In the Mood for Love

We've got one Wednesday of movies left in the TCM spotlight on cinematography, and a movie that's part of that spotlight is In the Mood for Love, which will be on at 6:15 PM.

The scene is Hong Kong, 1962. Mr. Chow (Tony Leung) shows up at a cramped apartment in a high rise looking to take a sublet that has been advertised by Mrs. Suen (Rebecca Pan). She informs him that she's just rented the sublet to Mrs. Su (Maggie Cheung), but that there's another sublet next door. Chow is able to get that one.

Chow is a journalist whose wife is away on business a lot, while Su works as a secretary at an import/export firm; her husband is also away a lot on business trips. This, combined with Mrs. Suen spending more time with her mahjong-playing friends, mean that Chow and Su keep running into each other. As they talk about their respective spouses absences, two things happen.

First, they get the distinct feeling that perhaps Mrs. Chow is going off and having an affair with Mr. Su! Second is that Chow and Su start to develop an emotional attachment to each other. Chow dreams of writing a martial arts serial, and perhaps Su can help him. But there's also a problem in that a relationship like theirs is bound to garner attention, this being a fairly conservative society.

Eventually, Chow takes an efficiency so that Su can visit him without being noticed by anybody who is going to know them in the rest of their lives. But then Chow gets a job at a newspaper in Singapore, and asks Su to leave her spouse and join him in Singapore, which seems like it would be rather scandalous. After some consideration, she leaves. Can our two secret lovers be happy together?

I think it's with good reason that In the Mood for Love is in TCM's cinematography spotlight. The camerawork is excellent, deftly showing the cramped spaces of a Hong Kong apartment and how these two lovers have almost no privacy. Also of note is the production design, notably the vintage dresses that the women wear. There's also a lot to be said for the score, including instrumental string music and any number of contemporary songs, notably by Nat King Cole.

You may note that I haven't commented on the actual story, and that's because it can be a bit sparse and tough to follow if you're not paying close attention. I think that's by design, but it won't necessarily be to everybody's liking. The ending, which takes place at Angkor Wat in Cambodia, is something that you can probably see coming a mile away; at least I could, although that's not a neagtive.

All in all, In the Mood for Love is a movie that's absolutely worth a watch. It's gotten a release to DVD and Blu-ray, but from the pricey Criterion Collection.