ending, in particular, felt drawn out and unnecessary, with Mr. Chan's journey to Singapore and Angkor Wat seeming disconnected from the central narrative. While these scenes may serve to underscore the theme of nostalgia and the impossibility of returning to the past, they detract from the overall impact of the story.
For cinephiles who appreciate the artistry of cinema and enjoy dissecting filmmaking techniques, 'In the Mood for Love' is undoubtedly worth watching. However, for those seeking entertainment and emotional fulfillment from a film, its slow pace and somber tone may not offer a satisfying experience upon repeated viewings.
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