I want to take a moment to write about a film that really moved me. I don’t even know that this film is my favorite, but it came along at just the right time, and it was unlike any film I had seen to this point. I asked my cousin, who is a professional screenwriter, to prepare a list of movies that I needed to see. His list contained about 30 films, each from a different director, that highlighted the filmmaker’s strengths and represented the body of his or her work. I had made it through about a quarter of the films on that list, mostly from the few directors that I had heard of, when Neflix brought me this gem.
I want to take a moment to write about a film that really moved me. I don’t even know that this film is my favorite, but it came along at just the right time, and it was unlike any film I had seen to this point. I asked my cousin, who is a professional screenwriter, to prepare a list of movies that I needed to see. His list contained about 30 films, each from a different director, that highlighted the filmmaker's strengths and represented the body of his or her work. I had made it through about a quarter of the films on that list, mostly from the few directors that I had heard of, when Neflix brought me this gem. {{page_break}}
The film in question is In The Mood For Love, directed by Wong Kar Wai (2001 US release). There are a few films (The Red Shoes, Black Narcissus both by Pressberger and Powell, Vertigo by Hitchcock, The Fall by Tarsem) that may be as beautiful, but the acting, pacing, and musical score in Love are just startling. Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung play married neighbors who develop a deep love for one another, but labelling this movie as a love story is selling it short. The film is a delicately constructed romance set in Hong Kong during the 1960’s, but it is as much about Wong Kar Wai’s love for the city and its people as it is about the two protagonists. Each frame in this film could be a print in a museum, and the intricately crafted sets serve as a perfect backdrop for one of the most memorable romances in recent film history.
One of the reasons that this film moved me so was that it came at the right time in my cinematic development. I was raised with a steady diet of American classics, but my exposure to Asian films was largely limited to martial arts flicks, a few Kurosawa movies, and some John Woo fare. Love was the perfect antidote in every way; its slow, methodical build and the meticulous crafting of each scene was a delight to watch and a welcome addition to the action-fighting that seemed to me to be the primary export of Asian cinema.
One of Wong Kar Wai’s key strengths is his ability to turn the mundane into the magnificent. An action as simple as getting noodles from a neighborhood shop turns into an operatic ballet that is stunning in its simplicity. Kar Wai overcranks the camera, and sets the resulting dance to a hauntingly beautiful theme that is repeated throughout the film. The minimalist string composition reinforces the action on screen, a simple scene set to simple music becomes sublime.
In The Mood For Love works as the perfect foil to America’s love for speed and frantic action. His methodical approach to storytelling, and the long takes that pervade the film, work against the quick cuts that so often disrupt modern American films. I found a refreshing answer to these two-second cuts in Kar Wai’s Love, one that reinforced my belief that film can be more than entertainment. I followed up Love with a series of foreign films and forgotten classics that led me to some of the films I call my favorites. It was a film that stuck with me long after the credits ended, and to this day I can still hum its striking string symphony. Wong Kar Wai, you have made an exceptional film, and brought me along for the ride. For this I will always be grateful.
