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IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE Send This Review to a Friend
Delicacy is the key word in this charming, ethereally romantic love story from Hong Kong. Writer-director Wong Kar-wai, whose "In the Mood for Love" was showcased at the New York Film Festival, tells a tender tale in which it is possible to feel the passion of the man and woman who fall in love without the portrayal of steamy sex. That's no small achievement these days.
Expressive actor Tony Leung (Chiu-wai) cuts a striking figure as Chow Mo-wan, a married journalist, who rents a room in a house that is a favorite of Shanghainese working in Hong Kong in 1962. Beautiful Maggie Cheung (Man-yuk) as Su Li-zhen, also married, is coincidentally moving into the building at the same time. As the sparks between them grow, it becomes clear to them that their respective wife and husband have been having an affair with each other.
What develops is a conflict between growing love and nagging commitments. Even though in the scheme of things the deceived would be justified in breaking loose from their spouses and going off together, this is not an option that easily fits their sense of honor and the traditions against which they measure their lives.
The way in which the director uses settings and supporting characters to help provide dimension to the story that rests partly on reality and partly on the unspoken and unfulfilled is impressive. The film is striking to look at, and one is never removed from the beauty with which the drama unfolds as the principals deal with their repressed emotions. "In the Mood for Love" is romance raised to unusual heights. A USA Films release.
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