Written, directed, and
produced by the famous, Wong Kar-wai and starring Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung,
In the Mood for Love became a well-received movie rather quickly. Released
in the year 2000, In the Mood for Love premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on
20th May. It garnered
numerous awards both locally and internationally. This movie even appeared on
many top movies list and according to 2016 BBC poll, it was ranked the second
best film of the 21st century by 177 film critics around the world.
(BBC, 2016). This film utilizes many techniques that were employed in French
Impressionism. In this blog the movie will be dissected and the moments
inspired by French Impressionism will be delved into.
French Impressionism
was birthed during World War 1, when the French film industry was in a massive
decline. At this point there was an
influx of American films. Even after the war the local scene did not
recover. A few younger directors,
astonished by American movies and their energy.
These young directors such as Abel Gance, Louis Delluc, Germaine Dullac,
and many more felt that, films should be like all other art. They should be a
vehicle for feelings. This developed in to the avant-garde cinema that is
French Impressionism. The core idea of French Impressionism is the aim to give
the narrative more subjective depth.
Intimate psychological stories became the main focus of these
filmmakers. Emphasis on the mood and feeling were prioritised. A deep exploration of the characters is also
a common trait. These films often show us memories of the characters, their
dreams, fantasies, and their mental states.
French Impressionism also uses rhythmic editing to illustrate characters
feeling. (Bordwell & Thompson, 2013).
In the Mood for Love ,
is a love story revolving around neighbours Su Li-zhen (Mrs. Chan),
and Chow Mo-wan(Mr Chow ). Both have are married and have spouses who
are away for long periods of time. A friendship develops between them as they
suspect and eventually confirm that their spouses are having an affair with
each other. They soon develop feelings but are unable to act on them due to a
conservative society in the sixties. They eventually are separated as Mr Chow
leaves for work in Singapore and Mrs. Chan stays in shanghai both longing for a
love they can’t have.
The elements of French
impressionism in this movie comes from its characters. The characters feelings
are often portrayed by the mise en scène in the movie. There are many scenes
where this can be observed. For example,
the scenes where Mrs. Chan and Mr Chow are talking to their partners, their
partners faces were never shown. Only their voice was heard. One could conclude
that, the director chose to do this, to illustrate the fact that it doesn’t matter
who your partner is, you might just fall out of love and develop feeling for
another person. This is what happened to their marriages as their spouses were
having an affair with each other. Another interesting scene was when Mrs Chan observed
Mr Chow from the bottom of the steps at the wanton noodle shop. She was secretly
observing him as he lit his cigarette and started smoking. That scene gave an
impression like she was spying on him almost like a forbidden fruit that she
can’t have. Speaking of cigarettes, Mr Chow would always smoke when he is
confusion and the camera would pan to the cloud of smoke formed to highlight
his present feelings.
The characters are
shown to live an idyllic and routine based live style. This is often illustrated
with the signature music that is played when the characters are in routine. This
was meant to show us the audience the feeling of being stuck in a routine
whilst being married and how it could drive one to be unfaithful as they
believe that would add a different element to their lives.
The secrecy maintained
by Mr Chow and Mrs Chan while they were together also is an interesting element
of French Impressionism. The characters were always anxious that people would find out about their friendship and
will start to gossip. Mr Chow got a hotel room so that they could meet and
write together without being spotted. Mr Chow also got out of the taxi they
were sharing at an earlier to ensure they wouldn’t be spotted together. Mr Chow
even went to the extent of moving to Singapore because they realised their
feelings for each other and couldn’t bear the thought of their neighbours
talking about them.
Rhythmic editing is used
in scene where Mrs Chan climbs the stairs to catch Mr Chow before he departs for
Singapore. This is a classic French Impressionist trope. Besides, that in this
scene when she reaches the empty hotel, room the curtains are waving about in
the air, signifying the ship has sailed and she will never be with him.
I personally loved this
movie and its portrayal of the two lovers who could never be. In the Mood for
Love was movie with a lot of nuance. It was the subtle details that elevated
the movie to the heights that it reached. The film’s efficient method of
imparting the story was. From the discussion above is pretty evident that French
impressionism was a heavy influence in this film’s style as the themes and
tropes were heavily present in this film.
References
1) David
Bordwell, Kristin Thompson (10th ed.) Film Art: An Introduction, U.S.A
Mcgraw-Hill
2) BBC,
(2016) 21st century’s 100 greatest films. Retrieved from: http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20160819-the-21st-centurys-100-greatest-films
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