Fa yeung nin wa (or) In the Mood for Love (Cantonese, 2000)

The best thing about ‘In the Mood For Love’ is perhaps best explained by the title in itself. Wong Kar Wai is able to create that fantastic mood to bring out the feeling of doubt, agony, attraction, confusion to name a few. The sheer audacity of the director is evident as he doesn’t even show the faces of the duo having an affair.

The protagonists, Maggie Cheung (Mrs. Chan) & Tony Leung (Mr.Chow) excel in their parts. Considering that in almost every scene at least one of the two is present, they really needed to possess the screen presence to pull it off and particularly Maggie came out with flying colors in her expressions, styling & the slow-mo walking style.

The background can certainly be listed as one of the most haunting scores ever for it impacts the viewer great deal and plays a vital part in conveying the emotions. Do listen to themes here & here. Also, the costumes, the make-up and the usage of colors specifically, the tones of red whenever Mrs. Chan & Mr.Chow are inside the bedroom alone, creates the mood perfectly.

Exquisite framing and repetition of the iconic walk from Mrs. Chan certainly creates an effect in the minds of the viewer. The shots make the audience subconsciously feel like a voyeur such as the shots – under the bed, behind the glasses, behind the window bars – as if they are peeking into the personal life of the protagonists. Along with this, certain dialogues are also repeated which leave a lasting effect.