In the Mood for Love

[DushanPerera 0]

My friend and I have an on-going debate about whether or not this film is overrated. Please help us settle this once and for all!

[NathanGordon 1096]

No, it's not overrated. It really is that good.

[Muthsarah 124]

I checked. There's no easy (US) way to stream this, it appears to be disc-only.

 

Such a hypnotically beautiful film, though. I so wish it were possible that Devin and Amy could make an episode around this film. Or around Chungking Express, that'd be cool too. But it appears to still be a pipe dream.

 

Though to answer the initial question: No, it's not over-rated. It's an incredibly beautiful film, and a magnificent time machine. No, I wasn't in Hong Kong in the mid-60s. But the movie makes me want to at least be able to visit. To me, that's the greatest thing a movie can do, to make me want to disappear from my life and enter the movie's reality for an hour or two.

[HoldenMartinson 221]

In the Mood for Love is a quiet and magical romance that is bursting with beauty, yet is so intimate and real. There's never a dull moment. Let's forget the pacing, the dreamlike storytelling, the ingenious cinematography, etc. Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung alone are so gorgeous, and have such chemistry with one another, that their dynamic alone could carry this film.

 

So, no. This is not overrated. One of you is completely wrong.

[DushanPerera 0]

I personally love the film. I feel like it is a subtle, beautifully-crafted, dreamlike experience, My friend finds it superficial and indulgent; beautiful people with shallow problems. He thinks Blue Valentine or Eternal Sunshine are better films because they show more honestly the suffering and joy of romance. I think that this film, like its characters, carries lot of restraint. I think subtly and ambience are what set it apart from more obvious films like the ones he mentioned.

[JosephDaley 26]

'In the Mood For Love' (and 'Chungking Express') is available through The Criterion Collection, and will certainly be available through both Hulu Plus & Filmstruck, which will be available starting in October.

 

Also, I've posted about Wong Kar-wai a million times in here before, but it bares repeating, 'In the Mood For Love' is one of the greatest movies about love, ever, ot has to be in The Canon Eternal at some point.