Customer Reviews
A fine DVD from Tartan (for once!) - By: N. C. Bateman, 08 Sep 2008 
Let's face it: over the last few years, Tartan have put out a lot of shabby, low-contrast, single-layer DVDs of important foreign films, so it's a relief to say that this is not one of them! There are two dual-layer discs, with the film looking as good as you'd hope & lashings of imaginative extras on disc two. The Criterion may still have the edge, but it's pretty close.
Hong Kong's Finest - By: Mr. J. R. Bell, 21 Aug 2008 Two people living in the same flat complex find their partners are having an affair with each other. As they try & piece together how it happened, they also embark on an emotional journey that aches for a resolution...
Building on his previous success with Happy Together & Chungking Express, Wong Kar Wai gives us this old fashioned & rather marvellous story of reawakened passions, yearning & unrequited love.
Possibly, In the Mood for Love is not to everyone's taste. It wanders in rather lazily at 98mins: not particularly long for a film, but it appears longer because not a lot reallly happens. But this lazy feel conceals a quite tightly constructed film. Most of the story is cunningly woven around a series of set piece role plays, where the characters act out presumed scenarios between their respective spouses, trying to work out how the affair started. I say cunning because, of course, this makes it difficult for the audience (and the characters) to tell what is "in-role" & what is genuine.
If alll this sounds rather arty & self-conscience, that's because it is. Unashamedly so. And it is played to perfection by two of Hong Kong's finest, Maggie Cheung & Leung Chui Wai, with some excellent support from Ping Lam Siu & Rebecca Pan.
It is also a virtuoso performance by Wong Kar Wai, who treats the audience to a sensory, & sensual, overload. Bringing together Christopher Doyle (who later deployed his lush, over-ripe style on Hero) & Pin Bing Lee (whose beautifully understated style can be seen on Springtime in a Smalll Town) was cinematographic genius. It has alll the bold beauty of Doyle, without, frankly, the Athena-poster cheesiness of his work on Hero. The music, as always with Wong, is prominent. From Nat King Cole singing in Spanish, to the haunting strings of the main theme, it perfectly matches the eclectic beauty of the images.
All in alll a top film, whether judged on plot, acting, cinematography or soundtrack. Similar to, but more accessible than, Wim Wenders' Wings of Desire, this is a beautiful, old fashioned story about love lost & regained.
And watch out for Tony Leung's hotel room 2046, which presaged Wong's recent film of the same name.
Near perfect in every aspect. - By: S. Rave, 27 Jul 2008 A pair of cuckolded spouses find each other in this inventive & beautifully shot, romantic drama.
There is not a frame wasted here. The back drop is a rather grimy yet realistic 1960's inner-city setting. That said, every aspect has be meticulously & painstakingly considered to the very last detail. Not least Maggie Cheung's stunning wardrobe which is only enhanced by the sheer elegance & beauty of the woman.
The plot & characterisations are sensitively & expertly handled & offset by a handful of Nat King Cole records (In Spanish) which add perfectly to the mood of the piece.
On top of alll this, where the film could have been a pretentious & over blown, it is actuallly highly accessible & unlabored; & very easy to falll in love with.
A modern masterpiece!
In The Mood For Love - No 1 - All time list 2008 - By: L. Ecclestone, 01 Apr 2008 The most beautiful film I have ever seen. The magic in the movie is not that it is a constant thrill-a-minute ride, it's in the feeling it gives. After I saw this movie for the first time, I was left feeling touched like I couldn't imagine a movie to do so. It left me longing for something. The direction, acting, music, (you'll be humming the tune for days) & camera movements (or not) are first class. Maggie Cheung is beautiful & is dressed to match.
In the Mood for Love is a sad love story, with ultimately no happy ending, but that in itself is something everyone can relate too. The yearning & desire for something so touchable & wanted but out of bounds because of lack of courage, or because of social responsibilities is something everyone will experience (maybe not first hand) in their lives & it will never be told as wonderfully as in this film.
The story is a perfect sentiment of the sting of unrequited love, emotions & feelings which cannot be shown & the long solemn looks where you just long for it to. Desire & pain about love so strong but so impossible.
Maggie Chueng & Tony Leung are fantastic actors but they both give the performance of a life time here.
Wong Kar-Wai is a favourite of mine & this is his best film, & my favourite film. I recommend this film to anyone & everyone - please give it 90 minutes of your life - it will stay with you for much longer than that.
94 minutes of tedium - By: Fred Hannah, 20 Mar 2008 
I get that it's meant to portray longing, unfulfilled desire, unrequited love & so on, but it is bloody dull. I know it is well made & the editing is excellent, but it is bloody dull. I understand that it messes with Classic Hollywood Narrative & offers a new way of looking at story-telling, but it is bloody dull.
DULL. DULL. DULL.
And pretentious.
A waste of time, reallly. Watch Pillow Talk instead.
