𝕎𝕚𝕝𝕝𝕖𝕞 (𝕃𝕖𝕠) 𝕧𝕒𝕟 𝕕𝕖𝕣 ℤ𝕒𝕟𝕕𝕖𝕟’s review published on Letterboxd:
Trilogy Day #3 - Wong Kar-Wai's Informal Trilogy
As much of a masterpiece as everybody has already told me.
In the Mood for Love is another one of those very precisely made films where almost every frame is made to get the most out of it.
As I've come to expect from Wong Kar-Wai, his films look great. Wether it is the bright, vivid, hyperactive setting of Chungking Express or the sombre and cold setting of Days of Being Wild, they look great. And the best part is that the visuals complement the stories very well. We see this happening again with In the Mood for Love as the camera is very often positioned behind, or at least partially behind objects, creating a voyeuristic look at this complicated tale of love. In this way the cinematography perfectly resembles the feelings of our main characters as they continuously feel watched, followed and talked about.
This brings me to our two main characters, who are beautifully portrayed by Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung. Both of them are perfectly cast in their roles as a husband and wife cheating on their own cheating spouses. But they would have been nowhere if it wasn't for the insane writing and directing by Wong Kar-Wai. He lets scenes flow into each other so seamlessly that we as a viewer have a pretty hard time keeping a grasp on the time that has passed. Next to that he plays out certain scenes in such a way as to confuse you as to wether or not the portrayed events are real or reenacted situations by the characters.
It may be a difficult film to get through, it's a real slow burner, but it burns bright and with power like only true love can do.
PRETTY BRILLIANT!!
Up next: 2046