
Set in Hong Kong, 1962, Chow Mo-Wan is a newspaper editor who moves into a new building with his wife. At the same time, Su Li-zhen, a beautiful secretary and her executive husband also move in to the crowded building. With their spouses often away, Chow and Li-zhen spend most of their time together as friends. They have everything in common from noodle shops to martial arts. Soon, they are shocked to discover that their spouses are having an affair. Hurt and angry, they find... (Full plot summary below)
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Set in Hong Kong, 1962, Chow Mo-Wan is a newspaper editor who moves into a new building with his wife. At the same time, Su Li-zhen, a beautiful secretary and her executive husband also move in to the crowded building. With their spouses often away, Chow and Li-zhen spend most of their time together as friends. They have everything in common from noodle shops to martial arts. Soon, they are shocked to discover that their spouses are having an affair. Hurt and angry, they find comfort in their growing friendship even as they resolve not to be like their unfaithful mates.
Leave your thoughts about In the Mood for Love.
| Senses of CinemaStephen TeoIt's hard to think of a recent movie that offers just such abstract ingredients that are by themselves sufficient reasons to see the picture. |
| Time OutTony RaynsEvery charged frame of the film pulses with the central contradiction between repression and emotional abandon; the formalism and sensuality are inextricable. |
| Slant MagazineEd GonzalezIn the Mood For Love is ravishing beyond mortal words. |
| The New York TimesA.O. ScottProbably the most breathtakingly gorgeous film of the year, dizzy with a nose-against-the-glass romantic spirit that has been missing from the cinema forever. |
| Philadelphia InquirerSteven ReaWong weaves a spell that no other director could create. |
| Reeling ReviewsRobin CliffordI, the viewer, want Chow and Mrs. Chan to be together and feel the anguish at every missed opportunity. |
| Boston PhoenixPeter KeoughFor Wong, the mood for love is at best nostalgia; even when consummated, love is gone before you know it, an absence never filled. |
| Reeling ReviewsLaura CliffordThis heartbreaking tale of unrequited (or is it?) love is an elegant romance for the ages and a masterpiece of its genre. |
| Film Journal InternationalDavid NohWong brews up a vividly colored, highly atmospheric world in which every frame is brimful of life. |
| New York PostJonathan ForemanThere may be no more sensual director in the world today than Hong Kong's Wong Kar-Wai. |