Jayclops' musings on his favorite pasttime and escape.
putting the X back into sexy.
May 12, 2007In the Mood for Love (Wong Kar-wai, 2001) aka Hua yang nianhua
In the Mood for Love pulsates with eroticism and fervor which doesn't necessarily give you a hard-on but shames every bit of compulsion to jerk off. The effectivity lies in everything but the shedding of flesh. It's in the yearning cry of the violin, in Nat King Cole's repititive "Quizas, quizas, quizas", in the warmth of color and light, in the languid pace of the camera, in the voyeuristic angles, in the restrained yet evocative performances of the two leads — Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung.
"H ong Kong, 1962 — it's a restless moment," says the opening statement. Two married opposites moved in an apartment at the same day. Melancholy envelopes the two leads with the growing suspicion of infidelity of their respective partners. Love creeps like a vine across the walls and unfurls into a unique relationship. Mr. Chow wanted to keep his doors open to Mrs. Chan — she's his inspiration as a frustrated martial arts novelist. The setup is also an escapism to the bitter truth that their spouses are actually having an affair with each other. It's important that we don't see either of their spouse as the director wants us to focus on the two. It's a love that's genuine but inevitably short-lived.
The rehearsal scenes are brilliant. Even though it's a foretelling of parting, there's so much beauty in it that it reminds me of Shakespeare's 'parting is such a sweet sorrow'. During the last scenes, we see Chow whispering something in what seemed like a hole. Then he covers it with what seemed to be mud. We are reminded of a scene where he tells Li-zhen how to bury a secret. He disappears in the frame and we watch towards the end, a majestic view of a Cambodian temple.
"It's a restless moment," says the opening statement. A restlessness that sustains towards the end, an emotional storm that doesn't quite leave you just yet.
