If you Google best Hong Kong films, In the Mood for Love will for sure be on that list. It's said to be one of the greatest Hong Kong films of all time. Peak Hong Kong cinema. In the Mood for Love is a two-actor show. Wong Kar-wai brought together two of the most celebrated Hong Kong actors of all time for the film. It's two A+ students join forces on a project. I loved the film the first time I watched it. I didn't feel as strongly the second time around.
I like that the film never showed the two protagonists' spouses' faces. I like when Su and Chow pretended to be each other's spouse. I like when Su asked Chow to order for her at a restaurant, because she wanted to know what kind of woman his wife was. I wish Wong Kar-wai leaned into that more. Those scenes were my favorites from the film. They were giving psychological thriller. Those scenes made an otherwise plain romantic film interesting.
I love that revelation at the end of the film. Throughout the film, Su and Chow wanted to know how their spouses' affair started. Who made the first move? What was that first move? Was it something someone did or said? In the end, Su and Chow came to the conclusion that there wasn't one extraordinary incidence that triggered love. Like how they had developed feelings for each other over time. Love just creeps on you. I think that's beautiful. Other standouts from the film include Wong Kar-wai's use of bright colors and Yumeji's Theme. Yumeji's Theme is instrumental music that was originally created for the Japanese film, Yumeji.
