Hacker Cinema
In the Mood for Love
花樣年華
2000 · Film · 99 min
Part of Love Trilogy
Directed by Wong Kar-wai
In 1960s Hong Kong, two neighbors form an intimate bond after making a discovery about their spouses in this visually stunning tale of unrequited love.
14 positive1 negative1 mixed3 neutralfrom 19 commenters
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20 comments on Hacker News
Well, to be fair, In the Mood for Love is a gorgeous movie. It does look great in almost every screen. It shines in a cinema screen.
I remember seeing In the Mood for Love on the big screen in my local arthouse cinema back around 2000. It was shot with analogue film and projected as such, and the sheer details of the textures were astounding. It's not a bad film on my 4k monitor, but I don't feel the same awe.
Interesting to read, but this is where movies are more "real" than true life - people can't verbalize their true feelings and need to experience or work through them in some way non-verbally.
If you've seen any Kar-wai Wong movies, that's basically his whole filmography (In the Mood for Love, Chungking Express, etc.).
The only good Chinese language films were all filmed in Hong Kong, directed by people like Wong Kar-Wai. In the Mood for Love is widely considered one of the greatest films ever made.
Chinese cultural (and censor) sensibilities are why big budget US movies are almost universally boring and terrible these days. Authoritarian societies aren’t exactly known for creating good art.
The Long Goodbye (R. Altman) Akira (Otomo) Cinema Paradiso (G. Tornatore) In the Mood for Love (Wong Kar Wai) Tron (S. Lisberger) Stop Making Sense (J. Demme)
Shoah - a 9.5 hour documentary about the Holocaust https://letterboxd.com/film/shoah/
Sügisball - an Estonian movie that introduced me to the works of Bohren & der Club of Gore, now my favorite band https://letterboxd.com/film/autumn-ball/
Fitzcarraldo - Werner Herzog moves hell and earth in this film https://letterboxd.com/film/fitzcarraldo/
Chungking Express and In the Mood for Love - Wong Kar-Wai's movies affected me so much that when I went to Hong Kong about half my trip was just looking for the filming locations https://letterboxd.com/film/chungking-express/ & https://letterboxd.com/film/in-the-mood-for-love/
UHF - Probably the reason I like underdogs https://letterboxd.com/film/uhf/
I never find Hopper's paintings striking, or overwhelming (perhaps because I've never seen one in person). But I think about them all the time. I think that's because he captures the kind of moment you see all the time; and those moments you experience alone quite often.
I think of him every time I watch a Wong Kar Wai movie, especially Chungking Express, and In the Mood for Love.
I loved In the Mood for Love but absolutely detested Lost in Translation. I don't see any parallels, either in mood or cinematography. I think Coppola is name-checking the earlier film to claim cred, as has been the story of her whole career, based as it is on the original 'cred' gifted to her by way of her surname.
Anyone who wants more of movies like this, please check out "Past Lives". I call it "In The Mood For Love" in New York.
It’s good that this classic has been resurfaced by its stylistic cameo in “Everything Everywhere All at Once” — a movie which has a lot to admire, but tries so extremely hard to be clever and likable that it just fell completely flat for me.
I watched it twice, and both times I just found myself wishing I was watching “In the Mood for Love” instead when the multiverse kaleidoscope spun that way.
If you enjoy In the Mood for Love, I would highly suggest watching the rest of his movies. Every single one is a masterpiece. Maybe start with Chungking Express for a more upbeat and fun movie.
Have not read the book, have not read Tao Lin
This review might be better than the book. It's very very good.
Reminds me of watching In the mood for love (Wong Kar Wai) and not liking it, but loving the movie after having it broken down by a teacher. The breaking down stayed with me more than any scene (it's not a dig at the movie or Wong Kar Wai, go watch it it's good!)
These few favorites from my days of being wild into Wong Kar Wai movies:
- Love is just a matter of timing, from 2046, with Nat King Cole's The Christmas Song https://youtu.be/F-J0P9K9BJc
- Meeting, from In the Mood for Love, with Nat King Cole's Te Quiero Dijiste https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w62qQQVaREU
- Missed chance, from In the Mood for Love, with Nat King Cole's Aquelos Ojos Verdes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDS8hJBVJUM
- The End, form In the Mood for Love, with Nat King Cole's Quizas, quizas, quizas https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NMmgKPiAhw
In the meantime, consider In the Mood for Love which is paid homage or Swiss Army Man, directed by the same fellas.
Wong Kar-Wai's In the Mood for Love is one of the most beautiful movies ever made and, rightly, considered one of the greatest movies made in the modern era.
I've been following the controversy surrounding the recent Wong Kar-wai movies releases as both a fan of his movies and a physical media collector. The dramatically different color grading (a detriment most notable in In The Mood For Love, where the added green has dulled the violent reds into drab and sunfaded maroons), and the altered aspect ratios achieved by stretching and cropping, yield movies that are so far removed from the originals that they look like someone slapped an Instagram filter and called it a day. The response that's stuck with me the most is the tinge of hypocrisy in WKW's championing of the revisions, stating that the viewers should let go of the nostalgia for movies, which they themselves are built upon.
I'm glad I held on to the past releases, which I posit will remain the definitive versions in his canon.
Tropa de Elite (2007) - One of few films with a genuine right wing (not Neocon Globalist Corporatist) perspective.
A Swedish Love Story (1970) - The innocence of youth vs. the cynical defeat of adulthood. Don't let the world corrupt your soul!
Apocalypse Now (1979) (must watch the Redux cut!) - The heart of man behind all the artifice and words.
In the Mood for Love (2000) - Dignity and beauty despite everything.
What I love about Every Frame a Painting is the depth of its research. It's quite clear that the creators had an extensive knowledge of film. The videos always include wonderfully selected interviews with the filmmakers that emphasize the point far more than just a person talking. The Deakins interview in Shot | Reverse Shot taken from Cinematographer Style is a nice example^[1]. Or Sidney Lumet's interview in the Kurosawa video^[2]. Taking from film criticism solidifies the video's arguments, creates an amazing rhythm to the videos (Tony and Taylor are clearly great editors) and also prevents the "annoying person endlessly lecturing to me about film" feeling that I get with some other channels.
I've thought about doing videos of my own on various topics (the usage of eyes and glances in Il Posto, Kieslowski's poetry, the reflexivity of In the Mood for Love, etc.) but the YouTube film criticism industry is pretty saturated. Perhaps a different format?
[1]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UE3jz_O_EM [2]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doaQC-S8de8
I'm guessing you don't like introspective, moody or slow paced movies? I shudder at the thought of watching Wong Kar Wai's "In The Mood For Love" at 1.7x speed...
1. 2046 by Wong Kar Wai (Cantonese film) 2. In the Mood for Love by Wong Kar Wai (Cantonese film) 3. Baraka by Ron Fricke (No story, no language, just photography)