Part of Restoration Roundup
Hong Kong, 1962: Chow Mo-wan (Tony Leung) and Su Li-zhen (Maggie Cheung) move into neighboring apartments on the same day. Their encounters are formal and polite — until a discovery about their spouses creates an intimate bond between them. At once delicately mannered and visually extravagant, Wong Kar-wai’s IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE is a masterful evocation of romantic longing and fleeting moments. With its aching musical soundtrack and exquisitely abstract cinematography by Christopher Doyle and Mark Lee Ping-bin (Winners, Technical Grand Prize, Cannes 2000), this film has been a major stylistic influence on the past quarter century of cinema, and is a milestone in Wong’s redoubtable career.
Followed by 9 min. short film In The Mood For Love 2001
This 2000 4K digital restoration was undertaken from the 35mm original camera negative by the Criterion Collection in collaboration with L’Immagine Ritrovata and Jet Tone. It was supervised and approved by Wong Kar-wai.
In The Mood For Love 2001
Dir. Wong Kar-wai | Hong Kong | 2001 | 9 min. | NR | 4K DCP
In Cantonese with English subtitles
Initially conceived as one third of a triptych about food, IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE was expanded into a standalone feature that won immediate recognition as a modern-day classic. Another third — intended as the “dessert,” as Wong Kar-wai has put it — was, until now, only screened during his masterclass at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival. Now available in wide release for the first time, In The Mood For Love 2001 demonstrates the director’s masterful ability to generate palpable atmosphere and striking characterizations on a miniature canvas — with IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE stars Tony Leung Chiu-wai and Maggie Cheung Man-yuk once again providing the sizzling chemistry — evoking the mystery of transient, unexpected connections in the modern city through his inimitable romantic touch. (Synopsis from Janus Films)
“Ravishing beyond mortal words.” —Ed Gonzalez, Slant Magazine “This film is a sweet kiss blown to a time long since over, a time that may have existed only in the movies, with ballads recorded in mono while hand-sewn clothing lay perfectly over the bodies of the stars. IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE is just that.” —A.O. Scott, New York Times “The sexiest movie of the year, it turns out, is PG-rated.” —Desson Howe, The Washington Post “In Kar-wai’s world, mise-en-scene conveys as much information as dialogue, and characters’ clothing choices reveal sides of their personality they never express verbally… 20 years on [now 25], IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE remains the ultimate fashion romance.” —Janelle Okwodu, Vogue “IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE's glory is its universality…. It's a film about, yes, love; but also betrayal, loss, missed opportunities, memory, the brutality of time's passage, loneliness.” —Peter Walker, Guardian
