Cheap In the Mood for Love - Criterion Collection (DVD) (Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Maggie Cheung) (Kar Wai Wong) Price

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Customer Reviews of In the Mood for Love - Criterion Collection

A languid, contemplative love story.
"In the Mood for Love" is a generic title for a very detailed and atmospheric film. Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung are neighbors in 1960s Hong Kong who discover that their spouses are having an affair. Initially, Cheung and Leung's characters spend time together to commiserate, but gradually, they fall in love. Determined not to be unworthy adulterers, they continually resist the impulse to be anything more than platonic. Their emotional attachment is undeniable, however, and their love story comes to have greater meaning for them than their respective marriages.

*** This is a two-character study. The faces of Cheung's husband or Leung's wife are never seen, and we hardly hear a word out of either of them. Our attention is always drawn to the lead actors and particularly Maggie Cheung who is absolutely gorgeous in long Chinese dresses. (She has at least a dozen or more of them throughout the movie.)

*** Throughout the film, the director brings period atmosphere into the film with music by Nat King Cole (singing in Spanish), smokey rooms, rainy streets, big hairdos and thick eyeliner, and skinny ties. It looks, sounds, and feels just right. The editing of the scenes is also done creatively so that not all your questions or expectations are immediately gratified. It forces the audience to contemplate the scenes and their meanings all the more carefully.

*** Viewers, however, may lose patience with the slow pace of the film, and the enigmatic reserve which holds the lead characters back despite their very involved relationship.

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wet streets and a waltz
Wong Kar-Wai allows us to understand an old story in a new way. The characters make their way through this film bound by conventions that will not allow fruition of an affair. These characters are aware of their situation but powerless to change. We are taken to another era with the use of beautiful colors, a good soundtrack and an excellent wardrobe. Wandering through the wet streets of 1962 Hong Kong, sweeping camera work follows our characters amongst casual and accidental encounters. The movie conveys nostalgia, care and fondness to each scene. Slow motion images of Maggie Cheung walking across the screen, accompanied by a waltz, reminds us of cinema's charm. It is good to see an emerging director with Wong Kar-Wai's presence.

Maggie Cheung, suspicious of her husbands fidelity, is consoled in her discreet interactions with her neighbor Tony Leung, who gives a quality performance as a man trapped in a unsatisfying relationship. For both characters the possibilities of a different life permeates their thoughts and meetings. With Wong Kar-Wai's approach to writing and filming, a portrayal of longing and romance is brought to show a more universal glimpse at life. I recommend this to anyone seeking to view the fine cinema and the quality film making going on today.

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An unforgettable journey.
'In the Mood for Love' is a touching, engrossing meditation on, you guessed it, love: what it is, what creates it, what ends it, what keeps it sewn strong together. All of these aspects are collected into a clever, lovely, sometimes devastating piece of artistry directed by the fabulous Wong-Kar Wai. Those of you who love romantic comedies or grand, epic love sagas will be immensely disappointed with his latest film. It is not either. Rather, it is a gem of cinema that strives for emotional truth and absolute realism. Inside of cramped apartments and old diners, that, too, is what the main characters of 'In the Mood for Love' yearn for.

The film takes place in Hong Kong during the year 1962. Chow Mo-wan (Tony Leung) and Su Li-zhen (Maggie Cheung) have just moved into neighboring apartments and have met each other rather casually. But the two progressively realize a secret about their respective spouses and a profound relationship develops almost instantly. From there, the film sets a tone that is cislunar, seeming to float in its own world situated between reality and a sense of disconnection. Kar-Wai perfectly evokes this mood with fleeting slow-motion sequences accompanied by Christopher Doyle and Mark Li Ping-bin's delicately visceral cinematography. What ensues throughout the rest of the film (both plot-wise and technically) masterfully conveys romantic yearning.

The lead performances were breathtaking, namely Maggie Cheung as Su Li-zhen. From scenes of obvious hurt to moments of hidden despair, she ceaselessly astonishes. I'm surprised she did not receive the massive encomium she deserved from 2001 year-end awards groups, let alone the Oscars. But credit must also be given to Tony Leung as Chow Mo-wan, who managed to maintain a quiet, tired loneliness throughout the film. Leung also understood that it was only with Su Li-zhen that Chow Mo-wan felt truly alive with passion.

Another character worth mentioning are the breath-taking sets by production designer William Chang Suk-ping. The claustrophobic atmosphere offered by Suk-ping's dated, tight hallways was as much a part of the emotion and story line as each lead. Collectively, each part of the movie-making process (screenwriting, directing, designing, acting) achieved an assured concinnity; and in the end, what was already a personal, accessible study is lifted by Kar-Wai to a universal level using epic shots of Mayan temples and mysterious landscapes. As the credits role, it becomes apparent that 'In the Mood for Love' is arguably a masterpiece worthy of the all-time lists.

For me personally, the constant flashbacks of wind sifting past vinaceous curtains and artful conversations about love at its core only underscore 'Love's greatness. It is an unforgettably personal journey not to be missed.